Bellator News

bjpenndotcom - April 1, 2017

https://twitter.com/mma_movement/status/847999241691725824 Friday night on the main card of Bellator 175, heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov picked up one of the most devastating and impressive knockout wins in recent Bellator memory.

bjpenndotcom - March 29, 2017

Bellator MMA has gone on a string of signings recently, acquiring several former UFC standouts, including Rory MacDonald, Lorenz Larkin, and Michael ‘Mayday’ McDonald to name just a few of the recent Bellator MMA signings that have come from the UFC. According to Bellator MMA President Scott Coker, the UFC’s deal with Reebok has been rather beneficial to Bellator MMA given the dissatisfaction among fighters over the deal.

Chris Taylor - March 26, 2017

Bellator MMA has signed another former UFC title challenger. The UFC’s top rival, Bellator MMA, has been scooping up a ton of talent in the past several months including Benson Henderson, Josh Thomson, Matt Mitrione, Phil Davis, Rory MacDonald, Chael Sonnen, Wanderlei Silva and Ryan Bader, just to name a few.

Tom Taylor - March 26, 2017

Next Friday, in the main event of Bellator 175, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will step onto the canvas for a heavyweight bout with rival Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. The bout will be a rematch of a 2014 light heavyweight contest, and it stands out as one of the biggest fights of Rampage’s already impressive Bellator career.

Chris Taylor - March 24, 2017

Bellator MMA just released the first poster for their blockbuster pay-per-view event in New York City which takes place June 24 at the historic Madison Square Garden Arena. The event is headlined by a grudge match between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva that has been years in the making.

Tom Taylor - March 9, 2017

Last weekend, Bellator MMA touched down in Thackerville, Oklahoma with Bellator 174. In the card’s main event, we saw Dutch veteran Marloes Coenen and streaking Canadian Julia Budd battle for the historic honor of becoming Bellator’s first ever women’s featherweight champion. Though Coenen demonstrated plenty of heart and veteran savvy over the course of this fight, this one was really all Budd, who thumped her foe to a fourth-round TKO win. With this win, Budd returned to her native Canada with Bellator gold, and a place in the MMA history books as the promotion’s first-ever women’s featherweight queen.

bjpenndotcom - February 24, 2017

UFC veteran Dan Hardy, who was recently cleared to return to the UFC after being sidelined with a heart condition for nearly 5 years, found himself in the crosshairs of Bellator MMA after he questioned the legitimacy of the Bellator 170 Chael Sonnen vs. Tito Ortiz fight. At a recent press conference, Bellator MMA President Scott Coker alluded to Hardy’s comments, stating that if people question the legitimacy of Bellator’s fights, Bellator’s parent company, Viacom, could get involved with their legal team.

Russell Ess - February 23, 2017

Bellator MMA and the UFC are now throwing down in the courtroom after a lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, according to Sporting News. Bellator MMA’s lawsuit against the UFC stems from a class-action lawsuit that was filed against the UFC in 2014 by a group of mixed martial arts fighters that claimed the UFC was guilty of violating antitrust laws. The UFC’s lawyers filed subpoenas to obtain contracts and financial information from fighters competing for other MMA organizations, particularly Bellator’s confidential contracts and financial information, in an effort to prove that the UFC is treating their fighters the same, if not better than the other competing organizations.

bjpenndotcom - February 9, 2017

In surprising news, Bellator MMA CEO Scott Coker has revealed that accusations of potential Bellator fixed fights have been passed on to the promotion’s parent company, Viacom. The promotion has been scrutinized on several occasions for what viewers believe to be fights ending with questionable stoppages. Most recently, UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz submitted Chael Sonnen with a rear naked choke that many viewers believed to only be partially sunken in. That combined with footage of Ortiz allegedly making a discreet sign to Sonnen that quickly led to the fight ending grappling exchange, have been enough for viewers to question the legitimacy of the bout.

Tom Taylor - January 22, 2017

On Saturday night, Bellator MMA returned to our screens with Bellator 170. This exciting, 18-fight card was headlined by a light heavyweight clash between two veteran, West Coast wrestlers. In one corner, we had California’s Tito Ortiz, a former UFC light heavyweight champion and UFC Hall-of-Famer. In the other, we had Oregon’s Chael Sonnen, a three-time UFC title challenger and a man considered one of the best trash talkers in MMA. Though Sonnen entered this bout as a betting favorite, Ortiz ultimately walked away with the win, locking up a rear-naked choke to earn the tap at just 2:03 of the first round.

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2016

Keri Anne Taylor-Melendez (Gilbert Melendez's wife) just starched her opponent in her MMA debut. #Bellator165 pic.twitter.com/1rFTJK8RV0 — Joshua Sánchez (@jnsanchez) November 20, 2016

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2016

Michael “Venom” Page – also known simply as “MVP” – has long stood out as one of Bellator’s most exciting young stars. Look no further than his recent, skull-smashing knockout of Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos for the reasons behind this reputation. When Page stepped onto the canvas with Fernando Gonzalez at Bellator 165 in San Jose, California, however, his reputation for excitement was dealt a pretty severe blow. In a performance that was reminiscent of Anderson Silva’s lackluster defeats of Thales Leites and Demian Maia, Page showboated, danced and generally failed to engage over the course of the three-round fight. Though he clearly possessed the ability to out-strike his foe, his refusal to put the pedal to the medal resulted in a fight that was fairly difficult to score – as evidenced by the judges’ split verdict.

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2016

On December 17, when the UFC returns to Sacramento, California, rising welterweight Bryan Barberena will take on highly regarded prospect Colby Covington. If he defeats Covington, he’ll extend his win-streak to three, having taken out Sage Northcutt and Warlley Alves in his last two bouts. Despite the big stakes of this upcoming bout, Barberena recently took time out of his busy schedule for an interview with BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor.

bjpenndotcom - November 5, 2016

Can't open up a show much better!! @Eyecandyayala 👁🍭 #Bellator163 pic.twitter.com/RH6trEpQyd — Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 5, 2016

Tom Taylor - November 4, 2016

Bellator MMA has had an excellent year. They’ve promoted some strange, but undeniably memorable fight cards. They’ve also bolstered their roster with high profile fighters like Benson Henderson, Matt Mitrione, Sergey Kharitonov, Wanderlei Silva, Rory MacDonald and The American Gangster himself, Chael P. Sonnen. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and daises for MMA’s number-two promotion. This very evening, the organization will promote a huge card in Bellator 163. This event, which will emanate from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, will pit dynamic light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary against former UFC contender Phil Davis. Regrettably, Bellator 163’s lineup has been ravaged by fighter withdrawals at the very last minute.

bjpenndotcom - October 8, 2016

Former middleweight champion Brandon Halsey and former light heavyweight champ Emanuel Newton have left the Bellator building, so to speak. The news of Newton and Halsey’s release from the promotion was confirmed by Jason Floyd of The MMA  Report, making them the third former champ to jump ship this year alone.

Russell Ess - August 26, 2016

https://youtu.be/3E7GMkmFKBI Chinzo Machida, the brother of former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, scored a brutal first-round knockout victory over Mario Navarro in his Bellator debut this evening.

bjpenndotcom - July 21, 2016

While the UFC undoubtably is the largest MMA promotion in the United States, if not the world, Bellator MMA has continued to grow in popularity among MMA fans. The promotion recently just held its Bellator 158 event in London, and is already preparing to hold their Bellator 159 event this Friday. On the heels of the UFC being sold for $4 billion after the biggest event in UFC history, UFC co-founder Campbell McLaren questions why Bellator even exists.