Bellator News

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.

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

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

bjpenndotcom - February 18, 2017

Breaking news surfaced Saturday afternoon that Bellator MMA heavyweight Matt Mitrione has been forced out of his Bellator 172 headlining fight against MMA icon Fedor Emelianenko. According to reports from Ariel Helwani, Matt Mitrione fell ill prior to his fight against ‘The Last Emperor’ and as a result the fight has been cancelled.

bjpenndotcom - February 9, 2017

In surprising news, Bellator MMA CEO Scott Coker has revealed that accusations of potential Bellator fixed fights have been passed on to the promotion’s parent company, Viacom. The promotion has been scrutinized on several occasions for what viewers believe to be fights ending with questionable stoppages. Most recently, UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz submitted Chael Sonnen with a rear naked choke that many viewers believed to only be partially sunken in. That combined with footage of Ortiz allegedly making a discreet sign to Sonnen that quickly led to the fight ending grappling exchange, have been enough for viewers to question the legitimacy of the bout.