Bellator News

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 26, 2023

Bellator Welterweight Champion Yaroslav Amosov believes he’s the clear-cut best 170-pounder in the world. Amosov is fresh off a dominant unanimous decision victory over Logan Storley to successfully retain the Bellator gold. Former UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman was building a reputation as the best welterweight in the world by a large margin, but after he was knocked out by Leon Edwards back in August 2022, the gap has been closing for some fans and experts.

Josh Evanoff - February 21, 2023

Former Bellator champion Brent Primus is heading to the lightweight Grand Prix. The 37-year-old has been out of action since a unanimous decision defeat to Alexander Shabliy last June. That defeat was a brutal one for Primus, as it sent any title shot plans down the drain for the former titleholder. It also helped keep him out of the upcoming lightweight Grand Prix.

Harry Kettle - February 16, 2023

Bellator is set to return to Hawaii for the fourth time in five years this April, as per a report from KHON2. While the Ultimate Fighting Championship may not have made Hawaii its home, the same can’t be said for Bellator. Over the course of the last few years, the promotion has made a real effort to build a following there.

Josh Evanoff - February 7, 2023

Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader is hoping that he can share the cage with Francis Ngannou. ‘Darth’ returned over the weekend in the main event of Bellator 290. In the headliner, Bader faced Fedor Emelianenko in a rematch of their 2019 meeting. In the finals of the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix four years prior, ‘The Last Emperor’ lost by first-round stoppage.

Josh Evanoff - February 6, 2023

Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader made much more than reported on Saturday night. ‘Darth’ returned over the weekend at Bellator 290 against Fedor Emelianenko. The bout was actually a rematch of their prior clash in the finals of the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix. In that January 2019 outing, Bader won by first-round knockout.

Susan Cox - February 6, 2023

Josh Thomson is responding to the backlash over the disclosed fight purses for Bellator 290 fighters. Bellator 290 took place this past weekend, Saturday, February 4th at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California where the main event featured heavyweights Ryan Bader (31-7 MMA) and Fedor Emelianenko (40-7 MMA) battle it out in the cage. The outcome was a first round TKO victory for ‘Darth’. The two had previously met back in 2019 at Bellator 214 where Bader was also the victor.

Harry Kettle - February 6, 2023

Bellator president Scott Coker has named the fighters he would have liked to see Fedor Emelianenko battle prior to his retirement. Last Saturday night, Fedor Emelianenko finally retired from mixed martial arts at the age of 46. ‘The Last Emperor’ fell to Ryan Bader, losing via first round TKO in their Bellator heavyweight title rematch.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 5, 2023

Bellator 290 is in the books and disclosed fighter purses have rolled out. The event was held inside the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. Headlining the show was a Bellator Heavyweight Championship clash, which also happened to be the final fight in the pro MMA career of Fedor Emelianenko. Ryan Bader defeated Emelianenko via first-round TKO to retain the gold. The co-main event also featured a title fight. Johnny Eblen successfully defended the Bellator Middleweight Championship against Anatoly Tokov via unanimous decision. The main card opened up with a welterweight collision between Brennan Ward and Sabah Homasi. Ward scored the second-round TKO victory.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 5, 2023

Fedor Emelianenko took his final bow at Bellator 290, and he has spoken out following his rematch with Ryan Bader. Emelianenko and Bader collided inside the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California this past Saturday night (February 4). “Darth” was putting the Bellator Heavyweight Championship on the line. Ultimately, Bader successfully retained the gold via first-round TKO. The Bellator 290 main event was the final fight in Emelianenko’s farewell tour.

Chris Taylor - February 4, 2023

Tonight’s Bellator 290 main event featured a heavyweight title fight rematch between Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader. The MMA legend and arguably greatest heavyweight of all time, Emelianenko (40-7 MMA), was making his final cage appearance this evening. ‘The Last Emperor‘ entered the matchup coming off back-to-back first-round knockout victories over Timothy Johnson and Quinton Jackson. Those wins were preceded by a TKO loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 214, in a bout that had lasted just 35-seconds.

Chris Taylor - February 4, 2023

Tonight’s Bellator 290 main event features a heavyweight title fight rematch between Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader. The MMA legend and arguably greatest heavyweight of all time, Emelianenko (40-6 MMA), will be making his final cage appearance this evening. ‘The Last Emperor‘ is coming off back-to-back first-round knockout victories over Timothy Johnson and Quinton Jackson in his most recent efforts. Those wins were preceded by a TKO loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 214, in a bout that lasted just 35-seconds.

Chris Taylor - February 4, 2023

The cage returns to Inglewood, California, for tonight’s Bellator 290 event, a 14-bout fight card headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader 2. The MMA legend and arguably greatest heavyweight of all time, Emelianenko (40-6 MMA), will be making his final cage appearance this evening. ‘The Last Emperor‘ is coming off back-to-back first-round knockout victories over Timothy Johnson and Quinton Jackson in his most recent efforts. Those wins were preceded by a TKO loss to Ryan Bader at Bellator 214, in a bout that lasted just 35-seconds.

Zain Bando - February 2, 2023

Fedor Emelianenko will enter an MMA cage for what will presumably be his final fight — a heavyweight championship rematch with former UFC light heavyweight and TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader at Bellator 290 Saturday. ‘Darth’ took down Emelianenko with a TKO finish in their first encounter a few years back. A victory for the Arizona native will seal the deal on one of Bellator’s biggest rivalries and solidify Bader’s place as one of the best fighters in promotional history.

Cole Shelton - February 2, 2023

Max Rohskopf will finally make his Bellator debut on Saturday at Bellator 290. Rohskopf was supposed to make his debut last October but on the day of the fight, he was scratched from the card after not being cleared by the commission. Rohskopf was frustrated by that as he says he was cleared by three separate doctors to compete.

bjpenndotcom - February 2, 2023

It’s the start of the year 2023 and Bellator is already kicking off the year with one of the most exciting matches in the Middleweight division. The fighters are ready to score up a notch in their ranking or defend their championship belts! Bellator 290 is fast approaching and is set to showcase 2 World Title Bouts on February 4, 2023, in KIA Forum, Los Angeles, California USA. The current Middleweight Champion, Johnny Eblen will be defending his championship belt against the current number 3 in the middleweight ranking, Anatoly Tokov. Johnny Eblen snatched the middleweight championship belt against the former champion, Gegard Mousasi in a unanimous decision fight in Bellator 282. On the other hand, Anatoly Tokov won over Muhammad Abdullah in dominant technical knockout punches in the first round of the same event, Bellator 282.

Harry Kettle - February 2, 2023

Bellator president Scott Coker has revealed that he’s in talks with Luke Rockhold over possibly working together again. Following his decision loss to Paulo Costa last summer, Luke Rockhold appeared to walk away from mixed martial arts. At the very least, it was clear to see he wouldn’t be fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship anymore.

Cole Shelton - February 1, 2023

In the main event of Bellator 290, the heavyweight title is up for grabs as Ryan Bader rematches Fedor Emelianenko, in the Russian’s retirement fight. Heading into the fight, Bader is a -330 favorite while the Russian is a +275 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are unanimous in thinking Bader gets his hand raised again but many are rooting for Emelianenko to get the win.

Cole Shelton - January 31, 2023

Ryan Bader thinks Cain Velasquez is the best heavyweight ever. The heavyweight GOAT is one many have no clear-cut answer on, as some think it is Velasquez while others lean towards Fedor Emelianenko or even Stipe Miocic. Yet Bader believes Emelianenko’s resume is the best out of anyone but he thinks Velasquez was the most skilled.