Bellator News
Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis added to stacked Bellator 297 event in June
Josh Evanoff - March 30, 2023
Bellator 297 continues to add more high-profile names and former champions to the card. The event is slated for June 16th at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago and already has some massive fights. The card is expected to be headlined by a light-heavyweight title fight between Vadim Nemkov and Yoel Romero. The two were previously expected to clash at Bellator 290 in January, but the Russian withdrew.
Daniel James discusses his upcoming Bellator 293 main event fight with Marcelo Golm: "I’m not trying to sound arrogant, but there’s no more losing"
Zain Bando - March 30, 2023
Daniel James returns to the Bellator cage Friday night, taking on Marcelo Golm in the main event of Bellator 293 in Temecula, Calif. James (14-6-1 MMA, 2-0 Bellator) made an emphatic return to the big show in Nov. 2022, rallying to defeat top-10 heavyweight Tyrell Fortune in his home city of Chicago, Ill.
Cat Zingano confused by Cris Cyborg’s ducking claims: “She’s not even with the promotion”
Harry Kettle - March 30, 2023
Bellator star Cat Zingano has admitted that she’s confused by Cris Cyborg’s recent claims that she’s ducking her. Since arriving in Bellator, Cat Zingano has been pretty solid. She’s riding a 3-0 win streak and tomorrow night, she’ll look to extend that to four when she battles Leah McCourt.
Jorge Masvidal says the best middleweight fighter in the world competes outside of the UFC: “He’s just a beast”
Harry Kettle - March 28, 2023
UFC star Jorge Masvidal has named a fighter outside of the promotion as the best middleweight on the planet. Across the entirety of his mixed martial arts career, Jorge Masvidal has competed against some of the best fighters in the world. In addition to that, he’s also trained alongside a lot of absolute killers, too.
Bellator 292 Salaries: Usman Nurmagomedov and Benson Henderson lead the way
Susan Cox - March 17, 2023
Usman Nurmagomedov and Benson Henderson were the top earners in the disclosed Bellator 292 salaries. The disclosed fight purses for Bellator 292 have been revealed by the California State Athletic Commission and Nurmagomedov and Henderson both earned six-figure pay checks.
Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou reveals that he's close to signing to next MMA promotion: "We are very close"
Josh Evanoff - March 15, 2023
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has revealed that he will sign with PFL or ONE Championship. ‘The Predator’ walked out of the UFC in January, as he declined to re-sign after fighting out his contract. As a result, the promotion stripped Ngannou of his title, and later set Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight championship.
Former lightweight champion Benson Henderson hoping for UFC Hall of Fame induction: "I would definitely appreciate it"
Josh Evanoff - March 13, 2023
Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson is hoping he’ll make the Hall of Fame. ‘Smooth’ returned to the cage over the weekend at Bellator 292. The former UFC champion faced the undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov in the main event, with the goal of handing him his first loss. Prior to the bout, Henderson revealed his plans to win the tournament, and then retire.
Bellator President Scott Coker gives update on Goiti Yamauchi following grotesque knee injury
Fernando Quiles - March 12, 2023
Goiti Yamauchi suffered a nasty knee injury at the conclusion of his Bellator 292 scrap with Michael Page. Yamauchi and Page shared the cage inside the SAP Center in San Jose, California. This one only last 26 seconds as Page landed a leg kick that totaled Yamauchi’s knee for the TKO finish. It was not a pretty sight, and it was quite clear that Yamauchi suffered an injury that will keep him out of action for a while.
Bellator 292 Results: Michael Page stops Goiti Yamauchi in Round 1 (Video)
Chris Taylor - March 10, 2023
A welterweight bout between Michael Page and Goiti Yamauchi kicks off tonight’s Bellator 292 main card from San Jose. Page (21-2 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since suffering a majority decision loss to Mike Perry at BKFC 27 last August. Prior to that setback, ‘Venom’ was coming off a split decision loss to Logan Storley in a fight for Bellator’s interim welterweight title.
Benson Henderson reveals plans to retire at end of Bellator lightweight tournament as champion: "That would be a dream come true"
Josh Evanoff - March 9, 2023
Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson is planning on ending his career soon. ‘Smooth’ has been out of action since his win over Peter Queally last September. That victory was a big one for the former champion, as it was his second in a row. Henderson had previously upset the massively favored Islam Mamedov earlier in the year.
Scott Coker says many Bellator champions are better than UFC titleholders: "That's how I feel"
Fernando Quiles - February 26, 2023
Bellator President Scott Coker believes that a slew of champions under his banner are better than the UFC’s titleholders. Coker and UFC President Dana White aren’t exactly bitter enemies, but the two have thrown verbal jabs at one another. In a 2018 lawsuit deposition, White said every promotion Coker touches has failed.
"Of course" Bellator champion Yaroslav Amosov thinks he's best welterweight in the world
Fernando Quiles - February 26, 2023
Bellator Welterweight Champion Yaroslav Amosov believes he’s the clear-cut best 170-pounder in the world. Amosov is fresh off a dominant unanimous decision victory over Logan Storley to successfully retain the Bellator gold. Former UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman was building a reputation as the best welterweight in the world by a large margin, but after he was knocked out by Leon Edwards back in August 2022, the gap has been closing for some fans and experts.
Bellator returns to Hawaii in April for double-header events including two title fights
Harry Kettle - February 16, 2023
Bellator is set to return to Hawaii for the fourth time in five years this April, as per a report from KHON2. While the Ultimate Fighting Championship may not have made Hawaii its home, the same can’t be said for Bellator. Over the course of the last few years, the promotion has made a real effort to build a following there.
Ryan Bader hoping to face Francis Ngannou next to prove legitimacy as champion: "To to go out there and beat him, and there’s no question I'm legit"
Josh Evanoff - February 7, 2023
Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader is hoping that he can share the cage with Francis Ngannou. ‘Darth’ returned over the weekend in the main event of Bellator 290. In the headliner, Bader faced Fedor Emelianenko in a rematch of their 2019 meeting. In the finals of the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix four years prior, ‘The Last Emperor’ lost by first-round stoppage.
Bellator champion Johnny Eblen believes he would beat Alex Pereira "ten times out of ten" in possible fight: "He would have had to start wrestling 10 years ago"
Josh Evanoff - February 7, 2023
Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen feels good about a fight against Alex Pereira. ‘The Human Cheat Code’ returned to the cage over the weekend in the co-main event of Bellator 290. At the event, Eblen looked to make his first title defense since capturing the middleweight gold against Gegard Mousasi last June.
Ryan Bader hits back at reported payout against Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 290: "I wouldn’t be fighting if I was making that"
Josh Evanoff - February 6, 2023
Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader made much more than reported on Saturday night. ‘Darth’ returned over the weekend at Bellator 290 against Fedor Emelianenko. The bout was actually a rematch of their prior clash in the finals of the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix. In that January 2019 outing, Bader won by first-round knockout.
Scott Coker names two fighters he would have liked to see Fedor Emelianenko fight before retirement
Harry Kettle - February 6, 2023
Bellator president Scott Coker has named the fighters he would have liked to see Fedor Emelianenko battle prior to his retirement. Last Saturday night, Fedor Emelianenko finally retired from mixed martial arts at the age of 46. ‘The Last Emperor’ fell to Ryan Bader, losing via first round TKO in their Bellator heavyweight title rematch.
Bellator 290 disclosed fight purses: Champions Ryan Bader and Johnny Eblen lead the way
Fernando Quiles - February 5, 2023
Bellator 290 is in the books and disclosed fighter purses have rolled out. The event was held inside the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. Headlining the show was a Bellator Heavyweight Championship clash, which also happened to be the final fight in the pro MMA career of Fedor Emelianenko. Ryan Bader defeated Emelianenko via first-round TKO to retain the gold. The co-main event also featured a title fight. Johnny Eblen successfully defended the Bellator Middleweight Championship against Anatoly Tokov via unanimous decision. The main card opened up with a welterweight collision between Brennan Ward and Sabah Homasi. Ward scored the second-round TKO victory.