Bellator News

bjpenndotcom - September 17, 2015

MMA legend Tito Ortiz will once again fight for a world title. This Saturday at Bellator ‘Dynamite’ ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ will look to capture the light heavyweight title from the current champ, Liam McGeary. Ortiz is currently riding a two fight win streak, with wins over Stephan Bonnar and former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko.

bjpenndotcom - September 17, 2015

Everyone has an opinion on UFC fighter Nick Diaz’s controversial five year suspension, handed down by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The support for Diaz has been impressive to say the least. Just about every fighter has come out and shown that they think it’s ridiculous that he was given such a harsh punishment. Even UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey took a moment during her big UFC 193 press conference to go off on the NSAC about their decision.

Chris Taylor - September 17, 2015

Mixed martial arts veteran Joey Beltran (16-11 MMA) made his middleweight debut at April’s Bellator 136 event, where he scored a unanimous decision victory over Brian Rogers. “The Mexicutioner” is now set to face Kendall Grove in the co-main event of Bellator 143, which goes down September 25 live from State Farm Arena in Texas.

BJPENN.COM News - September 17, 2015

Bellator’s history making ‘Dynamite’ event is just around the corner and will go down this Saturday night on Spike TV. A lot of people have been wondering exactly what it’s going to look like having a Bellator cage and a GLORY kickboxing ring on the same floor in the same venue.

BJPENN.COM News - September 17, 2015

Bellator MMA president Scott Coker just wants his promotion to be better than Pride FC, is that too much to ask? Coker spoke with media earlier this week, ahead of this Saturday’s ‘Dynamite’ event. When asked about his plans and expectations for the future of Bellator, he said simply:

BJPENN.COM News - September 17, 2015

Good news, all the fighters in this Saturday’s Bellator ‘Dynamite’ tournament have passed their out-of-competition drug tests. The news comes from California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive officer Andy Foster. The tournament will include Phil Davis, King Mo Lawal, Emanuel Newton and Linton Vassell. The winner of the tournament will be crowned tournament champ and will be next in line for a shot at the light heavyweight title.

BJPENN.COM News - September 17, 2015

Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson most recently fought for the UFC. Now, in his next fight, he’ll be in the Bellator MMA cage. Thomson fought four times in the UFC but will now test the waters in a new promotion. There was some controversy surrounding his departure from the UFC. The promotion came out and said they released Thomson, while the fighter says that’s simply not the case, he chose to look elsewhere.

BJPENN.COM News - September 17, 2015

This topic seems to be up for debate. There are fighters and fans who call MMA a sport and believe that it is so. Then there are those who disagree with that terminology and say MMA is entertainment, not a sport. Bellator’s ‘King Mo’ Lawal sides with the latter.

BJPENN.COM News - September 16, 2015

Bellator light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary will take on Tito Ortiz this Saturday at Bellator: ‘Dynamite.’ Also taking place that night will be a four-man, one-night tournament that will determine the next challenger for the light heavyweight champ. Whether he wins or loses on Saturday night, McGeary really hopes Phil Davis does not win the tournament.

BJPENN.COM News - September 16, 2015

The MMA world is still a buzz regarding Nick Diaz’s five year suspension and $165,000 fine, handed down by the Nevada State Athletic commission on Monday following his hearing for failing a UFC 183 drug test, which came back positive for marijuana. Although, his legal team argued that there were major inconsistencies with the three tests, the commission didn’t really bother with that argument and instead seemed to take offense with the fact that Diaz enacted the fifth amendment during the hearing and said they felt disrespected by the fighter, thus a five year suspension seemed adequate to them. The whole MMA community seems to be behind Diaz, including the biggest star, Ronda Rousey. However, former Bellator champ Joe Warren has a little bit of a different take on the situation. He admits that it’s terrible for Diaz, but also added that if you break the law, you have to deal with it.

BJPENN.COM News - September 16, 2015

Former Strikeforce and UFC lightweight Josh Thomson is now with Bellator MMA and set to make his debut in his new promotion. There was a little controversy when he left the UFC, with the promotion saying they released him, while he insists he made the choice not to resign. Thomson recently spoke with Sherdog and attempted to clear some of that up and gave one of the simple reasons for why he picked Bellator.

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2015

Joey Beltran (16-11 MMA) will square off with Kendall Grove (21-15 MMA) in the co-main event of Bellator 143 later this month in Texas. “The Mexicutioner” recently sat down with BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor where he discussed a number of topics, including potential future opponents.

BJPENN.COM News - September 15, 2015

Following a loss to Ryan Bader, former UFC light heavyweight Phil Davis says he was unable to come to terms with the UFC regarding a new contract and ultimately made the choice to sign with Bellator MMA. A move he now credits with reigniting his passion. The light heavyweight is gearing up for this Saturday’s Bellator ‘Dynamite’ event, where he’ll make his debut and be a part of the four man, one-night tournament to determine the next title challenger.

BJPENN.COM News - September 15, 2015

This Saturday Bellator MMA will make history with ‘Dynamite’. They’ll feature both Bellator MMA fights and GLORY kickboxing fights in the same night, in the same venue, and at times going on at the same time. Also, we’ll get to see a one-night four-man light heavyweight tournament to determine the next title challenger. In the main event, that same title will be on the line when champ Liam McGeary takes on MMA legend Tito Ortiz.

Chris Taylor - September 15, 2015

Bellator middleweight fighter Joey Beltran (16-11 MMA) has squared off with some of the sports hardest hitters during his MMA career, including Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lavar Johnson, Pat Barry, Matt Mitrione and Stipe Miocic just to name a few. “The Mexicutioner” recently sat down with BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor where he discussed a number of topics, including which opponent hit him the hardest during his MMA career. Here is what Beltran had to say on the subject:

Chris Taylor - September 15, 2015

The UFC’s new sponsorship deal with Reebok has resulted in many headlines during the 2015 calendar year. Most of those headlines were of a negative nature, as many fighters complained that they were actually losing money because of the new uniform deal.

BJPENN.COM News - September 14, 2015

Scott Coker and the officials of Bellator made an interesting matchmaking decision when they booked Daniel Straus to face Patricio “Pitbull” Freire for a third time despite losing the first two bouts. The featherweight championship will be on the line when champion Freire tries to secure his third win over Straus at “Bellator 145” on November 6, 2015. Freire’s first win over Straus came by way of unanimous decision years ago at Bellator 45 in 2011. Since then, “Pitbull” has gone on a tear and is currently riding a seven fight win streak, one of those wins coming at the expense of Straus again.

BJPENN.COM News - September 14, 2015

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal is walking into SAP Center in San Jose California with his sights set on three men: Linton Vassell, Phil Davis, and Emanuel Newton. Bellator’s first “DYNAMITE” event will take place on Friday and will host a four-man, one-night light heavyweight tournament between the men above. Having a gameplan for just one man is difficult, but planning three gameplans for two possible fights could be as exhausting on the mind as the fights are physically! Sit down with “King Mo” as he shares his plans for his supreme reign in Bellator.