Bellator News

Chris Taylor - April 28, 2018

Bellator 198 Results: Fedor Emelianenko KO’s Frank Mir A highly anticipated heavyweight fight between former UFC champion Frank Mir and former PRIDE champion Fedor Emelianenko served as the headliner of tonight’s Bellator 198 event.

Chris Taylor - April 28, 2018

Bellator 198 Results: Dillon Danis submits Kyle Walker Dillon Danis made his highly anticipated mixed martials arts debut at tonight’s Bellator 198 event against opponent Kyle Walker.

Drake Riggs - April 18, 2018

Despite what many may be led to believe, there is a flawlessly dominant wrestler outside of the UFC that may be a lot more well known than people assume. That wrestler turned undefeated multi-time MMA champion is none other than ‘Funky’ Ben Askren. Askren went 18-0 in his professional career before semi-retiring this past November. Funky Ben was most well known for being the dominant champion of both Bellator and ONE Championship.

Drake Riggs - April 12, 2018

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still so that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, so he guided them to their desired haven… This isn’t always the case in MMA…not even close. As our combat-loving gods have shown over the years, they are very, very, very merciless. The evidence can be seen with the entire fight week leading up to UFC 223 this past week. On April Fools Day of all days out of the 365 days in a year, the UFC announced to the world that interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson had been injured out of his main event title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. That by itself was enough to put everyone into a frenzy of disbelief.

Justin Golightly - March 2, 2018

Year after year, there always seems to be some talk here and there about Chuck Liddell returning to MMA. From UFC 205 all the way up until some heat with Chael Sonnen, it always seems to be penciled in but never actually happens. …Until now. Our own Chris Taylor has just recently broke a report that Liddell is nearing a very profitable deal with Bellator for a career victory lap in their cage. Breaking! According to sources close to the situation, former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell is closing in on a multi-million dollar fight deal with Bellator MMA.

Justin Golightly - February 24, 2018

It seems like every year there is a tease that Chuck Liddell may come out of retirement for one or two more fights. This year, it seems to be a fight with former rival and UFC light heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz. However, Bellator president Scott Coker is on the fence about the idea. It’s not that he wouldn’t put on the trilogy between Liddell and Ortiz, he’s just that he literally doesn’t know if he can. “My understanding is that Chuck [Liddell] is still under contract with the UFC. I’m not sure. I just thought that to be true. I don’t know the details, but when he retired, I think the contract freezes and they maintain some rights. Listen, is it a fight that would be fun to watch [between Liddell and Tito Ortiz]? I think if they both pass a physical and Tito was healthy and his neck was healthy and he was able to perform at a high level, and they were fighting, to me is it interesting? I would definitely watch it.”

Justin Golightly - February 17, 2018

The year of the superfight is truly upon us. Whether they all go down or not, three giant fights between champions in different divisions are expected to fight each other. Whether this is the UFC’s big explosion like the death of a star, or their metamorphosis to survive in the future, it’s clear that things are changing. So, if we’re going to crack open the door to allow for epic fights like these, why not just kick it off the hinges? Let’s take down the political boundaries between organizations and have champions be able to fight other champions to really decide who are the top fighters on our humble spinning rock. Unfortunately, that’s impossible until some sort of MMA Ali Act is passed. However, there is no red tape on our imagination, so this is what we’ll explore in the very first edition of Fight Think. 5.  Bellator World Grand Prix winner vs. Stipe Miocic/Daniel Cormier winner (Bellator heavyweight champion vs UFC heavyweight champion)

Justin Golightly - February 16, 2018

Tonight, former UFC fighter will step into the Bellator cage and fight a former UFC opponent in Roy Nelson. It’s the second bout in an exciting year-long world grand prix that will end up crowning the new Bellator heavyweight champion. The winner of the fight will have to get through potential opponents like King Mo, Fedor Emelianenko, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and current Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader. Still, after such a grueling gauntlet of battles, Mitrione is humble enough to admit that even if he wins, he’s still a step below current UFC heavyweight king Stipe Miocic. “No, I do not [think winning the Bellator world grand prix makes me the top heavyweight]. Stipe [Miocic] is the No. 1 guy in the world. I don’t think anybody can argue that at all. I think it would be really dope to have the chance to compete against him. If the Ali Act ever got passed, I think that would be really dope and I think it would be great for the fans. Then I find out, ‘Are you really that good or not?’”

Justin Golightly - February 15, 2018

Why are MMA tournaments awesome? #Bellator194 headliner and grand-prix participant @roynelsonmma explains. Full story: https://t.co/sk0ip6v0GN pic.twitter.com/WKmJWvo7fb — MMAjunkie (@MMAjunkie) February 15, 2018

Justin Golightly - February 8, 2018

After Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson got on The MMA Hour and said he wanted a fourth — yes, fourth — fight with PRIDE and UFC veteran Wanderlei Silva, we had no idea what to think. However, all that really matters is what Bellator and Silva himself thinks. He caught wind of the offer and is all for the quadrilogy with Quinton Jackson, that is only if it takes place in the Brazilian’s hometown of Curitiba. ”I will [talk to Bellator president Scott Coker about the fight], but I want to do this rematch with ‘Rampage’ [Quinton Jackson] at Arena da Baixada, in Curitiba [Brazil]. I’ll put this as a condition, to be in my hometown. Then it would be worth the effort. Money alone isn’t worth it, it has to be something more, and that would be fighting in front of my friends in Curitiba. I’m kind of big, too, with 229 pounds. I’m training a bit stronger.”

Justin Golightly - January 31, 2018

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir finally has a chance to fight one of the very best fighters of all time. Bellator has turned back all the clocks to the ol’ glory days of MMA when the grand prix tournament was still king. They’ve also brought in fighters that have never gotten a chance to face each other in all their years of being in the sport. One fight has already gone by with Chael Sonnen and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and they’ll be another one in between Mir fighting Fedor Emelianenko. While many feel he’s passed his prime, Mir assures everyone that Fedor is still Fedor. “Damn, that’s a tough first fight. No joke, Fedor [Emelianenko] is still a phenomenal fighter. I know a lot of people don’t have the eyes that I have and they look at him and go, ‘Well, look at his results.’ And that’s easy to say in our sport, you know. […] Fedor is extremely good. He’s still very quick. He hasn’t lost his power in his punches. Even when he threw the punch against [Matt] Mitrione, Mitrione fell down. Mitrione’s a big kid, y’know, a big guy. I think the difference I try to explain to everybody, [people will say], ‘Well, he used to be unbeatable.’ Yeah, that’s not because he’s gotten worse. Everybody else has gotten better.”

Justin Golightly - January 27, 2018

Despite being in this fight game for the last 15 years, Paul Daley had been pretty much lighting it up in Bellator. In his last 10 fights, he’s only loss to current Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald and previous champ Douglas Lima. After multiple disputes with the Powers That Be, Daley said he had been released from his contract. Bellator was quick to refute the report, but either way it’s clear he wants to be on his way out. If the UFC is willing to take him back, he’s ready to test himself against the best in some fire match-ups. “If Bellator are gonna act like they don’t want me then they should just let me go instead of backtracking in the media. I’ve had like ten inbox messages from promotions, princes, Kings of Dubai and Russian Oligarchs and all kinds of people. So, if they are gonna let me go just let me go. If the UFC contacted me I would go back there. Of course I would. All I want to do is fight the fights that I’m promised within a reasonable time frame.”