Bellator News

Adam Martin - February 11, 2020

Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima will move up a weight class to take on Gegard Mousasi for the vacant Bellator middleweight title at Bellator 243. Former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Lovato Jr. vacated his belt this week due to health issues, which opened up the possibility of this superfight between the former champion Mousasi and the current welterweight champ Lima.

Tom Taylor - February 10, 2020

Rafael Lovato Jr. has relinquished the Bellator middleweight title after revealing he’s suffering from a cavernoma, an issue pertaining to the blood vessels in the brain. Lovato opened up on these health concerns on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, explaining that the issue has put his career on hold.

Mike Pendleton - February 5, 2020

The recent headlines in the world of MMA have consisted of: two fighters at the top of their division getting into an argument on Radio Row at the Super Bowl, and an ESPN personality getting ripped for his lack of knowledge on the sport, however, there’s a far greater and more important story happening in the sport, not many are talking about. This week on Joe Rogan’s MMA Show, Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Lovato Jr. revealed that he’s dealing with a rare brain condition that will have him “retired indefinitely” as he awaits more meetings with doctors to determine his future.

Adam D Martin - February 2, 2020

Gegard Mousasi and Douglas Lima, two of the most elite fighters in Bellator, are open to fighting each other for the promotion’s vacant middleweight title. Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Lovato Jr. admitted last week on the Joe Rogan Experience show that he has a rare brain condition. He has not retired yet and Bellator later released a statement that they have not made a decision on what to do with his belt at this point. But if Lovato Jr. is forced to retire or sit out a significant period of time the promotion may opt to strip him of his title and let the division move on.

Natasha Hooper - January 31, 2020

This week on his Weighing In podcast, Josh Thomson announced his official retirement from fighting. “I can say that I’m officially retired,” Thomson began.

Mike Pendleton - January 31, 2020

Cris Cyborg made a successful Bellator MMA debut when she defeated Julia Budd at Bellator 238 and won the featherweight title. In doing so, Cyborg also added her fourth promotional world title, adding the Bellator belt to a trophy case that already included Strikeforce, Invicta and UFC belts. Feeling refreshed with her new promotion unlike her time in the UFC, Cyborg put on a performance to remember in her Bellator debut. Her performance against Budd was masterful enough to get the attention of a former champion as well.

Cole Shelton - January 29, 2020

Rafael Lovato Jr. doesn’t know if he will fight again. The 36-year-old has not fought since his upset win over Gegard Mousasi to win the Bellator middleweight title in June of 2019. He’s 10-0 as a pro recently discovered he has a problem that went undetected because he often fought with commissions that didn’t require brain scans. But, when he needed one for the Mousasi fight, that is when he realized something is wrong.

Natasha Hooper - January 29, 2020

Jessica Penne and Bec Rawlings have found another stream of income, and that is their own subscription accounts on OnlyFans.com. The two athletes have records that encompass the UFC, Invicta and Bellator. Jessica Penne hasn’t fought since 2017 after coming off three back-to-back losses and Bec Rawlings is also coming off 5 consecutive losses, though she’s riding a few big wins in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship ring.

Cole Shelton - January 28, 2020

In the main event of Bellator 238, Cris Cyborg was looking to become the Bellator featherweight champion as she was taking on Julia Budd. It was Cyborg’s promotional debut, where a win could be the first fighter to win belts in Strikeforce, Invicta, UFC, and Bellator. She did just that as she TKO’d Julia Budd in the fourth round.

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2020

Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub recently claimed that all the best fighters are on the UFC roster. Unsurprisingly, this comment generated a torrent of backlash — including a retort from MMA referee turned Bellator commentator John McCarthy. Hear what McCarthy had to say about Schaub’s claim below (via Twitter):

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2020

Bellator 238 was an action-packed card, with violent finishes from the likes of Cris Cyborg, Sergio Pettis and Aaron Pico. As is always the case with highlight-filled cards like this, the result is a long list of medical suspensions — particularly for the Bellator 238 losers.

Harry Kettle - January 28, 2020

Julia Budd received $100,000 more for her performance at Bellator 238 than the woman that beat her for the title, Cris Cyborg. The two main eventers went toe to toe for the Bellator Featherweight Championship, and after a fascinating encounter, it was Cyborg who cemented her place in the record books with an impressive fourth-round TKO.

Adam D Martin - January 26, 2020

Bellator president Scott Coker says that the next opponent for new Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg could be Arlene Blencowe. Cyborg dominated former champ Julia Budd at Bellator 238 to become the promotion’s new 145lbs champion in the women’s featherweight division. As soon as Cyborg got through with Budd the next question fans and media were asking was who will fight Cyborg next.

Adam D Martin - January 26, 2020

Bellator featherweight contender Darrion Caldwell praised his opponent Adam Borics following his first-round submission victory at Bellator 238. Caldwell and Borics met in the quarterfinals of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix. The oddsmakers actually favored Borics slightly to get his hand raised, but ultimately Caldwell and his vaunted grappling attack proved to be too much for the undefeated Hungarian, and Caldwell was able to get the win and move on to the next round of the featherweight tournament.

Adam D Martin - January 26, 2020

New Bellator women’s featherweight Cris Cyborg took to social media to share a photo of herself posing with her four belts from major MMA promotions. Cyborg dominated Julia Budd en route to a fourth-round TKO win in her Bellator debut. It was an incredible performance by Cyborg, who displayed her trademark striking and punching power to go along with her underrated grappling game. Budd was game for the fight but ultimately wasn’t in the same class as Cyborg.

Natasha Hooper - January 25, 2020

Tonight in the blockbuster main event of Bellator 238, Cris Cyborg challenged the organization’s featherweight champion, Julia Budd. Cyborg announced her departure from the UFC in 2019 due to mounting tensions with Dana White. The pair became embroiled in an ongoing conflict over derogatory comments made about her by White, and contract negotiations. Shortly after her UFC contract finished, Cyborg announced a new multi-fight contract with fellow fighting company, Bellator.

Cole Shelton - January 25, 2020

Ryan Bader will look to defend his light heavyweight title for the first time since November of 2017. On the Bellator 238 broadcast, Bader announced he will battle Vadim Nemkov on May 9 in San Jose, California at Bellator 243. The champ-champ recently revealed he was going to defend the light heavyweight title on social media.

Cole Shelton - January 25, 2020

Bellator MMA is in Inglewood, California tonight for Bellator 238 which features the women’s featherweight title on the line as Julia Budd battles Cris Cyborg in the main event. Budd (13-2) is looking to defend her belt for the fourth time and extend her winning streak to 12. She won the inaugural featherweight title back at Bellator 174 with a TKO win over Marloes Coenen. The Canadian has not lost since her fourth professional fight back in 2011 where she was submitted by Ronda Rousey. Her other loss came at the hands of Amanda Nunes.