Bellator News
Ryan Bader unwilling to vacate heavyweight title, suggests Bellator make an interim belt
Harry Kettle - April 8, 2021
Ryan Bader isn’t willing to vacate his Bellator Heavyweight Championship as he prepares to enter the promotion’s light heavyweight tournament. Bader has been one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in Bellator for a few years now and while he may be moving into the twilight of his career, it definitely feels like he has the chance to cause some real damage in the aforementioned tournament.
Austin Vanderford puts his undefeated record on the line against Fabian Edwards at Bellator 259
Harry Kettle - April 6, 2021
Austin Vanderford is set to fight Fabian Edwards in a fascinating middleweight bout on May 21 at Bellator 259, MMA Junkie reports. The two rising contenders have both been viewed as future title contenders in the past and in a division where everything is up for grabs, there’s a decent chance a win for either man could take them a lot closer to the top.
Cat Zingano reveals that ONE Championship approached her about grappling match vs. Miesha Tate
Drake Riggs - April 5, 2021
Cat Zingano and Miesha Tate are key pieces to the start of the UFC’s introduction to the women. Nearly a decade later and they’re both still competing – just under different roofs. While Zingano prepares to compete this Friday night, Tate is set to return to the UFC in July after a five-year retirement. In that time, Tate took up a position as a ONE Championship Vice President and according to Zingano, a potential grappler.
Scott Coker details Bellator’s decision to part ways with Mike Goldberg
Harry Kettle - April 5, 2021
Bellator president Scott Coker has explained the decision behind Mike Goldberg no longer being part of Bellator broadcasts on Showtime. Mike Goldberg has been one of the most consistent and recognizable voices in all of mixed martial arts across the last few decades and as we look ahead to the future, it’s hard to imagine a world where he’s not on the call for a big promotion.
Patricio Pitbull submits Emmanuel Sanchez in Round 1 at Bellator 255 (Highlights)
Cole Shelton - April 2, 2021
In the main event of Bellator 255, Patricio Pitbull and Emmanuel Sanchez were set for a rematch three years in the making. The fight also served as the semifinals of the featherweight grand prix. Patricio Pitbull (31-4) is riding a six-fight winning streak and coming off a vicious KO win over Pedro Carvalho last November. Before that, he beat Juan Archuleta by decision and knocked out Michael Chandler in 61 seconds to claim the lightweight title and become a champ-champ. He also beat Sanchez back in November of 2018.
Anthony Johnson shares prediction for potential Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight
Chris Taylor - April 2, 2021
Former UFC title challenger Anthony Johnson has shared his thoughts on a potential heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. Ever since Ngannou (16-3 MMA) dethroned Stipe Miocic to become “The Baddest Man on the Planet” at UFC 260, all the talk has been of a potential super-fight with Jones.
Mike Goldberg no longer commentating Bellator events, reveals Scott Coker: "I think we had a great run"
Cole Shelton - April 2, 2021
Mike Goldberg will no longer be the play-by-play voice of Bellator. With Bellator set to move to Showtime, Scott Coker revealed they decided to undergo some changes and Goldberg will not be with the promotion anymore. The longtime UFC commentator joined Bellator in 2017 after parting ways with the UFC.
Scott Coker says Bellator talking to Megan Anderson
Adam D Martin - April 2, 2021
Bellator president Scott Coker says that his promotion is currently in talks with former UFC featherweight title challenger Megan Anderson. Anderson was recently released by the UFC following the expiration of her contract in the wake of a first-round submission loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 259. Despite losing that fight and becoming a free agent, Anderson is still a big name in the world of the women’s featherweight division. With Bellator having Cris Cyborg as the champion and a slew of other 145lbs women fighters including Julia Budd and Cat Zingano, it makes sense that the promotion would reach out to Anderson about the possibility of joining Bellator.
Mike Hamel expects to derail the hype of Usman Nurmagomedov: "I'm going to clip him"
Cole Shelton - April 1, 2021
Mike Hamel had a feeling he’d be the one to welcome Usman Nurmagomedov to Bellator. When Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s cousin, signed with Bellator, Hamel started researching the 11-0 fighter. After spending some time looking into him, he started telling his coaches and teammates he will end up fighting. Then, weeks later, Hamel got offered to fight Nurmagomedov at Bellator 255, which is exciting for him.
Patricio Pitbull says he "would embarrass" Alex Volkanovski if they fought: "It would be a massacre"
Cole Shelton - April 1, 2021
Patricio Pitbull has made it known, he wants a cross-promotional fight against Alex Volkanovski. Pitbull is the current featherweight and lightweight champion in Bellator while Volkanovski holds UFC gold at featherweight. Both men have taken shots at one another on social media, and Pitbull has called for the fight to happen. Yet, he doesn’t believe it will happen.
Emmanuel Sanchez expects to put on a "dominating performance" and finish Patricio Pitbull to become the new champ
Cole Shelton - March 31, 2021
Emmanuel Sanchez is eager to show how much he improved since November 15, 2018. On that date, Sanchez lost a decision to Patricio Pitbull for the featherweight title. It was a back-and-forth fight with both men hurting the other. Since the fight, both men have gone undefeated with Pitbull winning the lightweight title as well. But, in the main event of Bellator 255, which serves as the semifinals of the featherweight grand prix, Sanchez is eager to exact his revenge.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Junior dos Santos could reportedly happen in Russia
Drake Riggs - March 30, 2021
Junior dos Santos is no longer a part of the UFC roster. What could be next? Signs are pointing to a potential Fedor Emelianenko dream bout. Last week, dos Santos shared his openness to joining the Bellator roster – more specifically, he loves the idea of a fight with “The Last Emperor” who he’s a big fan of. Fast forward to the present day, and some traction behind the scenes is reportedly being made.
Bellator releases inaugural rankings, Patricio Pitbull and Cris Cyborg top P4P lists
Adam Martin - March 29, 2021
Bellator released its inaugural rankings and Patricio Pitbull and Cris Cyborg have topped the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings lists. Bellator announced the first-ever edition of its promotional fighter rankings on Monday. 17 media members voted on the Bellator rankings, and you can see them all below.
Bellator debuts of Anthony Johnson and Yoel Romero delayed
Adam D Martin - March 29, 2021
The Bellator debuts of Anthony Johnson and Yoel Romero have been delayed until May as the promotion shuffled up its upcoming schedule. Bellator’s Light Heavyweight Grand Prix begins in April with eight of the world’s best 205lbers going at it for the chance to win $1 million and the belt. On April 9 at Bellator 256, the tournament begins when Ryan Bader and Lyoto Machida have a rematch. The two previously met in the UFC back in 2012 with Machida winning the fight by knockout. Nine years later and they meet again under the Bellator banner. The co-main event for that card was supposed to feature Corey Anderson vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradv, but that fight has now been pushed back to Bellator 257 on April 16. That means that the fight between Johnson and Romero, which was originally targeted for that date, has been rescheduled.
Matt Mitrione forced out of Bellator 255 fight with Tyrell Fortune
Adam D Martin - March 29, 2021
Bellator heavyweight contender Matt Mitrione has been forced out of his upcoming fight against Tyrell Fortune this Friday at Bellator 255. Mitrione vs. Fortune was set to be the main card opener of Friday’s Bellator 255 show, which takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Unfortunately, Mitrione is now off the card as he pulled out from the Bellator 255 event for undisclosed reasons. MMAjunkie.com’s Nolan King was the first to report that Mitrione fell off the card. With Mitrione now off the card, Bellator is targeting a rematch between Fortune and Jack May on short notice. They fought to a No Contest last year after low blows ended the fight.
Junior dos Santos open to joining Bellator, interested in fighting Fedor Emelianenko
Adam D Martin - March 24, 2021
Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos says he is open to joining Bellator, admitting an interest in fighting Fedor Emelianenko. “Cigano” was recently released from the UFC, alongside divisional stalwart Alistair Overeem, as the world’s leading MMA promotion continues to cut fighters from the roster. JDS has admitted he wasn’t a fan of the “cold” way UFC president Dana White let him go, but he’s now ready to move on with his career. Although he has admitted he’s open to competing in boxing, it appears JDS isn’t ready to hang up his MMA gloves just yet.
Patricio Pitbull trashes Tapology for ranking him 21st at featherweight: "You're awful"
Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021
Two-division Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull trashed Tapology for ranking him as the 21st-best featherweight in the sport. Tapology is one of the top resources in the world of mixed martial arts. The website has an incredible record-keeping system in MMA and is generally regarded as the top MMA database going right now. However, Pitbull has a bone to pick with them about the site’s ranking systems. Tapology has its own rankings system where it ranks the best fighters in the world by division regardless of promotion. It’s worth noting that registered users submit their rankings, so it’s not Tapology itself that is doing the rankings, but MMA fans.
Valerie Loureda launches subscription-based fan site
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
Bellator MMA star Valerie Loureda has launched a new fan site using the subscription-based platform FanTime.com. Loureda is one of the most promising prospects on the Bellator roster at present, and has quickly developed a significant following inside the mixed martial arts sphere.