Bellator News

Tom Taylor - September 9, 2019

Mixed martial arts is a nasty business. Fighters routinely sustain nasty injuries in their bouts, from cuts, to hematomas, and of course, broken bones. That latter thing is just what we saw on the postlims of Bellator 226 last weekend, when Albert Gonzales took on Tyson Miller. It was a sequence not unlike the final moment of the infamous Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman 2 fight, which left Silva with a leg like cooked spaghetti after Weidman checked one of his kicks. This time around, it was Gonzales who threw the kick, and was ultimately left writhing on the floor after Miller checked it.

Cole Shelton - September 8, 2019

Ryan Bader was looking for the first title defense of his heavyweight belt when he took on Cheick Kongo in the main event of Bellator 226. Yet, he did not get to defend his title but did not lose it either. Instead, the fight was ruled a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke from Bader. Now, after the fight, ‘Darth’ believes Kongo used the eye poke as the reason to get out of the scrap.

Adam D Martin - September 8, 2019

Cheick Kongo’s teammate Quinton “Rampage” Jackson posted a picture of his teammate’s injured eye following a disappointing conclusion to Bellator 226. Kongo’s fight against Ryan Bader ended with a No Contest in the first round after Bader was deemed to have accidentally poked his opponent in the eye, which led to the doctor stopping the fight. Some fans and media were critical of the end to the fight, believing it may have been a punch and not a poke that injured Kongo’s eye.

Adam D Martin - September 8, 2019

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson took to social media to criticize Ryan Bader for the way his fight ended against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 226. The fight ended in the first round after Bader accidentally poked Kongo in the eye, which led to the doctor stopping the fight. It was declared a No Contest due to an accidental foul.

Chris Taylor - September 7, 2019

Ryan Bader put his heavyweight title on the line against Cheick Kongo in the headliner of tonight’s Bellator 226 event in San Jose. Bader (27-5 MMA) had captured the promotions vacant heavyweight title this past January at Bellator 214, defeating MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko by first round knockout.

Chris Taylor - September 7, 2019

Ryan Bader puts his heavyweight title on the line against Cheick Kongo in the headliner of tonight’s Bellator 226 event in San Jose. Bader (27-5 MMA) captured the promotions vacant heavyweight title this past January at Bellator 214, defeating MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko by first round knockout.

Adam Martin - September 7, 2019

Former UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg was introduced as the newest fighter on Bellator’s roster during Saturday night’s Bellator 226 event. The promotion also confirmed that Cyborg will be fighting Bellator women’s featherweight champion Julia Budd in her organizational debut. Bellator commentator “Big” John McCarthy revealed the promotion’s plans during an in-cage interview with Cris Cyborg, who signed with the Scott Coker-led organization this week after being cut last month by the UFC.

Mike Heck - September 6, 2019

Cheick Kongo has won eight fights in a row heading into his heavyweight title opportunity  against Ryan Bader at Bellator 226, yet has stayed relatively under the radar. That certainly changed as the two headliners for Saturday night’s event went face-to-face for the final time. At the Bellator 226 ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday evening in San Jose, the champion and challenger stared each other down on stage and it looked pretty intense. Moments later, Kongo gave Bader a two-handed shove to the chest as shown in the video below, courtesy of Bellator MMA’s Twitter page.

Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019

Former Strikeforce, Invicta and UFC champ Cris Cyborg is now a Bellator MMA fighter. The Brazilian legend signed with the Scott Coker helmed promotion this week. Cyborg and Coker have a longstanding professional relationship, as Coker was the president of Cyborg’s former home in Strikeforce. As the pair begin the next chapter of their professional relationship, Coker is vowing to handle Cyborg’s career properly — which he believes the UFC failed to do.

Cole Shelton - September 3, 2019

When Ryan Bader was in the UFC, Daniel Cormier called him the easiest fight in the light heavyweight division. Yet, a fight between the two never came to fruition and as “Darth” left in free agency for Bellator. Even though Ryan Bader is in Bellator, he still wants that fight and revealed he and his management reached out to the UFC for a cross-promotional fight with Cormier.

Tom Taylor - September 3, 2019

Cris Cyborg officially has a new home. The former Strikeforce, Invicta and UFC featherweight champion has signed with Bellator MMA. Bellator President Scott Coker announced this exciting news on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.

Tom Taylor - September 3, 2019

Bellator MMA’s anticipated Featherweight World Grand Prix is about to begin. The eight quarterfinal matchups of the tournament will occur between Bellator 226, scheduled for this Saturday, and Bellator 228, scheduled for September 8. In anticipation of this awesome tournament, Bellator has released an awesome Mortal Kombat inspired promo for it. See it below:

Adam D Martin - September 1, 2019

Frank Mir is scheduled to fight his friend Roy Nelson in a rematch this October in Bellator, and he admits that fans may not find the fight to be entertaining. The former UFC heavyweight champion Mir previously fought Nelson at UFC 130 in 2011, and he now rematches his fellow Las Vegas native in the main event of Bellator 231 this October. Mir says that stylistically this isn’t going to be a fight that excites fans, and he didn’t want Bellator to book this fight.

Tom Taylor - August 29, 2019

Cris Cyborg has parted ways with the UFC, and is now negotiating with other promotions in hopes of finding a setting for the next chapter of her illustrious career. Speaking in a video posted to her official YouTube channel, Cyborg divulged that she feels no regret about leaving the UFC.

Tom Taylor - August 27, 2019

On Monday, Conor McGregor stablemate Dillon Danis took a shot at Khabib Nurmagomedov training partner Islam Makhachev, keeping the beef between their two teams alive and well. https://twitter.com/dillondanis/status/1166006545391468546

Tom Taylor - August 26, 2019

The beef between Team Conor McGregor and Team Khabib Nurmagomedov is seemingly alive and well. Nearly a year removed from McGregor and Nurmagomedov’s October, 2018 fight, which the latter won by submission, members of their respective entourages are still trading shots. The latest to do so is McGregor stablemate Dillon Danis, who called for a fight with Nurmagomedov training partner Islam Makhachev on Twitter. https://twitter.com/dillondanis/status/1166006545391468546

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2019

Fresh off of a brutal knockout win over Matt Mitrione in the main event of Bellator 225, veteran slugger Sergei Kharitonov is now eyeing the promotion’s heavyweight title for his next fight. “The Paratrooper” spoke to reporters in a scrum following his second-round TKO win, and said he wants to fight the winner of the upcoming heavyweight title fight between champion Ryan Bader and challenger Cheick Kongo.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2019

Bellator has announced a welterweight title bout between Rory MacDonald and Douglas Lima as well as a heavyweight fight between Roy Nelson and Frank Mir. The promotion announced both fights during the broadcast for Bellator 225 on Saturday night. Bellator 231 takes place Friday, October 25 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Nelson vs. Mir fight will headline that card and is scheduled for three rounds. This is a rematch from the pair’s first fight back in 2011, which Mir won via unanimous decision at UFC 130.