Bellator News

Tom Taylor - September 24, 2017

Last night, Bellator MMA returned to San Jose, California with the stacked Bellator 183. In the card’s main event, we watched former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson collide with long-time Bellator lightweight contender Patricky “Pitbull” Freire. As is so often the case when it comes to Benson Henderson fights, this one was incredibly close. For three rounds, we watched Henderson relentlessly pursue the takedown, effectively shutting down Pitbull’s offense as he did, while Pitbull denied all of those takedown attempts, depriving Henderson of the opportunity to rack up points in the judges’ eyes.

Tom Taylor - September 20, 2017

When former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald joined the Bellator family in August of 2016, he was expected to get an immediate title shot. Instead, however, he was booked for a May 2017 scrap with British knockout artist Paul Daley. When MacDonald won this battle with Daley with a second-round submission, he seemed to erase any doubt that he deserved the next shot at Bellator welterweight king Douglas Lima. Unfortunately, he then went months without a fight offer, which caused him to grow frustrated with his new employers, and even begin discussing a possible super fight with former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler.

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

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.

Tom Taylor - June 6, 2017

The roster of Bellator MMA – the world’s second biggest MMA promotion – has improved a great deal over the last year or two. The promotion has injected a tremendous amount of talent into its heavyweight division, picking up free agents like Matt Mitrione, Fedor Emelianenko, Sergei Kharitonov, and most recently, Roy Nelson. The promotion has turned its light heavyweight division into an absolute must-watch, picking up names like Phil Davis, Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen, Ryan Bader, Alessio Sakara, and Satoshi Ishii.

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

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

Yesterday afternoon, in a statement to BJPenn.com, UFC featherweight star Cris “Cyborg” Justino discussed her current inactivity, her hopes for a UFC 214 fight with reigning featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie, and her intention to fight out her current UFC contract and ‘re-evaluate the situation.’ “If [Germaine de Randamie] is not healthy enough to fight at UFC 214 in Anaheim, I don’t want an interim belt,” Cyborg said in this statement. “When the UFC asked me last January to fight her for the belt, I explained to them I would, but needed a March date because my body was still recovering from two weight cuts to 140lbs. So I know what it is like to want to accept the fight, but needing additional time to heal.”

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.

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.

bjpenndotcom - March 29, 2017

Bellator MMA has gone on a string of signings recently, acquiring several former UFC standouts, including Rory MacDonald, Lorenz Larkin, and Michael ‘Mayday’ McDonald to name just a few of the recent Bellator MMA signings that have come from the UFC. According to Bellator MMA President Scott Coker, the UFC’s deal with Reebok has been rather beneficial to Bellator MMA given the dissatisfaction among fighters over the deal.

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 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.

Tom Taylor - March 9, 2017

Last weekend, Bellator MMA touched down in Thackerville, Oklahoma with Bellator 174. In the card’s main event, we saw Dutch veteran Marloes Coenen and streaking Canadian Julia Budd battle for the historic honor of becoming Bellator’s first ever women’s featherweight champion. Though Coenen demonstrated plenty of heart and veteran savvy over the course of this fight, this one was really all Budd, who thumped her foe to a fourth-round TKO win. With this win, Budd returned to her native Canada with Bellator gold, and a place in the MMA history books as the promotion’s first-ever women’s featherweight queen.