MMA News

Tom Taylor - February 15, 2019

Over the last year, Bellator MMA has had Grand Prix fever, promoting action-packed tournaments in its heavyweight and welterweight divisions. According to Bellator president Scott Coker, this exciting trend is likely to continue. In fact, he says Bellator is likely to start hosting one Grand Prix a year.

Drake Riggs - February 14, 2019

UFC 236 is the UFC’s next big event that has… Well, literally nothing known about it yet! With the exception of when it’s happening, that is. The event will go down on April 13. Live from where? We do not know yet. Who will be fighting? Outside of the bantamweight bout between Boston Salmon and Khalid Taha, that also remains a mystery.

Drake Riggs - February 14, 2019

The UFC’s female flyweight division crowned its second-ever champion late last year when Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231. And after a longer layoff than she would have preferred on the road to her title shot, she now looks to be an active fighting champion.

Drake Riggs - February 14, 2019

Former Bellator heavyweight king, the unbeaten 21-0 Vitaly Minakov returns to the Bellator cage this Saturday night at Bellator 216 in Uncasville, Connecticut. However, he won’t be returning without some controversy following him.

Mike Straus - February 14, 2019

This Sunday, the Octagon touches down in the desert, as Cain Velasquez will make his return against Francis Ngannou in the headlining bout of UFC on ESPN 1 in Phoenix. Sure, many fans are going to be tuning in on Sunday to see if Cain Velasquez can return to his former form, but in all honesty, all 13 fights slated for the event are solid. Case in point: former bantamweight champion Renan Barão is competing in the second fight of the night.

Mike Pendleton - February 14, 2019

When you start your professional MMA career with two incredible first-round victories, it’s hard to imagine how things could get any more impressive. Yet for Connecticut’s Mike Kimbel, who earned a highlight-reel slam finish in his first fight and a six-second knockout in his second, things are just getting started. Kimbel has had both of his professional fights come under the Bellator banner in his home state of Connecticut, and his third will be no different.

Tom Taylor - February 14, 2019

This Sunday, in Phoenix, Arizona, former UFC heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou will face the monumental task of welcoming former champion Cain Velasquez back to the cage. The bout will serve as the headliner of the UFC’s first-ever card on ESPN. Heading into this fight, each fighter seems to have a clear set of advantages. Ngannou is believed to posses a major advantage in the power department (it’s been said that he hits as hard as a Ford Escort, though Velasquez doesn’t seem worried). Cain Velasquez, on the other hand, seems like a clear frontrunner in the wrestling department.

Tom Taylor - February 14, 2019

According to a report from ESPN, Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire will move up in weight to challenge lightweight champion Michael Chandler at Bellator 221 on May 11 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The pair’s grudge match will reportedly be officially announced by the promotion in the coming days.

Tom Taylor - February 14, 2019

On Saturday afternoon — mere hours before his scheduled fight with Kelvin Gastelum — UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker was rushed to the hospital for surgery as the result of a collapsed hernia. The champ is now facing a potentially lengthy recovery. Bad news for Gastelum, who is still waiting for his title shot, and surging contender Israel Adesanya, who also deserves a shot at gold. Luckily, Robert Whittaker has a suggestion for these two contenders, should they get bored while he recovers: fight Yoel Romero.

Tom Taylor - February 14, 2019

Years ago, under the Strikeforce banner, Paul Daley and Nick Diaz engaged in one of the greatest one-round fights in MMA history. The two welterweight stars swapped heavy artillery from the opening bell, badly rocking one another until finally, Diaz landed with enough impact to force a permanent end to the mayhem. Today, Paul Daley is gearing up for one of the biggest fights of his career: a Welterweight Grand Prix showdown with his nemesis Michael Page under the Bellator banner.

Tom Taylor - February 14, 2019

In July of 2018, Daniel Cormier ended the record-breaking UFC heavyweight title reign of Stipe Miocic, stealing the champ’s belt with a strafing of first-round punches. Now more than six months later, Stipe Miocic still hasn’t returned to the cage, instead demanding an immediate rematch with the new champion.

Tom Taylor - February 14, 2019

UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and top contender Kelvin Gastelum were supposed to fight in the main event of UFC 234 last weekend. Regrettably, Whittaker was forced out of this bout and hospitalized with a hernia on the very day of the card. Despite his fight being cancelled Kelvin Gastelum still attended this card, and post-event, masqueraded around the arena with a UFC title belt borrowed from flyweight champion Henry Cejudo.

Drake Riggs - February 13, 2019

UFC 234 was looking to be a perfect event on the Friday night prior to. All fighters had weighed in and hit their respective marks in their divisions. Everything was good to go. That was until fight day.

Cole Shelton - February 13, 2019

All the hype surrounding Bellator 216 is about Michael Page vs Paul Daley, and rightfully so. However, another name getting attention is Valerie Loureda, who is set to make her Bellator debut against Colby Fletcher. Loureda, who is just 20-years-old comes from a Taekwondo background and was a big signing for Bellator when it was announced. For Loureda, it was an easy decision to sign with Bellator and continue her MMA journey there.

Chris Taylor - February 13, 2019

Jon Jones will put his newly acquired light heavyweight title on the line in the main event of UFC 235 against surging division contender Anthony Smith. UFC 235 takes place March 2 live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mike Straus - February 13, 2019

It is a great time to be a mixed martial arts fan. With so many exciting events this weekend it can be difficult to catch them all. With that being said, Bellator MMA has not one, but two events this weekend. Friday night will kick off the festivities for the promotion as Bellator 215 invades the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The very next night, the promotion will be back at the Mohegan Sun for Bellator 216.

Tom Taylor - February 13, 2019

Artem Lobov has found a new home. The Conor McGregor training partner has signed a multi-fight deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships (BKFC) — not to be confused with WBKFF. He will make his BKFC debut opposite another fan favorite UFC veteran in Jason “The Kid” Knight on April 20.

Chris Taylor - February 13, 2019

Undefeated UFC middleweight contender Israel Adesanya does not want to see the promotions 185-pound division held up by injured champ Robert Whittaker. Whittaker was supposed to defend his UFC middleweight championship against Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC 234 this past weekend in Australia.