Dave Mandel-USA TODAY Sports
There’s massive changes on the Bellator roster, and it includes a lot of big names in MMA.
Bellator has made a massive roster purge lately, with big names being among the 31 fighters no longer on their active roster.
Jason Floyd was first to report of the huge number of fighters who aren’t under contract anymore, with MMA Fighting confirming the news shortly after. It’s worth noting that among the 31 listed, three of them are retirements, some are those who have completed their contracts, while the rest have all been cuts as the Viacom-backed promotion looks to trim their roster.
Among those no longer with Bellator are notable names such as UFC veterans Frank Mir and Roy Nelson, former Bellator champions Joe Warren and Rafael Carvalho, Bellator tournament winner Dave Rickels, grappling ace AJ Agazarm, and kickboxing champ Joe Schilling.
Here’s the full list:
Vinicius Zani, Joe Warren, Manny Vazquez, Shawn Bunch, Mike Kimbel, Ricky Bandejas, AJ Agazarm, Adel Altamimi, Adil Benjilany, Derek Campos, Daniel Crawford, Cris Lencioni, Jeremiah Labiano, Salim Mukhidinov, Mihail Nica, Haim Gozali, Richard Kiely, Ion Pascu, Mateusz Piskorz, David Rickels, Joe Schilling, Tuco Tokkos, Rafael Carvalho, Roy Nelson, Frank Mir, Rudy Schaffroth, Kristina Williams, Hatice Ozyurt
Those who will be officially retiring are Jon Fitch, and former Bellator champs Rafael Lovato Jr. and Pat Curran.
According to MMA Fighting’s report, some of the fighters who have completed their contracts are looking to renegotiate and return Bellator. With the several prospects and free agents they’ve signed in the last few months, along with the on-going pandemic, roster trimming and cost-cutting is to be expected.