Bellator News

Josh Evanoff - December 26, 2024

Bellator light-heavyweight champion Corey Anderson has taken aim at the PFL. Over the last few weeks, the Donn Davis-led company has come under heavy fire. When the PFL bought Bellator last fall, there was a lot of optimism and excitement from the MMA world. Within a few weeks, they revealed a brand new streaming deal with HBO Max and a loaded schedule for 2024. Sadly, many of those events failed to come to fruition.

Josh Evanoff - December 26, 2024

Former Bellator heavyweight and current AEW wrestler Bobby Lashley wants another fight. The 48-year-old professional wrestler is one of many names who made the jump to MMA over the years. Having a background in amateur wrestling, Bobby Lashley sought out a career in the cage after being released from the WWE in 2008. Over the next two years, he compiled an impressive 4-0 record on the regional scene.

Josh Evanoff - December 20, 2024

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull has responded to PFL founder Donn Davis. As many fans have likely noticed over the last few weeks, Bellator fighters aren’t happy. Last fall, the PFL and Donn Davis bought the longtime Viacom brand and promised to honor the roster’s contracts. Quickly, the company announced a new streaming deal with HBO Max and revealed a massive schedule for 2024.

Josh Evanoff - December 16, 2024

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull is ready to head to the UFC. The Brazilian hasn’t been seen in the cage since a clash with Jeremy Kennedy in March at Bellator Champions Series 1. The bout was the first title defense, of his third stint with featherweight gold and he made it look easy. In round three, Patricio Pitbull put ‘The Bandit’ away with a devastating combination to earn a knockout win.

Josh Evanoff - December 5, 2024

Bellator champions Patricio Pitbull and Patchy Mix have become the latest to request a release. It’s been just over a year since Donn Davis and the PFL bought Bellator. When the deal was first announced, there was a lot of excitement among fighters, because of what they were told. PFL executives including Davis promised fighters the opportunity to compete in either the tournament format, or hop over to Bellator and fight in one-off events.

Fernando Quiles - November 24, 2024

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire is not happy with how the PFL-Bellator merger has played out. Freire is the reigning Bellator featherweight champion. Frustration looms with the titleholder, however, as he hasn’t fought since March. Freire, like many other Bellator fighters, have grown tired of waiting for fights since the acquisition by PFL.

Josh Evanoff - November 20, 2024

Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov will meet Paul Hughes in Dubai. ‘Big News’ is fresh off his return to the PFL cage last month in Saudi Arabia. There, Paul Hughes met former Bellator featherweight champion A.J. McKee in a lightweight title eliminator. ‘Mercenary’ was considered the Irishman’s biggest test of his career, and he passed the test with flying colors.

Harry Kettle - October 21, 2024

Bellator star Paul Hughes wants Conor McGregor in his corner for a possible title shot against Usman Nurmagomedov. Last weekend, Paul Hughes made an emphatic statement. In his battle with AJ McKee at PFL: Battle of the Giants, he was able to put in the performance of a lifetime. He dropped the favorite and hurt him on multiple occasions, eventually riding his way to a split decision win. Now, many believe the natural next step is for him to challenge Bellator champion Usman Nurmagomedov for the belt.

Curtis Calhoun - October 8, 2024

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier feels the UFC is the only MMA promotion in which athletes truly have an opportunity to achieve a superstar fame level. Cormier sat cage-side as UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira defeated Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307. Pereira defended the belt for the third time in just seven months and rallied from early adversity to finish Rountree.

Josh Evanoff - October 3, 2024

Next month’s Bellator Paris card headlined by Patchy Mix vs. Leandro Higo has been canceled. ‘No Love’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since a split-decision victory over Magomed Magomedov in May. That victory was Patchy Mix’s first defense of his Bellator bantamweight title and moved him to 20-1 as a professional. Following the victory, the champion was booked opposite Leandro Higo for next month in France.

Josh Evanoff - September 19, 2024

Paul Hughes is angling for a fight with Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov. ‘Big News’ is still early on in his tenure with PFL and Bellator. Paul Hughes famously chose to sign with Donn Davis and the promotion, over Dana White and the UFC earlier this year. In his promotional debut earlier this summer, the Irishman scored a second-round knockout victory over Bobby King.

Fernando Quiles - September 13, 2024

Yaroslav Amosov, a former Bellator welterweight champion, has announced his departure from Bellator MMA and is teasing a UFC run. Amosov had been with Bellator since the summer of 2018. He went on a tear under the promotion, going 8-1. Along the way, the Ukrainian bruiser became Bellator’s 170-pound champion with one successful title defense and a unification win. He suffered the first loss of his pro MMA career after being stopped by Jason Jackson in late 2023.

Fernando Quiles - September 8, 2024

Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov believes he is the future of MMA. Nurmagomedov put his 155-pound hardware at stake against Alexandr Shabliy in the main event of Bellator Champions Series 4 this past Saturday. The Dagestan bruiser earned a unanimous decision win to maintain his hold on the gold and improve his pro MMA record to 18-0, 1 NC.

Harry Kettle - September 8, 2024

Lorenz Larkin picked up a huge win over Levan Chokheli last night in their battle at Bellator San Diego. Over the course of the last 15 years, Lorenz Larkin has served as an interesting case study in mixed martial arts. For the longest time, he was viewed as someone who has the potential to be a real superstar. In equal measure, some of his appearances inside the cage didn’t quite live up to the hype.

Harry Kettle - September 4, 2024

MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov believes his cousin Usman Nurmagomedov is the future of the sport. As we know, it’s been an interesting time for Usman Nurmagomedov as of late. While he may be a world champion in Bellator, he’s also had to deal with a suspected doping violation. Despite that, he is set to return to the cage this weekend when he defends his crown against Alexandr Shabliy.

Josh Evanoff - September 3, 2024

Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards 2 has been removed from Bellator London. The two met in the main event of Bellator 299 last September. There, Fabian Edwards gave the undefeated middleweight champion arguably the toughest test of his career. However, the striker wound up being badly knocked out in round three. Post-fight, Johnny Eblen got into a confrontation with then-UFC champion, Leon Edwards in a wild scene.

Curtis Calhoun - July 23, 2024

Bellator bantamweight titleholder Patchy Mix will face a new contender for his upcoming title defense in Paris. As announced in a Tuesday press release, Bellator Champions Series: Paris on November 16th will feature a Mix vs. Leandro Higo headliner. Mix last defended the belt in a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender against Magomed Magomedov in May.

Curtis Calhoun - July 10, 2024

Former Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima will make his return to the cage at 185lbs after his rocky relationship with the PFL was repaired. Lima will face middleweight contender Aaron Jeffery at Bellator Champions Series: San Diego on September 7th. He returns to the cage following a 16-month hiatus, stemming from his unanimous decision win over Costello Van Steenis at Bellator 296.