Bellator News
Former UFC title challenger, WSOF champ Jon Fitch announces retirement after Bellator 246 loss
Tom Taylor - September 13, 2020
Former UFC welterweight title challenger and World Series of Fighting welterweight champion Jon Fitch has retired from MMA. Fitch, 42, competed in his final fight at Bellator 246 on Saturday, losing to Neiman Gracie by submission. Post-fight, he announced his decision to hang up the gloves.
Bellator 246: 'Archuleta vs. Mix' Live Results and Highlights
Chris Taylor - September 12, 2020
A new bantamweight champion will be crowned in tonight’s Bellator 246 main event when Juan Archuleta squares off with Patchy Mix for the promotions vacant 135-pound strap. In the co-main event of the evening, former WSOF champion Jon Fitch will collide with Neiman Gracie in a key welterweight battle.
Scott Coker calls Dana White a liar, remains adamant that Bellator has "the best 205-pound division on the planet"
Chris Taylor - September 11, 2020
Bellator President Scott Coker has fired back at Dana White for suggesting that ex-UFC fighters who have joined Bellator were let go by the promotion. Back in August, Coker made headlines when he proclaimed that Bellator had the best light heavyweight division in all of mixed martial arts. In his defense, Coker’s comments came immediately following the news that longtime UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was vacating his title in order to move up to heavyweight.
Bellator 245 Results: Phil Davis defeats Lyoto Machida (Highlights)
Chris Taylor - September 11, 2020
Light heavyweight veterans Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis will square off for a second time in the headliner of tonight’s Bellator 245 event. The pair first met back in August of 2013 while under the UFC banner, with Davis emerging victorious by way of unanimous decision.
Bellator to host first major MMA event in France, fans will attend
Tom Taylor - September 11, 2020
France has approved the practice of mixed martial arts and has placed the sport under the supervision of the French Boxing Federation (FFB). With these recent government approvals, Bellator is pleased to announce that it will become the first promotion to hold a major MMA event in France with a monumental show on Saturday, October 10, 2020 at Accor Arena in Paris. Bellator Paris will feature 13 MMA bouts and three boxing matchups. Among the athletes competing at Bellator Paris, 10 French fighters will appear on the card, including the renowned Cheick Kongo (30-10-2, 1 NC), who will face off against Tim Johnson (14-6) in a heavyweight clash. Additionally, an exciting welterweight bout between Michael “Venom” Page (17-1), better known to fans as “MVP,” and the debuting undefeated Ross Houston (8-0,1 NC) is also booked for the event.
Bellator 245 weigh-in results: Cat Zingano's opponent misses weight by huge margin
Tom Taylor - September 10, 2020
On Friday night, Bellator MMA will promote the first card of a two-event weekend in Bellator 245, which features a host of high-profile fighters. In the Bellator 245 main event, former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida will lock horns with Phil Davis in a rematch of a 2013 fight that occurred in the UFC’s Octagon. The winner of the fight will be well positioned for a crack at new Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov, who assumed the throne with a blistering knockout win over Ryan Bader last month.
Cat Zingano explains “very good decision” to part ways with UFC for Bellator
Harry Kettle - September 10, 2020
Bellator featherweight Cat Zingano has explained why she is satisfied with her decision to join the promotion after leaving the UFC. Zingano, 38, is set to make her promotional debut tomorrow night when she squares off against Gabrielle Holloway in the co-main event of Bellator 245. She’s been officially signed as a member of the roster for almost a year now, and she’s certainly ready to prove to the world why she could be a top contender in her new home.
MMA legend Cris Cyborg set to defend Bellator women's featherweight title against Arlene Blencowe
Adam Martin - September 9, 2020
MMA legend Cris Cyborg will defend the Bellator women’s featherweight title later this year against top contender Arlene Blencowe. Amy Kaplan of FanSided was the first to reveal that Cyborg’s next opponent would be Blencowe. It should be noted that there is currently no date set for this fight, only that it is expected to take place before 2020 is over. Bellator president Scott Coker previously said that Blencowe was likely going to be next in line to fight Cyborg, and this new report all but confirms that is indeed the direction that the Bellator matchmakers are going in.
Patrick Mix expects dominant performance over Juan Archuleta to win vacant title: "I finish him in three rounds, I will break him"
Cole Shelton - September 8, 2020
Patrick Mix knows he will be Bellator’s bantamweight champion. On Saturday night in the main event of Bellator 246, Mix is set to take on Juan Archuleta for the vacant bantamweight title. Yet, for the undefeated Patrick Mix, he doesn’t believe Archuleta deserves the title shot at 135-pounds.
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 9 with Michelle Waterson, Patrick Mix, Roxanne Modafferi & Kyle Nelson
Cole Shelton - September 8, 2020
The ninth episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 10 and Bellator 246. We’re first joined eighth-ranked strawweight and one-half of the main event, Michelle Waterson (3:05). Next, Bellator bantamweight, Patrick Mix (15:43) comes on. Then, UFC flyweight, Roxanne Modafferi (33:00) joins the program. Finally, UFC featherweight, Kyle Nelson (44:02) closes out the show.
Cris Cyborg accuses Daniel Cormier of being "paid to shill" for UFC
Tom Taylor - September 1, 2020
Bellator featherweight champion Cris Cyborg believes retired two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier is a “shill” for the Las Vegas-based promotion. Speaking on a recent episode of ESPN’s DC and Helwani show, Cormier divulged that he was paid a $1M bonus after his 2015 decision loss to Jon Jones. He also revealed that he received a $400,000 bonus after he defeated Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in 2015.
Bellator interested in Brock Lesnar to make Fedor Emelianenko fight
Cole Shelton - August 31, 2020
Bellator is interested in signing Brock Lesnar if he truly is a free agent. Earlier on Monday, it was reported by multiple sites that Lesnar is no longer under contract with WWE. With Lesnar being a free agent, he will no doubt command a lot of money from promotions like WWE, AEW, UFC, and now Bellator.
Patricio Pitbull fires back at Dan Hooker about potential crossover fight
Adam D Martin - August 30, 2020
Bellator double champion Patricio Pitbull fired back at Dan Hooker after the two got into a back-and-forth about a potential crossover fight. Pitbull is currently the Bellator lightweight and featherweight champion, but in the last few weeks, he has taken to social media to call out numerous members of the UFC roster including UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski and his teammate Hooker. Although Pitbull is currently under contract with Bellator, he hasn’t fought in close to a year and is clearly getting frustrated waiting around. While Pitbull is one of the Bellator’s top home-grown talents, it seems obvious he is interested in fighting UFC fighters.
Carlo Pedersoli Jr. slated to make his Bellator debut on September 24 against Grachik Bozinyan
Alfredo Zullino - August 27, 2020
A Bellator welterweight clash between Carlo Pedersoli Jr. (11-3 MMA, 0-0 Bellator) and Grachik Bozinyan (10-5 MMA, 0-1 Bellator) is set for September 24 in Milan, Italy, sources with knowledge of the situation told BJPENN.com. The sources asked for anonymity since the news hasn’t been officially confirmed yet. The Miami-born Italian fighter was supposed to make his promotional debut at Bellator 239 back in February against Mark Lemminger, in Thackerville, Oklahoma, but Pedersoli was eventually forced to pull out of the fight due to an infection.
Alex Volkanovski scoffs at Patricio Freire’s challenge to Dana White, ‘Pitbull’ issues scathing response
Natasha Hooper - August 27, 2020
Alex Volkanovski shrugged off Patricio Freire’s fight challenge, leaving “Pitbull” to unload a scathing counterattack on the UFC featherweight champion. The Bellator two-division champion offered an astronomical bet to UFC president Dana White this week, that he could beat both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Alex Volkanovski.
Why the PFL could be the perfect home for Michael Chandler
Tom Taylor - August 27, 2020
After knocking out Benson Henderson at Bellator 243 earlier this month, Michael Chandler, the promotion’s former lightweight champ, is now a free agent. As one of the biggest stars Bellator has produced to date, Chandler can almost certainly expect lucrative offers from some of the sport’s biggest organizations. He’s already expressed interest in a potential move to the UFC, and UFC President Dana White has reciprocated that interest. Chandler has also discussed a potential move to ONE Championship, where a compelling trilogy fight with his chief rival Eddie Alvarez could await.
Patricio Freire willing to bet Dana White $1 million that he could defeat the UFC’s current featherweight and lightweight champs
Harry Kettle - August 25, 2020
Patricio “Pitbull” Freire is willing to bet Dana White $1 million that he can beat Khabib Nurmagomedov and Alexander Volkanovski. The subject of UFC vs Bellator dream fights has always been present in the MMA community, especially in the last few years. While the last few days has seen a discussion commence regarding which promotion has the best light heavyweight division, it appears as if that’s starting to extend to some of the other weight classes too.
Ryan Bader issues statement following KO loss to Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244
Adam Martin - August 23, 2020
Former Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader has released a statement following his brutal TKO loss to Vadim Nemkov. Bader saw his eight-fight unbeaten streak snapped at the hands of Nemkov, who brutally finished Bader in stunning fashion in the main event of Bellator 244. After dropping Bader with a high kick, Nemkov was able to unload punches until the referee was forced to step in and stop the fight, crowning Nemkov as the new Bellator light heavyweight champion.