Bellator News

Cole Shelton - March 19, 2024

Jeremy Kennedy jumped at the chance to face Patricio Pitbull at Bellator Belfast on Friday. Kennedy was originally supposed to fight James Gallagher on Friday night, but after Pitbull’s fight at the PFL vs. Bellator event was canceled, he wanted to fight ASAP so the promotion elevated Kennedy to a title fight.

Josh Evanoff - March 19, 2024

HBO Max will now be the exclusive home of Bellator MMA moving forward. It’s been a hectic few months for the brand that used to be led by Scott Coker. Late last year, Bellator was sold by Viacom to the PFL and Donn Davis. Quickly, the likes of Coker left the company, but the company itself wasn’t going anywhere. After the purchase last year, Davis revealed plans to run both companies as separate entities.

Cole Shelton - March 19, 2024

The 157th episode of Just Scrap Radio with host Cole Shelton is live to preview UFC Vegas 89 and Bellator Belfast. We’re first joined by Bellator featherweight Jeremy Kennedy (1:09). Next, UFC featherweight Julian Erosa (18:19) comes on. Finally, UFC lightweight Kurt Holobaugh (36:37) closes out the program.

Cole Shelton - March 14, 2024

Gilbert Melendez and former Bellator president Scott Coker have teamed up to create a new MMA promotion. Coker stepped away from MMA after the Bellator and PFL merger, but he is now returning to the game. Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Melendez is starting his own MMA promotion in California and has brought along Coker to help him out. No fights have been announced for the event yet, but it is expected that the card will see both veterans and prospects on it.

Josh Evanoff - February 29, 2024

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull will be returning on March 22nd in Ireland. The Brazilian has had a rough 12 months. Patricio Pitbull has been out of action since a knockout loss to Chihiro Suzuki at Super RIZIN 2 last July, the first knockout loss of his entire career. The defeat was the second in a row for the Bellator star, previously losing to Sergio Pettis that June down at bantamweight.

Cole Shelton - February 24, 2024

We have you covered for all of today’s PFL vs Bellator card, including the main event which features PFL heavyweight chap Renan Ferreira facing Bellator heavyweight champ Ryan Bader, with the winner getting the chance to fight Francis Ngannou next. Ferreira (12-3 and three No Contests) is coming off a second-round knockout win over Denis Goltsov in November to win the 2023 PFL heavyweight season. The Brazilian is 6-1 with three No Contests in PFL as he has notable wins over Maurice Greene, Matheus Scheffel, and Jamelle Jones among others in his career.

Cole Shelton - February 24, 2024

We have you covered for all of today’s PFL vs Bellator card, including the co-main event fight between Johnny Eblen and Impa Kasanganay. Johnny Eblen (14-0) is the current Bellator middleweight champion and coming off a third-round TKO win over Fabian Edwards to defend his title for the second time. Eblen won the title back in June of 2022 when he beat Gegard Mousasi by a lopsided decision. In his career, he holds notable wins over John Salter, Anatoly Tokov, and Collin Huckbody.

Cole Shelton - February 24, 2024

We have you covered for all of today’s PFL vs Bellator card, including an intriguing main card scrap between Yoel Romero and Thiago Santos. Thiago Santos (22-11 and one No Contest) is coming off a decision loss to Rob Wilkinson back in April in his PFL debut which was later overturned to a No Contest after the Aussie failed a drug test. Before that, the Brazilian suffered a TKO loss to Jamahal Hill and a decision loss to Magomed Ankalaev.

Josh Evanoff - February 22, 2024

Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen has high stakes heading into his return this weekend. ‘The Human Cheat Code’ is widely viewed as one of the greatest fighters outside of the UFC today. Last September, Johnny Eblen moved to 14-0 with a dominant knockout win over Fabian Edwards in the Bellator cage. Following the victory, he traded words with his opponent’s brother, Leon Edwards, in a moment that quickly went viral.

Josh Evanoff - February 20, 2024

The PFL vs. Bellator card is now finalized and features the return of Patricio Pitbull. Last November, the PFL completed their long-awaited buyout of Bellator. For most of 2023, there were discussions about the Scott Coker-led brand being bought. In the end, Donn Davis and the company decided that a roster containing the likes of the aforementioned Patricio Pitbull and Cris Cyborg was too good to pass up.

Harry Kettle - February 20, 2024

A new championship belt has been revealed for the upcoming PFL vs Bellator Champions series ahead of Saturday night. For a while now, fight fans have been getting excited over the prospect of PFL fighters battling Bellator fighters after the recent acquisition. This weekend, we’ll see the first major PFL vs Bellator Champions event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Harry Kettle - February 17, 2024

Bellator champion Ryan Bader believes a rematch against Jon Jones would go differently at heavyweight. Way back in 2011, Jon Jones and Ryan Bader clashed at light heavyweight. It was billed as an encounter that would determine who the next rising contender really is at 205 pounds, and Jones came out on top with a nice submission finish.

Josh Evanoff - January 30, 2024

Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg appears to be unhappy with the PFL. It’s been a weird month or so for the legendary Brazilian. At the start of the month, Cris Cyborg was eyeing a potential bout with longtime rival Kayla Harrison for later this year. In the meantime, she booked a boxing match against Kelsey Wickstrum, the third of her career.

Harry Kettle - January 23, 2024

The upcoming PFL vs Bellator pay-per-view has lost a major welterweight showdown, according to a recent report. On February 24, we will see a blockbuster PFL vs Bellator: Champions event go down in Saudi Arabia. It serves as the first major show of this kind since PFL purchased Bellator, and both promotions are bringing their A-game when it comes to the actual card.

Susan Cox - January 16, 2024

Several bouts have been announced for the PFL vs. Bellator event, including Yoel Romero vs. Thiago Santos. The much-anticipated PFL vs. Bellator event is set for Saturday, February 24th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Josh Evanoff - January 11, 2024

The reported Bellator vs. PFL card slated for February 24th is now adding fights. In November, the Viacom-owned company was bought out by the PFL. With that, it marked a departure for figures such as Scott Coker, and others. However, Donn Davis and others plan to keep running Bellator as a separate entity and keep holding events for the foreseeable future.

Cole Shelton - December 18, 2023

UFC CEO Dana White says Bellator merging into PFL is a bad thing for MMA and the sport as a whole. Bellator was recently purchased by PFL as the two companies will merge into one. However, Bellator will continue under a “reimagined” system at PFL called the Bellator International Champions Series. The Bellator series will include eight events per year with each card featuring two title fights at the top.

Josh Evanoff - December 7, 2023

Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler is a bit sad to see their recent sale to the PFL. ‘Iron’ is now one of the UFC’s biggest stars and most entertaining fighters. Although, Michael Chandler hasn’t been seen in the cage since a submission loss to Dustin Poirier well over a year ago. Now, the former Bellator champion has been stuck on the sidelines, waiting for a long-awaited fight with Conor McGregor.