Bellator News

Tom Taylor - September 3, 2019

Bellator MMA’s anticipated Featherweight World Grand Prix is about to begin. The eight quarterfinal matchups of the tournament will occur between Bellator 226, scheduled for this Saturday, and Bellator 228, scheduled for September 8. In anticipation of this awesome tournament, Bellator has released an awesome Mortal Kombat inspired promo for it. See it below:

Cole Shelton - September 2, 2019

Cheick Kongo will soon have a chance to become a heavyweight champion in a major promotion for the first time in his career. The 44-year-old Frenchman will take on Ryan Bader in the main event of Bellator 226 this Saturday. The training camp preparing for Bader has not been an easy one for Kongo. He knows the Bellator champion is an elite wrestler so in preparation he brought in world class, Olympic-level wrestlers to help him for this camp.

Adam D Martin - September 1, 2019

Frank Mir is scheduled to fight his friend Roy Nelson in a rematch this October in Bellator, and he admits that fans may not find the fight to be entertaining. The former UFC heavyweight champion Mir previously fought Nelson at UFC 130 in 2011, and he now rematches his fellow Las Vegas native in the main event of Bellator 231 this October. Mir says that stylistically this isn’t going to be a fight that excites fans, and he didn’t want Bellator to book this fight.

Tom Taylor - August 29, 2019

Cris Cyborg has parted ways with the UFC, and is now negotiating with other promotions in hopes of finding a setting for the next chapter of her illustrious career. Speaking in a video posted to her official YouTube channel, Cyborg divulged that she feels no regret about leaving the UFC.

Tom Taylor - August 26, 2019

The beef between Team Conor McGregor and Team Khabib Nurmagomedov is seemingly alive and well. Nearly a year removed from McGregor and Nurmagomedov’s October, 2018 fight, which the latter won by submission, members of their respective entourages are still trading shots. The latest to do so is McGregor stablemate Dillon Danis, who called for a fight with Nurmagomedov training partner Islam Makhachev on Twitter. https://twitter.com/dillondanis/status/1166006545391468546

Mike Heck - August 26, 2019

Nick Newell made his Bellator MMA debut on Saturday and finished the fight quickly in front of his home crowd at Bellator 225. Newell hopes the win will lead to a long-term deal with the promotion, and if Chael Sonnen has anything to say about it, that may just be what happens. “Notorious” took on gritty Tennessee fighter Corey Browning on the featured preliminary bout at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. After a brief exchange on the feet, Newell took Browning down and patiently improved his position on the ground, leading to an arm triangle choke submission victory.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2019

Fresh off of a brutal knockout win over Matt Mitrione in the main event of Bellator 225, veteran slugger Sergei Kharitonov is now eyeing the promotion’s heavyweight title for his next fight. “The Paratrooper” spoke to reporters in a scrum following his second-round TKO win, and said he wants to fight the winner of the upcoming heavyweight title fight between champion Ryan Bader and challenger Cheick Kongo.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2019

Bellator has announced a welterweight title bout between Rory MacDonald and Douglas Lima as well as a heavyweight fight between Roy Nelson and Frank Mir. The promotion announced both fights during the broadcast for Bellator 225 on Saturday night. Bellator 231 takes place Friday, October 25 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Nelson vs. Mir fight will headline that card and is scheduled for three rounds. This is a rematch from the pair’s first fight back in 2011, which Mir won via unanimous decision at UFC 130.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2019

Lightweight Nick Newell hopes to remain with Bellator following a first-round submission win over Corey Browning on the Bellator 225 preliminary card. Newell was recently signed to a one-fight deal with Bellator after a failed stint on Dana White’s Contender Series. The congenital amputee fighter, who does not have a left hand, picked up a win on the regional circuit after the Contender Series and parlayed that into a one-fight deal with Bellator.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2019

Bellator heavyweight Matt Mitrione suffered a brutal second-round knockout loss to Sergei Kharitonov in the main event of Saturday night’s Bellator 225 card. But before the knockout happened, Mitrione was having trouble with his mouthpiece as it fell out of his mouth multiple times. The big blow came when Mitrione’s mouthpiece was knocked out by a Kharitonov punch early in the second round. He was clearly mentally shook by it and let his guard down, which allowed Kharitonov to land a vicious uppercut and then a knee which knocked Mitrione down. Kharitonov then finished Mitrione off with ground and pound before referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight.

Chris Taylor - August 24, 2019

Bellator 225 is currently taking place from Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The event is headlined by a heavyweight rematch featuring Matt Mitrione taking on Sergei Kharitonov.

Tom Taylor - August 23, 2019

After a lengthy career in the UFC, Cat Zingano is now a free agent. The former title challenger parted ways with the Las Vegas based promotion earlier this month. From the sounds of it, she could soon have a new home in Bellator MMA.

Natasha Hooper - August 23, 2019

The president of Bellator, Scott Coker, is making his loyalty to Cyborg known, as he claims she is the female GOAT. The former UFC featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg, is currently a free agent after being released from her UFC contract. Her last fight was a win against formerly undefeated fighter Felicia Spencer (7-1) at UFC 240. Her contract release signalled rising tensions between her and Dana White.

Cole Shelton - August 22, 2019

Bellator president, Scott Coker took a lot of flak for his recent tweet suggesting Ryan Bader is the best heavyweight in MMA right now. Most fans and analysts believe Stipe Miocic, who reclaimed the UFC’s heavyweight belt this past weekend in Anaheim, to be the current ‘baddest man on the planet’.

Mike Pendleton - August 22, 2019

Mike Kimbel is days away from another fight with Bellator MMA, and another fight in his home state of Connecticut, as he’s set to battle Chris Disonell at Bellator 225 this Saturday. Kimbel is currently 3-1 as a professional, with all of his fights occurring in the Bellator cage. His most recent fight was a split decision victory over Sebastian Ruiz inside New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Getting the opportunity to fight inside this world famous arena was a bucket list item for Kimbel. He’s glad to have checked it off his list, but he wasn’t happy with the split decision ruling.

Cole Shelton - August 22, 2019

Austin Vanderford will return to the cage at Bellator 225 and will take on Joseph Creer. Both men are undefeated. When he makes the walk to the cage he will be fighting at middleweight for the first time. He decided to move up a division for a simple reason, but also notes a return to welterweight is not impossible.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2019

When Stipe Miocic stopped Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 241, he not only reclaimed the UFC heavyweight title, but also his reputation as the top heavyweight in mixed martial arts. At least, that’s the widespread opinion. Not everybody is convinced.

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2019

RIZIN FF and Bellator bantamweight champion, Kyoji Horiguchi returned to the cage in the main event of RIZIN 18. There, the champ was taking Kai Asakura in a non-title bout.