Bellator News

Adam D Martin - June 6, 2021

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero says that he wants to “kill somebody” in his Bellator debut later this summer. Romero was released by the UFC earlier this year in a surprise decision, but he quickly landed with Bellator MMA and was poised to fight Anthony Johnson in the first round of the Bellator World Light Heavyweight Grand Prix. However, Romero was forced out of the tournament due to a medical issue, which has pushed back his Bellator debut. According to Romero, he is now feeling better and is expected to make his Bellator debut soon.

Drake Riggs - May 26, 2021

Out of all the opponents Cris “Cyborg” Justino has fought in her career, Miesha Tate never wound up being one of them. The former UFC bantamweight champion in Tate is currently set to make her return to MMA action after a five-year retirement. However, it seemed as if she and Cyborg had a real possibility of testing themselves against one another.

Andrew Whitelaw - May 25, 2021

Michael Venom Page is keen to test his skills in the UFC. The 34 year old has spent the majority of his career competing at Bellator, but admitted that the prospect of fighting in the UFC is the reason he got into MMA. As reported by Adam Martin, Page spoke to Michael Bisping on his ‘Believe you me’ podcast, Page said,

Drake Riggs - May 25, 2021

Valerie Loureda hasn’t gone up or down in the official Bellator rankings after suffering her first career defeat at Bellator 259 against Hannah Guy. The 22-year old Taekwondo specialist went into last Friday night’s Bellator 259 event with a perfect 3-0 record. Loureda once again welcomed a newcomer to the promotional in fellow prospect Hannah Guy.

Chris Taylor - May 24, 2021

Valerie Loureda has shared an injury update following her first career loss at Bellator 259, this while providing her haters with a booty shake. Loureda (3-1 MMA) had entered Friday’s bout with Hannah Guy (3-1 MMA) looking to build off her impressive knockout victory over Tara Graff from Bellator 243.

Adam D Martin - May 24, 2021

Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg wants to fight Cat Zingano next, but the promotion’s top executive Scott Coker is unsure. Cyborg picked up a fifth-round TKO win over Leslie Smith in the main event of Bellator 259 last Friday night to improve to a perfect 3-0 under the Bellator banner. Following the win, Cyborg requested that she fight Zingano next in a battle of former UFC fighters. Zingano is 2-0 in Bellator so far and has overall looked solid in the promotion, and it would be a fresh matchup for Cyborg if Bellator makes it. But at this point, it’s not a guarantee it’s booked.

Chris Taylor - May 22, 2021

Valerie Loureda has issued a statement after suffering her first career loss to Hannah Guy at last night’s Bellator 259 event in Uncasville. Loureda (3-1 MMA) had entered last night’s bout with Guy (3-1 MMA) looking to build off her impressive knockout victory over Tara Graff at Bellator 243.

Chris Taylor - May 21, 2021

Austin Vanderford suffered a nasty gash during his unanimous decision win over Fabian Edwards this evening at Bellator 259. Vanderford (11-0 MMA) and Edwards (9-2 MMA) squared off in a pivotal middleweight matchup tonight in Uncasville.

Drake Riggs - May 20, 2021

Brendan Schaub almost saw a brawl of sorts break out on his Food Truck Diaries set between Jake Paul and Dillon Danis. Paul’s drive-by water balloon and toilet paper attack on Danis was speculated as staged by many. Now several months removed from the December episode of Below the Belt’s Food Truck Diaries, Schaub reveals he at the very least knew something was bound to go down.

Adam D Martin - May 20, 2021

Bantamweight Brett Johns explained his decision to part ways with the UFC for Bellator, saying that “they weren’t willing to pay the money.” Johns went 5-2 overall in the UFC from 2016 to 2020, and he finished off his run in the Octagon with back-to-back wins over Montel Jackson and Tony Gravely. He is a very good bantamweight fighter and considering he is just 29 years old, the Wales native still has a ton of untapped potential and upside in the sport. By all accounts, this looks to be a tremendous signing for Bellator, and it’s a wonder why the UFC let Johns get away.

Adam D Martin - May 20, 2021

Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg says she is open to fighting PFL standout Kayla Harrison in a lightweight bout. Cyborg takes on Leslie Smith in a rematch that headlines this Friday’s Bellator 259 card. Since joining Bellator in 2020, Cyborg has defeated Julia Budd and Arlene Blencowe as she once again shows the MMA world that she is still one of the best in the world. In Bellator, the promotion does have a featherweight division but is quickly running out of challengers for the champion. That’s why there have been some suggestions that Bellator could possibly take a run at Harrison once she becomes a free agent after this third PFL season.

Cole Shelton - May 19, 2021

Darrion Caldwell is focused on reclaiming his bantamweight title. After Caldwell lost back-to-back fights to Kyoji Horiguchi for the RIZIN title and to lose his Bellator belt, he moved up to featherweight to take part in the grand prix. He beat Henry Corrales by decision and then submitted Adam Borics, but lost in the semis to AJ McKee.

Cole Shelton - May 17, 2021

Danny Sabatello thought he was for sure going to get a UFC contract after his dominant performance over Taylor Moore on the Contender Series in November. Sabatello landed three of four takedowns and had 14:06 of ground control and won the fight 30-24, 30-25, 30-26. It was a dominant performance and for the now 28-year-old he thought he was a shoo-in for the contract.

Cole Shelton - May 17, 2021

Austin Vanderford is eager to share the cage with Fabian Edwards at Bellator 259 on Friday night. Vanderford is 10-0 and coming off a decision win over Vinicius de Jesus in his third fight in Bellator. Vanderford is currently the third-ranked middleweight while Edwards is ranked fourth. Although they are both up and comers in the division, Vanderford believes the fight makes sense now.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

Bellator light heavyweight star Anthony Johnson was arrested for identity theft in Connecticut following his big win last weekend. The Daily Voice was the first to report the arrest of Johnson. According to police reports, Johnson illegally used a credit card in November 2019 in order to purchase a round-trip ticket from Newark, New Jersey, to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Johnson was named as the passenger of the ticket. New Canaan police obtained a warrant for Johnson’s arrest, and “Rumble” was taken into custody following his fight last weekend at Bellator 258 where he knocked out Jose Augusto in one of the most exciting MMA fights of the year.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

Bellator president Scott Coker confirmed that Bellator is considering the bantamweight division for the organization’s next Grand Prix. Coker is currently holding Bellator’s light heavyweight Grand Prix and featherweight Grand Prix, and two years ago held the welterweight Grand Prix. Coker is a big fan of the tournament format going back to his Strikeforce days and so he is already thinking about what the next tournament in Bellator would be, and it could very well be bantamweight.

Chris Taylor - May 8, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is getting sick and tired of being pestered by Bellator fighter Dillon Danis. The verbal sparring between Bisping and Danis began last weekend during the UFC Vegas 25 broadcast. ‘The Count’, who was on commentary duties last Saturday, had replied to one fight fans criticism with a message of “Why don’t you cry about it?”.

Chris Taylor - May 8, 2021

Jose Augusto has issued a classy statement following his second round knockout loss to Anthony Johnson at last night’s Bellator 258 event. Augusto (7-3 MMA) had taken last night’s fight with ‘Rumble’ on short-notice, this after Johnson’s originally slated opponent Yoel Romero was forced off the card.