Bellator News

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2019

Patricky Freire secured his place in the final of the Lightweight Grand Prix wit a superb soccer kick knockout over Luiz Gustavo at RIZIN 20. Coming into the event the expectation was that Freire would be viewed as one of the favorites, especially after his dominant quarter-final win over Tatsuya Kawajiri back at RIZIN 19 in October. In the semis earlier this evening he was able to live up to the hype in a big way as he finished Gustavo off in less than half a minute.

Harry Kettle - December 30, 2019

Over the weekend, Bellator made its debut in Japan with an action-packed card. This Bellator Japan card produced some memorable moments, but unfortunately, many of those moments didn’t make it onto our screens, as some segments of the card were not aired outside of Japan.  That included the Bellator Japan postlims. Thankfully, the beauty of the Internet ensured that fans were able to watch the highlights of the postlims from a retrospective point of view.

Thomas Taylor - December 29, 2019

On Saturday night, in the main event of Bellator MMA’s debut in Japan, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rampage Jackson was knocked out by fellow PRIDE legend Fedor Emelianenko. The fight-ending punch occurred at the 2:44 mark of round one, and admittedly didn’t look like it made all that severe of an impact. The nature of the punch caused some of MMA’s more suspicious fans to suggest that Rampage had intentionally taken a fall in the fight.

Thomas Taylor - December 29, 2019

Former UFC fighter Daron Cruickshank has found himself under fire after racist comments he made during an April visit to Japan have come to light. Cruickshank, who previously competed in the UFC lightweight division, has spent the last few years of his career fighting for Japan’s RIZIN Fighting Federation. During an April visit to Japan, the former UFC fighter made some controversial comments, suggesting that Japanese people eat dogs.

Adam D Martin - December 29, 2019

Bellator president Scott Coker said that welterweight contender Lorenz Larkin will get a pass for missing weight at Bellator Japan and could get a title shot next. Larkin weighed in at 173.5lbs for his fight against fellow UFC alum Keita Nakamura on the main card. Larkin went on to dominate the bout en route to winning a lopsided unanimous decision, but the fact he missed weight made some believe he would be knocked down the title shot pecking order for Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima’s belt.

Adam D Martin - December 29, 2019

Bellator president Scott Coker said that Fedor Emelianenko reaffirmed his status as the MMA GOAT with his win at Bellator Japan. Emelianenko knocked out fellow legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the first round with punches in what is likely the last time he will fight at the storied Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, where the Russian starred for many years as the PRIDE heavyweight champion.

Adam D Martin - December 29, 2019

Check out what the pros had to say following Michael Page and Michael Chandler’s huge knockout wins on the Bellator Japan card. Page knocked out former UFC welterweight Shinsho Anzai in a catchweight bout. Here’s what some of the pros had to say about his performance.

Adam D Martin - December 29, 2019

Michael “Venom” Page responded to the critics calling him a can crusher following his second-round KO win over Shinsho Anzai at Bellator Japan. Since getting knocked out by Douglas Lima back in June, Page has defeated little-known opponents in Anzai, Giovanni Melillo and Richard Kiely in his last three fights. As impressive as he looked in those victories, the fact they were such a big step down in competition has led critics to call Page a “can crusher.”

Adam D Martin - December 29, 2019

Bellator heavyweight legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has reacted following his first-round KO loss to Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator Japan. Jackson took on Emelianenko in the main event featuring two of the legends of PRIDE. It was expected to be a competitive battle between two heavy-hitting heavyweight sluggers, but Emelianenko proved he was the superior fighter as he outstruck Jackson for the first few minutes of the fight before landing the decisive knockout blow at 2:44 of the first round.

Chris Taylor - December 28, 2019

Mixed Martial Arts legends Fedor Emelianenko and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson squared off in a heavyweight contest in tonight’s Bellator Japan headliner. ‘The Last Emperor’ entered tonight’s contest looking to rebound, this after suffering a first round knockout loss to Ryan Bader in his most previous effort at Bellator 214.

Chris Taylor - December 28, 2019

A heavyweight fight between MMA legends Fedor Emelianenko and Rampage Jackson headlines tonight’s Bellator Japan event. Fedor Emelianenko (38-6 MMA) will be looking to rebound after suffering a first round knockout loss to Ryan Bader in his most recent appearance at Bellator 214.

Cole Shelton - December 28, 2019

Douglas Lima has his eyes set on becoming a Bellator champ-champ before he decides to grant anyone a rematch. Lima, who is the current Bellator welterweight champion after beating Rory MacDonald, recently said that he is going after middleweight gold. And, after that, he plans to grant a rematch to the winner of Lorenz Larkin vs. Michael Page.