Bellator News

Adam Martin - March 29, 2021

Bellator released its inaugural rankings and Patricio Pitbull and Cris Cyborg have topped the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings lists. Bellator announced the first-ever edition of its promotional fighter rankings on Monday. 17 media members voted on the Bellator rankings, and you can see them all below.

Adam D Martin - March 29, 2021

The Bellator debuts of Anthony Johnson and Yoel Romero have been delayed until May as the promotion shuffled up its upcoming schedule. Bellator’s Light Heavyweight Grand Prix begins in April with eight of the world’s best 205lbers going at it for the chance to win $1 million and the belt. On April 9 at Bellator 256, the tournament begins when Ryan Bader and Lyoto Machida have a rematch. The two previously met in the UFC back in 2012 with Machida winning the fight by knockout. Nine years later and they meet again under the Bellator banner. The co-main event for that card was supposed to feature Corey Anderson vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradv, but that fight has now been pushed back to Bellator 257 on April 16. That means that the fight between Johnson and Romero, which was originally targeted for that date, has been rescheduled.

Adam D Martin - March 29, 2021

Bellator heavyweight contender Matt Mitrione has been forced out of his upcoming fight against Tyrell Fortune this Friday at Bellator 255. Mitrione vs. Fortune was set to be the main card opener of Friday’s Bellator 255 show, which takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Unfortunately, Mitrione is now off the card as he pulled out from the Bellator 255 event for undisclosed reasons. MMAjunkie.com’s Nolan King was the first to report that Mitrione fell off the card. With Mitrione now off the card, Bellator is targeting a rematch between Fortune and Jack May on short notice. They fought to a No Contest last year after low blows ended the fight.

Adam D Martin - March 24, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos says he is open to joining Bellator, admitting an interest in fighting Fedor Emelianenko. “Cigano” was recently released from the UFC, alongside divisional stalwart Alistair Overeem, as the world’s leading MMA promotion continues to cut fighters from the roster. JDS has admitted he wasn’t a fan of the “cold” way UFC president Dana White let him go, but he’s now ready to move on with his career. Although he has admitted he’s open to competing in boxing, it appears JDS isn’t ready to hang up his MMA gloves just yet.

Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021

Two-division Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull trashed Tapology for ranking him as the 21st-best featherweight in the sport. Tapology is one of the top resources in the world of mixed martial arts. The website has an incredible record-keeping system in MMA and is generally regarded as the top MMA database going right now. However, Pitbull has a bone to pick with them about the site’s ranking systems. Tapology has its own rankings system where it ranks the best fighters in the world by division regardless of promotion. It’s worth noting that registered users submit their rankings, so it’s not Tapology itself that is doing the rankings, but MMA fans.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021

Bellator MMA star Valerie Loureda has launched a new fan site using the subscription-based platform FanTime.com. Loureda is one of the most promising prospects on the Bellator roster at present, and has quickly developed a significant following inside the mixed martial arts sphere.

Tom Taylor - March 3, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Johnson is looking seriously slimmed-down ahead of his upcoming debut with Bellator MMA. Johnson retired after a loss to Daniel Cormier in 2017, but has since teased a comeback on numerous occasions. That comeback finally became official earlier this year, when he signed with Bellator to much fanfare.

Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021

Anthony Johnson has a message for anybody who believes Bellator is inferior to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Johnson, who fought for the UFC from 2007 to 2017 and competed for the light heavyweight title two times in the stretch, migrated to Bellator to much fanfare earlier this year.

Adam Martin - February 10, 2021

Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov is the odds-on betting favorite to win the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix. Bellator announced on Tuesday that the promotion has a new home in 2021 as it will be moving to the Showtime television network going forward. To kick off the new partnership, the organization will hold its 205lbs tournament starting off in April. There are eight talented fighters in the tournament, including former UFC champions, and any of them could theoretically win. But according to the bookies, the champion Nemkov has a slight leg up on the competition.

Adam D Martin - February 10, 2021

Patricio Pitbull promised to be “more violent and better” in his upcoming Bellator 255 rematch against rival Emmanuel Sanchez. On Tuesday, the promotion officially announced that Pitbull and Sanchez will meet on April 2 in the main event of Bellator 255. It will be a five-round fight with the Bellator featherweight title on the line, and the match is also a semifinal bout in the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix, with the winner facing off against the unbeaten AJ McKee in June to crown the winner of the tournament.

Adam D Martin - February 10, 2021

Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader will not be stripped of his title, according to Bellator president Scott Coker at Tuesday’s presser. The promotion officially announced the eight-man, Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix tournament. In one of the quarterfinal matchups, Bader takes on Lyoto Machida in a rematch. On paper, that’s a fun fight and having Bader included in the tournament is a good thing. However, while he competes to win back his old light heavyweight title in the bracket, Bader is temporarily holding up heavyweight. He’s still the champion and has no plans to give up his belt.

Adam Martin - February 9, 2021

The betting odds have been released for the upcoming Bellator MMA Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix tournament quarterfinals. Bellator announced the complete eight-man bracket for the promotion’s highly-anticipated 205lbs tournament on Tuesday. Hours later, the oddsmakers released the betting odds for all four quarterfinal matchups. Take a look at the opening odds for the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix via BetOnline.

Adam Martin - February 9, 2021

Bellator MMA announced that it will be moving to Showtime, and the promotion revealed multiple fights for its upcoming schedule. Bellator MMA will return to action on Friday nights in April and it will do so on a new network as the promotion will now air exclusively on Showtime, with president Stephen Espinoza confirming the news in a press conference. That’s the same network Bellator president Scott Coker had plenty of success with back in the day when he ran Strikeforce. The hope is that this move takes the MMA organization to the next level. Watch the official announcement below.

Tom Taylor - February 9, 2021

Bellator MMA is reportedly plotting an eight-man light heavyweight tournament featuring former UFC stars Yoel Romero, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Corey Anderson, and more. Bellator’s light heavyweight division has been quite strong for awhile now, as the home of fighters like Phil Davis, Ryan Bader, and reigning champion Vadim Nemkov. After the promotion signed former UFC contenders like Romero, Rumble and Anderson, however, its light heavyweight division is better than ever—debatably even better than the UFC’s.

Drake Riggs - February 8, 2021

Former two-time Bellator featherweight champion Daniel Straus was arrested last Friday for an incident that took place late last month. MMA Junkie confirmed on Monday after an initial report from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that Straus was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The bond is currently $100,000.

Andrew Whitelaw - February 8, 2021

Patricio Pitbull is enjoying a truly prolific faze in his career. He holds both the lightweight and featherweight titles in Bellator, and is riding a six-fight winning streak and there is a strong argument for the 33-year-old being the best 145-er in the world. Pitbull is often asked about a move to the UFC, but it doesn’t look like that will happen anytime soon. Instead, the Brazilian suggests that some of his counterparts would be better off coming over to join him in Bellator, namely, Max Holloway.

Harry Kettle - February 5, 2021

Cris Cyborg has issued a response after potential opponent and PFL star Kayla Harrison claimed she didn’t “sign on the dotted line” when given the chance to fight her last year. In 2020 there was a great deal of speculation surrounding the future of Cyborg and where she’d end up going next, with PFL reportedly being in the running to secure her signature. In the end, though, Bellator was her chosen destination.

Harry Kettle - February 4, 2021

PFL star Kayla Harrison has given her thoughts on a potential fight against Cris Cyborg after the latter’s latest callout. Harrison, who took her professional MMA record to 8-0 with a dominant win over Courtney King at Invicta FC 43 back in November, is waiting for the opportunity to get back inside the cage once again as the hype behind her continues to grow.