Bellator News

Bellator 214 salaries: Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader to earn six-figure purses
Tom Taylor - January 25, 2019
Tomorrow night, Bellator MMA will make it’s long-awaited return to our screens with the stacked Bellator 214 card. This card will be topped by the final bout of the promotion’s action-packed Heavyweight Grand Prix, as Bellator light heavyweight champ Ryan Bader and heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko are set to collide with heavyweight gold on the line.

Bellator 214 weigh-in results: Fedor and Bader set to clash
Drake Riggs - January 25, 2019
It’s going down! The Bellator heavyweight title is set to get a new owner as the legendary Fedor Emelianenko (38-5) looks to prevent current light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader (26-5) from making history. Also in action will be the debuting former WWE star Jake Hager who tipped the scales for the very first time in MMA on Friday to hit within the heavyweight mark.

AJ Agazarm explains how Bellator MMA is just like Fortnite
Tom Taylor - January 25, 2019
Tomorrow night, at Bellator 214, grappling ace AJ Agazarm will make his anticipated MMA debut opposite Jesse Roberts. While MMA competition is still unfamiliar to the submission specialist, he doesn’t expect it to be all the different from a saloon in the Wild West — or a game of Fortnite. “The way I look at it is it’s a saloon full of gunfighters,” Agazarm told MMAjunkie on Thursday “Everybody’s got a story to tell, and everybody is really dangerous, and that’s what’s fun about Bellator. Because no matter who I’m going to fight, it’s going to be a show. It’s going to be crazy, and it’s going to be something that people are going to be talking about for years.

John McCarthy gives his take on controversial Henry Cejudo vs. TJ Dillashaw stoppage
Tom Taylor - January 25, 2019
Henry Cejudo needed just 32 seconds to defend his UFC flyweight title against UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw at the recent UFC Brooklyn event on ESPN. Unfortunately for him, some members of the MMA community — Dillashaw and UFC President Dana White included — feel the referee intervened a little too early in this fight. Speaking ahead of the Bellator 214 card, where he will serve as a cage-side commentator, veteran MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy gave his take on this controversial stoppage.

EXCLUSIVE | Juan Archuleta glad to make as many statements as is necessary on route to title shot
Drake Riggs - January 24, 2019
The lighter weight divisions are some of Bellator’s deepest. And one of the fighters that helps make that case is the 21-1 ‘Spaniard’ Juan Archuleta. Hesperia, California’s finest has been on an absolute tear as of late and continues to force Bellator’s hand when it comes to giving him a title shot. Something that both Archuleta and his opponent Ricky Bandejas expect to come with a potential win on Saturday at Bellator 214.

EXCLUSIVE | With experience in his favor, JW Kiser ready to play spoiler at Bellator 214
Drake Riggs - January 24, 2019
There will be two big MMA debuts going down at Bellator 214. One of which takes place in the heavyweight division as former WWE star, ‘Jack Swagger’ aka, Jake Hager, will make his debut. Standing in his way will be JW Kiser. After his last win, the Kansas City resident and Glory MMA product was granted the opportunity of a lifetime.

Bellator 214: More reasons to watch
Mike Straus - January 24, 2019
The Heavyweight Grand Prix will conclude at Bellator 214 but there are plenty of other reasons to tune into the first event of the new year for the Viacom owned promotion. The UFC got their year off to a great start with last weekend’s ESPN debut. Now its the second biggest North American MMA promotions turn to get the ball rolling in 2019.

EXCLUSIVE | AJ Agazarm looking to conquer world of MMA, tells Dillon Danis to 'f*ck off'
Drake Riggs - January 24, 2019
Along with the deciding of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix winner at Bellator 214, we’ll be treated to two intriguing MMA debuts. One of which belongs to the Florida born grappling ace, AJ Agazarm who takes on Jesse Roberts this Saturday night.

EXCLUSIVE | Pro fighters make their picks for Fedor Emelianenko vs Ryan Bader
Cole Shelton - January 24, 2019
Bellator is about to wrap up their heavyweight grand prix on Saturday. The main event will see Ryan Bader, Bellator’s light heavyweight champion take on MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. If Bader is to come out on top he will be the first ever two-division champ in Bellator. Meanwhile, if Emelianenko wins, he cements his legacy even more and may very well be considered the greatest heavyweight of all-time.

Fedor Emelianenko scolds Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor for UFC 229 post-fight brawl
Tom Taylor - January 24, 2019
Shortly after Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor by fourth-round submission at UFC 229, he leapt over the side of the cage and attacked McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis. In the subsequent moments, McGregor got into it with a pair of Nurmagomedov’s teammates inside the cage. Heavyweight MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko, who battles Ryan Bader for the Bellator heavyweight belt this Saturday, was not impressed by this chaotic scene. Speaking ahead of his fight with Bader, Fedor Emelianenko addressed this controversial moment.

Rory MacDonald and Jon Fitch to collide in Bellator Grand Prix bout in April
Tom Taylor - January 23, 2019
At long last, we’ve got a date for the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix fight between reigning welterweight champion Rory MacDonald and former World Series of Fighting champ Jon Fitch. According to a report from MMA Fighting, the two welterweight great are set to collide on April 27 in San Jose, California.

Bellator champ Ryan Bader offers criticism of the UFC light heavyweight division
Tom Taylor - January 16, 2019
For many years, Ryan Bader stood out as one of the best light heavyweights in the UFC. In 2017, however, the long-time contender parted was with the UFC, and migrated to the ever-growing Bellator MMA roster. In a matter of months, he had defeated Phil Davis to become the Bellator MMA light heavyweight champ.

Dillon Danis gets bashed by multiple MMA stars after dissing Jake Shields
Tom Taylor - January 13, 2019
Dillon Danis has never been afraid to let the trash talk fly on Twitter. The latest victim of the Conor McGregor training partner’s Twitter trash talk was Nate Diaz stablemate Jake Shields. Here’s what Danis had to say about Shields.

Chael Sonnen earns his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt
Drake Riggs - January 13, 2019
If someone would have told you eight to nine years ago that the then top UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen would one day be an official Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, you probably wouldn’t have believed them. Yet here we are!

Tito Ortiz wants to 'torture' Chael Sonnen in rematch
Thomas Taylor - January 8, 2019
Roughly two years after their first fight, Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen are still going at it. The latest skirmish in the pair’s ongoing war of words occurred on Twitter. This time around, it was Sonnen who fired the first shot.

Rory MacDonald shares ideal opponent for Bellator Welterweight GP Final
Tom Taylor - January 8, 2019
Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald is going to have a busy 2019. The champion is a combatant in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix, and his title will be up for grabs in every one of his Grand Prix matchups, starting with his upcoming first-round showdown with Jon Fitch. If all goes according to plan, of course, MacDonald will make it to the tournament finale, and emerge unscathed with the belt still slung over his shoulder.

Chael Sonnen issues challenge to 'stupid' Tito Ortiz
Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019
Chael Sonnen and Tito Ortiz have already fought once, in January of 2017, but apparently, their beef is not yet settled. Since their first fight, which Ortiz won via first-round submission, the pair have continued to go back and forth, raising question as to whether we might see them fight again.

EXCLUSIVE | For Javy Ayala, beating Frank Mir 'felt amazing'
Cole Shelton - January 5, 2019
Javy Ayala took on former UFC heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend Frank Mir at December’s Bellator Hawaii: Salute The Troops event. Many fans and analysts expected that Mir would emerge victorious when his bout with Ayala was first announced.