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See the updated Bellator MMA rankings following Bellator 261.

The official Bellator MMA rankings were updated following the Bellator 261: “Johnson vs Moldavsky” event, which went down this past weekend (Fri., June 25, 2021) from inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. In the main event, Valentin Moldavsky defeated Timothy Johnson to claim the interim Heavyweight title, earning him a title unification bout against division king Ryan Bader later this year.

To find out how fighters are ranked after each Bellator MMA event click here.

MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Patricio Pitbull (32-4)
2. Vadim Nemkov (13-2)
3. Gegard Mousasi (47-7-2)
4. Ryan Bader (28-6)
5. Yaroslav Amosov (26-0)
6. AJ McKee (17-0)
7. Sergio Pettis (21-5)
8. Douglas Lima (32-9)
9. Corey Anderson (15-5)
10. Juan Archuleta (25-3)

WOMEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND

1. Cris Cyborg (24-2)
2. Juliana Velasquez (11-0)
3. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-1)
4. Julia Budd (15-3)
5. Liz Carmouche (15-7)
6. Arlene Blencowe (13-8)
7. Denise Kielholtz (6-2)
8. Cat Zingano (12-4)
9. Kana Watanabe (10-0)
10. Leslie Smith (12-9-1)

MEN’S HEAVYWEIGHT (265 Pounds)

C. Ryan Bader (28-6)

1. Valentin Moldavsky (11-1) +2 *interim champion
2. Timothy Johnson (15-7) -1
3. Cheick Kongo (30-11-2) -1
4. Linton Vassell (20-8)
5. Tyrell Fortune (10-1)
6. Steven Mowry (9-0)
7. Matt Mitrione (13-8)
8. Davion Franklin (3-0)
9. Gokhan Saricam (5-1)
10. Jake Hager (3-0)

MEN’S LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (205 Pounds)

C. Vadim Nemkov (13-2)

1. Ryan Bader (27-6)
2. Corey Anderson (14-5)
3. Phil Davis (22-6)
4. Anthony Johnson (23-6)
5. Julius Anglickas (10-1)
6. Lyoto Machida (26-11)
7. Grant Neal (5-0)
8. Christian Edwards (5-0 ) NR*
9. Tyree Fortune (5-1) -1
10. Melvin Manhoef (32-15-1) -1

MEN’S MIDDLEWEIGHT (185 Pounds)

C. Gegard Mousasi (47-7-2)

1. John Salter (18-4)
2. Austin Vanderford (11-0)
3. Costello van Steenis (13-2)
4. Fabian Edwards (9-2)
5. Johnny Eblen (8-0)
6. Charlie Ward (9-4)
7. Romero Cotton (5-0)
8. Mike Shipman (14-3)
9. Ed Ruth (8-3)
10. Norbert Novenyi Jr. (5-0)
10. Dalton Rosta (5-0) NR*

MEN’S WELTERWEIGHT (170 Pounds)

C. Yaroslav Amosov (25-0)

1. Douglas Lima (32-9)
2. Michael Page (19-1)
3. Jason Jackson (15-4)
4. Neiman Gracie (10-2)
5. Logan Storley (11-1)
6. Joey Davis (8-0) +2
7. Derek Anderson (17-4)
8. Paul Daley (43-17-2)
9. Sabah Homasi (15-9)
10. Oliver Enkamp (10-2)

MEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT (155 Pounds)

C. Patricio Pitbull (32-4)

1. Patricky Pitbull (23-10)
2. Sidney Outlaw (16-4) +4
3. Benson Henderson (28-10) -1
4. Peter Queally (13-5-1) +1
5. Goiti Yamauchi (25-5) -2
6. Myles Jury (19-6) -2
7. Aviv Gozali (6-0)
8. Alexander Shabliy (20-3)
9. Dan Moret (15-6) +1
10. Adam Piccolotti (12-4) -1

MEN’S FEATHERWEIGHT (145 Pounds)

C. Patricio Pitbull (32-4)

1. AJ McKee (17-0)
2. Emmanuel Sanchez (20-5)
3. Adam Borics (17-1)
4. Jay Jay Wilson (8-0)
5. Aaron Pico (8-3) +1
6. Daniel Weichel (40-12)
7. Pedro Carvalho (11-5)
8. Mads Burnell (15-3)
9. Justin Gonzalez (12-0)
10. Jeremy Kennedy (16-2, 1- NC)

MEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT (135 Pounds)

C. Sergio Pettis (21-5)

1. Juan Archuleta (25-3)
2. Patchy Mix (13-1)
3. Magomed Magomedov (17-1)
4. Raufeon Stots (15-1)
5. Leandro Higo (21-5)
6. James Gallagher (11-1)
7. Josh Hill (20-3)
8. Jornel Lugo (6-0)
9. Cass Bell (5-2)
10. Darrion Caldwell (15-5)

WOMEN’S FEATHERWEIGHT (145 Pounds)

C. Cris Cyborg (24-2)

1. Julia Budd (15-3)
2. Arlene Blencowe (13-8)
3. Cat Zingano (12-4)
4. Leslie Smith (12-9-1)
5. Leah McCourt (5-1)
6. Sinead Kavanagh (7-4)
7. Janay Harding (6-5)
8. Jessy Miele (5-2)
9. Marina Mokhnatkina (5-2)
10. Talita Nogueira (8-2)

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT (125 Pounds)

C. Juliana Velasquez (11-0)

1. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-1)
2. Liz Carmouche (15-7)
3. Denise Kielholtz (6-2)
4. Kana Watanabe (10-1-1) -1
5. Alejandra Lara (9-5)
6. Veta Arteaga (6-4)
7. Kate Jackson (11-5-1)
8. Hannah Guy (3-1) +1
9. Valerie Loureda (3-1)
10.Vanessa Porto (22-9)

Expect some changes after the dust settles from Bellator 262 on July 16, 2021, which is topped by a women’s Flyweight title fight between Juliana Velasquez taking on division kickboxing champion Denise Kielholtz.

To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.

Fedor Emelianenko has no shortage of opponents lining up to fight him for his comeback fight.

Heavyweight mixed martial arts legend Fedor Emelianenko will return to the Bellator cage later this year after an 18-month hiatus from the sport — but against whom?

Bellator CEO Scott Coker, who has a solid working relationship with Emelianenko, listed Josh Barnett, Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos as potential opponents, revealing that he has been in contact with all three men since ‘The Last Emperor’s’ surprise comeback announcement last week.

“Believe me, there is no shortage of opponents (for) Russia right now. Listen, the managers of all the free agents are calling. Josh Barnett was texting me today. I talked to (Junior Dos Santos’) manager a couple of days ago. Alistair Overeem. The list goes on and on and on,” Coker told MMA Junkie in a recent interview.

Emelianenko, who turns 45 in September, will return to the cage at an upcoming Bellator event in Moscow, Russia on October 23 against a TBA opponent. The former PRIDE champion is widely considered the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time, accumulating multiple world titles and beating legends such as Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Andre Arlovski. The enigmatic Russian last fought at Bellator 237, where he knocked out former UFC light heavyweight champ Rampage Jackson in the second round.

Joe Schilling could face legal ramifications after a viral video showed him knocking out a bar patron.

Joe Schilling could find himself in legal trouble after a video surfaced of him knocking out a bar patron.

A video surfaced earlier this week in which Schilling knocked out a bar patron in Florida. According to MMA Fighting, the Bellator MMA and Glory kickboxing veteran could face a misdemeanor battery charge, according to a police report obtained by the publication.

Representatives with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department made contact with the alleged victim Justin Balboa on Sunday night. Below is an excerpt from MMA Fighting’s story.

Balboa had a bloody lip and described Schilling as a 6-foot-5, 270-pound white male who “just hit him for no reason.” Balboa “would not elaborate on how or why the male punched him,” according to the police report, but was “obviously intoxicated.” That same night Balboa told officers that he “only wanted the incident documented in order to file a civil suit against the establishment.”

Officers also spoke to the manager of the bar on Sunday night. The manager stated that Balboa “was extremely intoxicated and had possibly made an improper remark about the girlfriend/wife of the male who had struck him, which caused the fight to escalate.” The manager also noted that Balboa “is a regular customer who routinely causes problems at the establishment due to his intoxication level.”

“Numerous other patrons of the establishment corroborated the manager’s story,” the police report noted, corroborating the story that Balboa started the altercation.

Balboa decided on Monday to prosecute Schilling for the alleged attack after seeing footage of the knockout blow.

“It was something that should not have happened,” Balboa’s attorney, Robert Solomon, told the publication. “It should not have happened. You watch that video and you cringe. This is a professional fighter. To tell me you felt threatened as a professional fighter that’s fighting in the highest level of all the fighting, Bellator and all these things, I don’t buy it. I think it was uncalled for, and there’s consequences when you do things like that.

“I think a professional fighter overreacted to a situation, that he didn’t need to do what he did,” Solomon added, “and to punch somebody as hard as he punched this guy, he’s lucky he’s not dead and we’re dealing with a different type of case.”

Balboa allegedly suffered “a head injury,” according to the lawyer, but the extent of the injury is currently unknown.

No charges have been formally filed by Balboa as of Tuesday, at the time of this writing, according to a representative for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

“As far as we’re concerned, the status of this case is on the victim’s shoulders right now,” rep Casey Liening said. “He has to make the effort to file the case with the state attorney’s office, and then it’ll go from there.”

Schilling wrote on Monday that he was “scared for his life” and was “simply defending” himself “against the evil in the world.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals Dana White and the UFC are still pushing him to make a comeback.

Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed in a recent interview with UFC Russia that UFC president Dana White is still trying to convince him to make a comeback despite repeatedly insisting that he is retired.

“You know a few days ago — I don’t know whether I can go on record, (Ali) Abdelaziz called me a few weeks ago,” Khabib, who retired following his submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, said (transcript via BJPenn.com). “He asked me, ‘Do you know what Dana White asked me?’ and told me (Dana asked), ‘Why does Khabib (Nurmagomedov) never ask me how much money I can offer for his return?’ I asked Abdelaziz, ‘This is the question for me through you or what?’ And he told me, ‘Nah, Dana just asked.’”

Khabib reiterated that he will not be returning to the octagon no matter how hard White and the UFC try to lure him out of retirement.

“Look, I am really not interested,” Khabib said. “We went down this road. I said and did everything I wanted. I made the decision. However, (Dana White) is not giving up. Not even Dana but the entire UFC headquarters in Las Vegas, (Nevada). They assume I [I’ll] inflate my price or prepare my agenda for future negotiations. I left, ‘But come on guys, change my mind give me money or something.’ It feels like that for me. I believe they will understand me and my choice eventually.”

Nurmagomedov retired with an undefeated record of 29-0 and is widely considered one of, if not the, best UFC fighters of all time.