Bellator News

Tom Taylor - September 20, 2017

This Saturday, Bellator MMA will return to San Jose, California with Bellator 183. The card is a pretty stacked one. In the main event, we’ll see former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson take on long-time Bellator staple Patricky Freire. In the co-main event, meanwhile, we’ll see a pair of knockout-addicted UFC veterans collide, as England’s Paul Daley takes on recent Bellator title challenger Lorenz Larkin. Elsewhere on the card, we’ll witness the Bellator debut of former UFC heavyweight Roy “Big Country” Nelson, who takes on Javy Ayala.

Russell Ess - September 19, 2017

Bellator will be using their 'Flying Cage' for #Bellator183 & Bellator Kickboxing 7 on Saturday. Here's a look at the flying cage in action: pic.twitter.com/6ihLQPNxm2 — Simon Head (@simonhead) September 19, 2017

bjpenndotcom - July 19, 2017

This past weekend at Bellator 181, Brandon Girtz stepped into the cage for a highly anticipated rubber match with Derek Campos. That trilogy saw the two men tied at 1 win apiece, as Campos won the pair’s first fight by unanimous decision in 2013, before Girtz then evened the score in 2015 as he knocked Campos out in the first round. This past weekend in the pair’s trilogy fight, Campos picked up a 2nd round TKO win after the doctor stopped the fight due to a horrendous cut on Girtz forehead, a cut that many quickly realized looked like the Michael Jordan ‘Jumpman’ logo.

Chris Taylor - July 14, 2017

Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and perennial middleweight contender Gegard Mousasi will make his Bellator MMA debut this October. Bellator officials broke the news during tonight’s broadcast on Spike TV stating that Gegard Mousasi (42-6-2 MMA) will make is promotional debut against former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko (56-9 MMA) on October 20 live from the Mohegan Sun Casino.

bjpenndotcom - May 20, 2017

Wow. Paul Daley just went for Michael Page in the front row and they had a scuffle. Pandemonium. #Bellator179 pic.twitter.com/hhA2usDDgN — Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) May 19, 2017

bjpenndotcom - May 19, 2017

Former UFC welterweight veteran Rory MacDonald stepped into the Bellator MMA cage for the first time on May 19th in the United Kingdom as he fought heavy handed knockout artist Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley. Going into the fight, there was much question about where MacDonald, a fighter who was near the pinnacle of combat sports when he fought for the UFC welterweight title, would fall in the Bellator MMA rankings. When the ‘Red King’ stepped into the Octagon with Daley, he was all business as he dominated the fight in the first round, controlling Daley on the ground and negating his knockout ability. In the second round it was more of the same as MacDonald quickly took Daley down. This time however, rather than dominate Daley throughout the entire round, MacDonald secured a rear naked choke, securing his first Bellator MMA win.

Tom Taylor - April 22, 2017

Last night, Bellator MMA touched down in the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut with Bellator 178. The card produced a handful of truly impressive finishes. One of the more impressive finishes on the card was dealt by rising featherweight prospect, AJ McKee, who is the son of MMA veteran Antonio McKee. The younger McKee authored his win with a partially blocked, second round head kick. This thunderous kick, which occurred just 1:15 into the first round,  sent his foe Dominic Mazzotta careening to the mat in an unconscious heap.

Tom Taylor - April 22, 2017

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, Bellator MMA is on the verge of signing another former UFC title challenger. That title challenger is Canada’s Valérie Létourneau, who fought for the UFC strawweight title in 2015, putting forth a valiant effort against dominant champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Létourneau is currently on an unfortunate, three-fight losing streak, having dropped this fight to Jedrzejczyk, succumbed to strikes dealt by Joanne Calderwood, and given up a razor-thin decision to Viviane Pereira back in December. After these losses, she was released by the promotion.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2017

When streaking middleweight contender Gegard Mousasi stepped into the Octagon with Chris Weidman at last Saturday’s UFC 210, it marked the final obligation on his current UFC contract. Though it was not without controversy, he was able to win this final contracted fight, and will now be able to test free agency as one of the hottest middleweights in the world. This weekend, when the UFC returns to Fox, streaking Brazilian middleweight contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will look to follow in Mousasi’s footsteps, closing out his current contract with a win over the dangerous Robert Whittaker.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2017

Back in May of 2016, Brazil’s Rafael Carvalho scored a controversial split decision win over Dutch kickboxing specialist Melvin Manhoef, defending the Bellator middleweight strap in the process. Given that many fans and pundits believed Manhoef should have gotten the nod in this fight, Bellator then pencilled the two middleweights in for a rematch – though this rematch occurred a little later than planned.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2017

The last 12 months have been massive ones for Bellator. To recount, the number-two MMA promotion has picked up notable free agents such as: former UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson, former UFC light heavyweight contender Phil Davis, former UFC heavyweight contender Matt Mitrione, heavyweight veteran Sergei Kharitonov, former UFC title challenger Rory MacDonald, Pride legend Wanderlei Silva, beloved trash talker Chael Sonnen, heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko, former UFC welterweight contender Lorenz Larkin, former UFC light heavyweight contender Ryan Bader, former UFC bantamweight title challenger Michael McDonald…. exhale…

bjpenndotcom - April 1, 2017

https://twitter.com/mma_movement/status/847999241691725824 Friday night on the main card of Bellator 175, heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov picked up one of the most devastating and impressive knockout wins in recent Bellator memory.

Chris Taylor - March 26, 2017

Bellator MMA has signed another former UFC title challenger. The UFC’s top rival, Bellator MMA, has been scooping up a ton of talent in the past several months including Benson Henderson, Josh Thomson, Matt Mitrione, Phil Davis, Rory MacDonald, Chael Sonnen, Wanderlei Silva and Ryan Bader, just to name a few.

Tom Taylor - March 26, 2017

Next Friday, in the main event of Bellator 175, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will step onto the canvas for a heavyweight bout with rival Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. The bout will be a rematch of a 2014 light heavyweight contest, and it stands out as one of the biggest fights of Rampage’s already impressive Bellator career.

Chris Taylor - March 24, 2017

Bellator MMA has added two title fights to their blockbuster pay-per-view card set for June 24 in New York City. The first championship bout announced for the card was a welterweight title fight featuring champion Douglas Lima taking on promotional newcomer Lorenz “Da Monsoon” Larkin.

Chris Taylor - March 24, 2017

Bellator MMA just released the first poster for their blockbuster pay-per-view event in New York City which takes place June 24 at the historic Madison Square Garden Arena. The event is headlined by a grudge match between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva that has been years in the making.

bjpenndotcom - February 24, 2017

UFC veteran Dan Hardy, who was recently cleared to return to the UFC after being sidelined with a heart condition for nearly 5 years, found himself in the crosshairs of Bellator MMA after he questioned the legitimacy of the Bellator 170 Chael Sonnen vs. Tito Ortiz fight. At a recent press conference, Bellator MMA President Scott Coker alluded to Hardy’s comments, stating that if people question the legitimacy of Bellator’s fights, Bellator’s parent company, Viacom, could get involved with their legal team.

Russell Ess - February 23, 2017

Bellator MMA and the UFC are now throwing down in the courtroom after a lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, according to Sporting News. Bellator MMA’s lawsuit against the UFC stems from a class-action lawsuit that was filed against the UFC in 2014 by a group of mixed martial arts fighters that claimed the UFC was guilty of violating antitrust laws. The UFC’s lawyers filed subpoenas to obtain contracts and financial information from fighters competing for other MMA organizations, particularly Bellator’s confidential contracts and financial information, in an effort to prove that the UFC is treating their fighters the same, if not better than the other competing organizations.