Bellator President Scott Coker usually plays it nice, but the MMA shot-caller isn’t afraid to call it as he sees it either. Coker has been promoting mixed martial arts in the San Jose for over 30 years. As such, he has been dealing with the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) for some time. When Coker took […]
Bellator President Scott Coker usually plays it nice, but the MMA shot-caller isn’t afraid to call it as he sees it either.
Coker has been promoting mixed martial arts in the San Jose for over 30 years. As such, he has been dealing with the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) for some time.
When Coker took issue with the way the CSAC and executive director Andy Foster handled the Jon Jones UFC 232 situation, he did what any stand-up guy would do, he called him.
“I called Andy Foster, it was a private conversation and I’d like to leave it at that. But, just from a company standpoint, I think it’s very disappointing,” Coker told MMA Fighting during the Bellator 214 media scrum.
“You go out there and put your reputation on the line for health and safety and all the weight-cutting. We have always supported the commission and we will continue to support the commission,” he added.
Whether you think Jones is guilty or you think he is just unlucky, it doesn’t matter. The bottom line is several of the leading scientific experts have come to Jones defense. And it’s likely he will be able to continue to compete without impunity.
But from the sound of it, Coker won’t let this disagreement tarnish a relationship over a quarter century in the making.
“But listen, if a fighter has PEDs in him, he has PEDs in him. That’s how I feel. To be the judge, jury and executioner, now, it’s a little bit challenging for me to accept,” Coker said.
“But, it is what it is. I have always said we are going to abide by commission rules and we will continue. I don’t think that it was the right call. But, that was his call to make. For 32 years I’ve been with the California State Commission this is one of the few times that I said, ‘Hey, this is not right.’ But, we will see what happens with that,” concluded Coker.
You watch Scott Coker’s full pre-fight scrum below.
Henry Cejudo’s huge win over T.J. Dillashaw shook up the pound-for-pound rankings. The UFC’s debut on ESPN certainly delivered in terms of action, and it brought about some changes in the rankings. Henry Cejudo’s quick win over T.J. Dilla…
Henry Cejudo’s huge win over T.J. Dillashaw shook up the pound-for-pound rankings.
The UFC’s debut on ESPN certainly delivered in terms of action, and it brought about some changes in the rankings. Henry Cejudo’s quick win over T.J. Dillashaw didn’t make him a champ champ, but it showed that he can take out the top dog from a division up in no time. That helped him move up the P4P list in a big way. In addition to that, wins by Donald Cerrone and Joanne Calderwood helped their standings.
My only complaint is that Allen Crowder isn’t ranked in the top five at heavyweight after his complete decimation of an awful person. But hey, you can’t win ‘em all.
Here’s a look at the changes for this week.
P4P – Cejudo is up six spots to crack the top five. Amanda Nunes is up one spot to seven. Georges St-Pierre, Dillashaw, Conor McGregor, and Stipe Miocic all fall one spot each to eight through 11 respectively.
Heavyweight – No changes.
Light Heavyweight – Glover Teixeira is up one spot to 11 after a comeback win, bumping Ovince Saint Preux to 12.
Middleweight – Guess who has a fight again and is now ranked? Yup, one of the greatest ever. Anderson Silva re-enters the list at 15.
Welterweight – Leon Edwards is up one place to nine, sending Jorge Masvidal down to ten. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos is up one spot to 13. Geoff Neal enters the list at 14. Cerrone is out again as he’s back at 155. For now.
Lightweight – Cowboy re-enters the lightweight rankings at nine after handling Alexander Hernandez. James Vick drops one to ten. Gregor Gillespie is up four spots to 11 with a dominating victory. Nate Diaz, Hernandez, Francisco Trinaldo, and Dan Hooker all fall two spots each and sit 12 through 15 now.
Featherweight – Renato Moicano now has the five spot to himself, and Mirsad Bektic now has the nine spot to himself.
Bantamweight – Pedro Munhoz is up into a tie for eight with John Dodson.
Flyweight – The only change is Dillashaw entering the rankings at 15, despite getting dusted in his 125 debut.
Women’s Bantamweight – No changes.
Women’s Flyweight – Jojo Calderwood is up three spots to seven after her win over Ariane Lipski. Roxanne Modafferi, Lauren Murphy, and Jessy Jess all drop one spot each and sit at eight through ten. Ashlee Evans-Smith, Mara Romero Borella, Andrea Lee, and Montana De La Rosa all move up one spot each to 11-14. Paige VanZant enters at 15 after stopping Rachael Ostovich.
The sport’s most famous referee and modern day MMA renaissance man “Big” John McCarthy has weighed in on the Henry Cejudo vs. T.J. Dillashaw stoppage. The world leader in MMA made their anticipated debut on the ESPN platforms last weekend. The evening culminated with Cejudo mowing down Dillashaw in just 32 seconds. To say that […]
The sport’s most famous referee and modern day MMA renaissance man “Big” John McCarthy has weighed in on the Henry Cejudo vs. T.J. Dillashaw stoppage.
The world leader in MMA made their anticipated debut on the ESPN platforms last weekend. The evening culminated with Cejudo mowing down Dillashaw in just 32 seconds. To say that referee Kevin MacDonald’s stoppage has been controversial may be an understatement.
MMA Fighting‘s Marc Raimondi caught up with McCarthy at Bellator 214’s media day yesterday. “Big” John had something to say.
“When you say ‘good stoppage, bad stoppage,’ I’m not into saying what’s good or bad. Kevin made a decision. It’s his decision, he’s the one that’s got to live with his decision, along with TJ and the UFC themselves.
“If you’re going to ask me, there’s things that I want a referee to think about,” he continued. “If you’re going to ask me would I have stopped it at that point, no. I wouldn’t have stopped it at that point. This is the reason why: this is not a fight between two guys who are just brought together like ‘oh we’re going to match this fight up,’ whatever fight it is. It’s not, you know, Fighter A against Fighter B.”
Huge Fight
McCarthy continued on that they were fighting for the future of the UFC flyweight division. That gave the fight more weight according to McCarthy.
”This is a fight where both guys have earned the right to be in the position. They’ve both created a background that’s put them in the position of being champions, and now these are champions going after each other — one to save his entire weight class basically, the other to prove ‘those guys are not as good as me.’”
You can watch all of John McCarthy and Marc Raimondi’s chat below.
Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader will headline tomorrow’s Bellator 214 and both men will cash six-figure paychecks for their efforts. The Forum in Inglewood, Ca., will host the event that will crown both the World Heavyweight Grand Prix winner and a new heavyweight champion. Fedor will bring home a flat rate of $300,000 for his […]
Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader will headline tomorrow’s Bellator 214 and both men will cash six-figure paychecks for their efforts.
The Forum in Inglewood, Ca., will host the event that will crown both the World Heavyweight Grand Prix winner and a new heavyweight champion. Fedor will bring home a flat rate of $300,000 for his efforts while Bader will cash the only other six-figure payday on the night at $150,000 (flat rate). (h/t MMA Fighting).
Aaron Pico will look to take the next step in his meteoric rise, he will earn a $45,000/$45,000 show/win split. Pico will be facing his toughest test to date in the MMA Lab’s Henry Corrales. Corrales will bank a $35,000/$35,000 show/win split.
Former professional wrestler Jack Swagger, whose real name is Jake Hager, will make his “real” fighting debut in a feature main card bout. Swagger will make a flat $50,000 for his new vocation. His opponent, J.W. Kiser, will earn $7,000/$7,000.
Juan Archuleta will net a flat $25,000 while his opponent, Rick Bandejas, will bank a flat $30,000 for their bantamweight scrap. And kicking off the main card is a featherweight. For his part, Brandon McMahon will earn a $3,500/$3,500 show/win split. His adversary Adel Altamimi will bank $10,000/$10,000.
These figures do not represent a fighter’s total earnings. Certain sponsorship incomes, contract clauses, or discretionary bonuses are not publicly disclosed.
Check out the main card purses for Saturday’s Bellator 214 card in California. We are just one day away from Bellator MMA’s first event of 2019, which features the heavyweight grand prix final/championship bout between the legendary Fedor …
Check out the main card purses for Saturday’s Bellator 214 card in California.
We are just one day away from Bellator MMA’s first event of 2019, which features the heavyweight grand prix final/championship bout between the legendary Fedor Emelianenko and current Bellator LHW king Ryan Bader. With the card taking place in California, we do have some payout info courtesy of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC).
Per MMA Fighting, Fedor is the top guy in terms of fighter salaries at $300,000, whereas Bader is next up at $150,000. For Bader, this is the same official purse listed as his quarterfinal KO win over King Mo last year. This is the first time that Emelianenko has had a reported payout in his Bellator career. Your next highest purse belongs to super prospect Aaron Pico, who’s received a bump from $40,000 from his September 2018 win vs. Leandro Higo to $45,000 for his co-main event vs. Henry Corrales. If Pico wins, that purse gets doubled to $90,000.
Also of note is that pro wrestling star Jake Hager, better known as “Jack Swagger,” is getting a base salary of $50,000 for his MMA debut, with no win bonus. His opponent, J.W. Kiser (1-1), is getting $7,000/$7,000.
Here are the full main card purses, of course noting that these are the reported payouts and not necessarily what the fighters will make. These do not include discretionary bonuses, contract clauses, sponsorship money, etc.
Fedor Emelianenko ($300,000) vs. Ryan Bader ($150,000)
Aaron Pico ($45,000/$45,000) vs. Henry Corrales ($35,000/$35,000)
Juan Archuleta ($25,000) vs. Ricky Bandejas ($30,000)
Jake Hager ($50,000) vs. J.W. Kiser ($7,000/$7,000)
Brandon McMahon ($3,500/$3,500) vs. Adel Altamimi ($10,000/$10,000)
Bellator 214 takes place on Saturday, January 26th at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT on Paramount Network and DAZN.
Check out the Bloody Elbow staff’s picks and predictions for Saturday’s Bellator 214: Fedor vs. Bader fight card. The Bloody Elbow staff has made its predictions for Saturday night’s big Bellator 214 fight card in Inglewood, California. As…
Check out the Bloody Elbow staff’s picks and predictions for Saturday’s Bellator 214: Fedor vs. Bader fight card.
The Bloody Elbow staff has made its predictions for Saturday night’s big Bellator 214 fight card in Inglewood, California. As expected, most of us are backing Ryan Bader to defeat the great Fedor Emelianenko to win the heavyweight grand prix and become the promotion’s first ever simultaneous two-division champion. For the co-main event, despite Henry Corrales being a veteran with more quality wins than featherweight prospect Aaron Pico, we are all picking Pico to continue his impressive rise up the ranks.
Note: Predictions are entered throughout the week and collected the day before the event. Explanations behind each pick are not required and some writers opt not to do so for their own reasons. For example, if Phil Mackenzie entered all of his predictions on Wednesday without adding in any explanations, he has no idea if he’s going to be the only one siding with one fighter for any given fight.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader
Mookie Alexander: Fedor is a live dog here. He still has power and Bader has never been insanely difficult to hit or hurt. Historically speaking, Fedor has also rarely just been held down with ease and dominated on the mat like we’ve seen Bader do to the Matt Mitriones of the world. On the flip side… Bader does pack a punch and Fedor has recently not been all that hard to put in serious danger, so I can’t really rule out Bader just starching Fedor with a huge shot and that’s a wrap. The safe play though is that Bader is going to dictate the terms of the action, have a few scares because Fedor is still dangerous, but the pick is Ryan Bader by unanimous decision.
Fraser Coffeen: With a heavy heart… Ryan Bader, KO, R1
Zane Simon: I just can’t pick Fedor. I’ve been wrong a lot on him lately, but I still can’t do it. Even his latest wins haven’t looked great. Maybe Bader doesn’t finish him quick, but if he can make the first round hard, I’m willing to bet that things only get worse for the ‘Last Emperor’ from there. Ryan Bader via TKO, round 3.
Eddie Mercado: When Ryan Bader loses, it’s because he makes fight ending mistakes, like rushing in on the feet or getting too desperate to get the fight to the ground. Fedor is hyper-opportunistic and will catch Bader making a mistake. Bader by ground and pound, sure, but Fedor inside the distance because he’s the GOAT. Deal with it. Fedor inside the distance
Tim Burke: Like I’m ever gonna pick against Fedor. Fedor Emelianenko via submission (guillotine), :35 of round 1
Shakiel Mahjouri: Fraser knows what he is talking about. Bader is not a perfect fighter, but he has cleaned up a lot of the holes and split-second poor decision making that have cost him in the past. The man has carried his punching power to heavyweight and has the advantage just about anywhere this fight goes. Watch the throne “Last Emperor”, Ryan Bader via KO, round 1.
Staff picking Fedor: Eddie, Tim Staff picking Bader: Nick, Shak, Mookie, Stephie, Fraser, Phil, Zane, Eddie
Aaron Pico vs. Henry Corrales
Mookie Alexander: The only real concern I have for Pico is that he might eventually fall in love with his hands too much and it could cost him down the line against better opponents, but that’s kind of “worst case scenario” thinking. He looks like the real deal. Corrales is a tough opponent who’s an established featherweight contender. Only the elite of Bellator’s division beats Henry, so if Pico can run through him, then that’s a massive deal. His hand speed and strike selection is really impressive. He has knockout power and we know his wrestling credentials. Corrales is extremely well-rounded with good takedown defense, and he’s got good but not great power as a striker. I’m really intrigued by this matchup, but I am on the Pico hype train and that he’ll be too quick and athletic and dangerous for Corrales to deal with. Aaron Pico by TKO, round 2.
Zane Simon: With any seasoned vet fighting a young top prospect there’s a pretty cut and dried sense of how the fight can go. Pico either goes out and hurts Corrales early and puts him away. Or, he hurts Corrales early and can’t put him away and Corrales rallies back. For this fight, I think the athleticism is just too far in Pico’s corner. And Corrales just isn’t a consistent enough finisher for me to even feel all that confident that, if he were a round and a half down, he could definitely win the last half of the fight to take the decision. Aaron Pico via TKO, round 1.
Eddie Mercado: The punching power of Pico vs. the toughness of Corrales. If Corrales can weather the early storm and drag Pico into deep water then he has a chance to get the dub. He definitely is tough enough to have a shot at it. Pico is lethal af though. There’s a good chance he is going to rack up the damage in the exchanges resulting in him getting the win. Will Pico finish Corrales? I don’t know, but if he does he should get the next crack at the title. Aaron Pico wins.
Shakiel Mahjouri: Pico is turning into everything Bellator wanted him to be. I am favouring him over the ultra-tough Corrales in this fight, but I do not want to see Pico rushed into a title shot. The prospect-turned-contender is rapidly improving from fight-to-fight, but he still has some holes I would like to see tidied up. Who knows? Maybe he will have come fight night. Regardless, Aaron Pico via TKO, round 2.
Mookie Alexander: Archuleta is more experienced and probably the better fighter, but I’m a fan of Bandejas solely because of the way he just wrecked James Gallagher after Gallagher was being obnoxious towards him pre-fight. I’m picking him mostly for that reason, but this is a quality matchup between two bantamweights looking to become rising contenders in a division in need of some new title challengers. Ricky Bandejas by unanimous decision.
Zane Simon: I’ll go with the seasoned veteran here. After all he was King of the cage! Juan Archuleta by decision.
Shakiel Mahjouri: This is a tough fight to call, so I’ll bank on Archuleta’s experience edge. Juan Archuleta by decision.
Mookie Alexander: I know nothing about Jack Swagger, the WWE star. He is certainly closer to Brock Lesnar than CM Punk in the sense that he actually has serious athletic credentials preceding his WWE career. The man was a super talented wrestler in college and has beaten Cain Velasquez before! Kiser has a lot of amateur boxing and MMA experience but he’s only 1-1 as a pro, so… I don’t know how much you can gather from this outside of “has done combat sports” when it’s evident that Bellator wants to put Jack Swagger over as a possible major attraction. I’ll go with takedown, mount, ground-and-pound TKO finish. Jack Swagger by TKO, round 1.
Tim Burke: WE THE PEOPLE! Jack Swagger, TKO, round 2
Zane Simon: It’s not a complete can, but Bellator definitely went out and found someone they expect Swagger can beat. Jack Swagger via TKO, round 1.
Shakiel Mahjouri: The All-American American via Ankle Lock, ‘nuff said. Really though, Jack Swagger via TKO, round 2.
Zane Simon: They aren’t really going to put this on the main card of Agazarm’s debut (editor’s note: vs. Jesse Roberts) are there? Probably not. AJ Agazarm via submission.
Staff picking McMahan: Staff picking Altamimi: Mookie, Stephie, Fraser, Phil, Nick, Tim, Shak, Staff picking AJ Agazarm: Eddie ;), Zane
