Bellator News

Cat Zingano claims Cris Cyborg is refusing to drug test amid rumors of Bellator featherweight title bout
Josh Evanoff - January 26, 2022
Cat Zingano’s long-rumored title bout with Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. The Brazilian recently came out and announced that her rumored bout with Cat Zingano would not be occurring. Cyborg claimed in an interview with MMA reporter James Lynch that the former UFC title challenger turned the bout down.

Darrion Caldwell expects to "break" Enrique Barzola and finish him in the first, confident he will get his belt back soon
Cole Shelton - January 26, 2022
Darrion Caldwell is eager to finally fight again. Caldwell last fought in May of 2021, suffering a split decision loss to Leandro Higo. It was his second defeat in a row and after the loss he said he wanted a quick turnaround, but that never happened.

Benson Henderson plans to test Islam Mamedov's durability at Bellator 273, says he's been promised a title shot with a win
Cole Shelton - January 25, 2022
Benson Henderson knows people are counting him out but he’s eager for the challenge of facing Islam Mamedov at Bellator 273. Henderson is set to fight Mamedov in the co-main event, and even though the former UFC champion is on a three-fight losing skid, he’s fighting the presumed number one contender. Although many were surprised by the fight booking, Henderson says he asked for the fight as he wants to get back in the title picture.

Former UFC & Bellator fighter Maiquel Falcao Killed In Brazil
Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 23, 2022
Maiquel Falcao, who once competed under the UFC and Bellator banners, has died after being stabbed in Pelotas, Brazil. Gaucha ZH reports that Falcao was stabbed in the stomach outside of a bar. The incident is said to have occurred around 3 a.m. local time. Falcao was taken to a hospital but he has passed away.

Ariel Helwani ruthlessly trolls Dillon Danis after being labeled a “b*tch” for his support of Jake Paul
Christopher Taylor - January 1, 2022
MMA Journalist Ariel Helwani ruthlessly trolled Dillon Danis after the Bellator fighter labeled him a “b*tch” for supporting Jake Paul. Earlier this afternoon Helwani captioned Paul’s ‘real challenge’ to Dana White with the words “Bigger dub”.

PFL, Bellator veteran Jordan Young dead at 27
Cole Shelton - December 19, 2021
Jordan Young has passed away at age 27. Young, a veteran of PFL and Bellator, passed away on Saturday, his boxing coach at American Top Team Derik Santos. ATT and PFL confirmed the news on Sunday. The cause of death is not known at this time.

Scott Coker says Bellator is not currently interested in former UFC fighter Kevin Lee
Christopher Taylor - December 5, 2021
Scott Coker says that Bellator is not currently interested in signing free agent Kevin Lee following his UFC release. The former interim lightweight title challenger, Lee (18-7 MMA), was let go by Dana White and company last week after suffering setbacks in four of his past five Octagon appearances.

Kyoji Horiguchi provides update following nasty KO loss to Sergio Pettis
Chris Taylor - December 4, 2021
Kyoji Horiguchi has provided fans with an update following his nasty knockout loss to Sergio Pettis last night at Bellator 272. Pettis (21-5 MMA) and Horiguchi (29-3 MMA) squared off yesterday evening in Connecticut with the Bellator bantamweight title on the line.

Sergio Pettis pulls off incredible comeback with brutal KO of Kyoji Horiguchi (Video)
Chris Taylor - December 3, 2021
Sergio Pettis pulled off one of the craziest comebacks in recent memory when he knocked out Kyoji Horiguchi in tonight’s Bellator 272 main event. Pettis (21-5 MMA) was looking to earn his first career title defense when he took on former champion Horiguchi (29-3 MMA) this evening.

Bellator announces eight-man field for Bantamweight World Grand Prix tournament
Adam Martin - December 3, 2021
Bellator has officially announced the field for the upcoming eight-man Bantamweight World Grand Prix tournament that takes place in 2022. Bellator announced its upcoming 135lbs Grand Prix tournament during the Bellator 272 broadcast on Friday night. The field for the upcoming bantamweight tournament includes:

Cris Cyborg explains how leaving the UFC for Bellator saved her MMA career
Adam D Martin - November 28, 2021
Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg explained in a recent interview how leaving the UFC for Bellator saved her MMA career. Cyborg was the former UFC women’s featherweight champion, but after losing her belt to Amanda Nunes, her relationship with the UFC and its president Dana White started to worsen. After Cyborg beat Felicia Spencer in 2019, the UFC released her from her contract after White said she was not easy to work with. Not long after that, Cyborg signed with Bellator, where she has been competing ever since with four wins, all of them by stoppage.

Patricky Pitbull points out next challengers for Bellator lightweight title
Adam D Martin - November 26, 2021
Newly-crowned Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull pointed out the next challengers for his Bellator lightweight title. Pitbull recently won Bellator’s vacant 155lbs title when he knocked out Peter Queally. The belt was recently vacated by his brother Patricio Pitbull, who let go of his lightweight belt in order to focus on his rematch with AJ McKee for the featherweight crown.

Kyoji Horiguchi doesn't see Sergio Pettis as 'real champion' ahead of Bellator 272 title clash
Drake Riggs - November 24, 2021
Kyoji Horiguchi is a man on a mission. The current RIZIN FF 135-pound bantamweight king recaptured the title he never officially lost on New Year’s Eve 2020 and hasn’t fought since. Now, Horiguchi has signed with Bellator in a rare deal that sees him remain the RIZIN champ and seeks the other title he relinquished when sidelined in all of 2020 recovering from an ACL tear.

Cris Cyborg says Kayla Harrison reminds her of Ronda Rousey, would fight her at 155lbs
Adam D Martin - November 23, 2021
Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg says Kayla Harrison reminds her of Ronda Rousey, saying she would fight her at 155lbs. Harrison is currently a free agent find is looking for her next home in the world of MMA. Harrison was last with PFL, who could still re-sign her to a new contract, but she is also being courted by the UFC, Bellator, and even the WWE. Regardless of where she ends up, Harrison is expected to get a big-money deal as she appears to be one of the best women’s MMA fighters in the world. Those are in high demand right now, and Harrison knows that.

Gabi Garcia believes 'There’s no way' Kayla Harrison fights Cris Cyborg
Drake Riggs - November 22, 2021
Gabi Garcia isn’t buying the Kayla Harrison hype. The 31-year old two-time Olympic Judo gold medalist in Harrison is currently testing the free agency waters after an 11-0 career in the PFL (12-0 overall). When it comes to likely options, the UFC, Bellator, or returning to the promotion where she’s won two million-dollar titles seem most likely

Cris Cyborg interested in facing Cat Zingano next, says it would be a "great fight"
Adam D Martin - November 21, 2021
Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg says she is interested in facing Cat Zingano next, saying it would be a “great fight.” Cyborg is coming off of a quick first-round KO win over Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator 271. For Cyborg, she is currently riding a five-fight win streak including a four-fight winning streak since she joined Bellator with four wins coming by way of knockout. Cyborg has looked absolutely phenomenal so far in Bellator and she is excited to get back out there and perform. Following her quick win over Kavanagh, Cyborg is now looking ahead at who she could potentially be facing next, and Zingano seems to be the ideal opponent for her.

Jon Jones set to return at Fury Grappling against Bellator heavyweight Jake Hager
Chris Taylor - November 20, 2021
Jon Jones will be returning to action under the Fury Grappling banner for a bout with undefeated Bellator heavyweight Jake Hager. The former UFC light heavyweight kingpin, Jones (26-1 MMA), announced the news just moments ago on social media.

Cris Cyborg throws shade at UFC after recent quarterly report
Drake Riggs - November 15, 2021
Cris Cyborg is happy to no longer be with her old home of the UFC. Reports from MMA Fighting were released on Monday regarding a historically profitable year for the UFC and Endeavor. Having had a less than pleasant experience from a behind the scenes perspective, according to her, Cyborg chimed in with a response to the news.