Danny Sabatello Issued $5,000 Fine By Mohegan Tribe Following Expletive-Filled Bellator 282 Interview

Danny SabatelloCaptivating Bellator MMA bantamweight contender, Danny Sabatello has been issued a $5,000 fine by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation, following his expletive post-fight interview with ‘Big’ John McCarthy off the back of an impressive unanimous decision win against Leandro Higo at Bellator 282 last weekend in Uncasville, Connecticut.  Sabatello, who improved to 13-1 […]

Danny Sabatello

Captivating Bellator MMA bantamweight contender, Danny Sabatello has been issued a $5,000 fine by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation, following his expletive post-fight interview with ‘Big’ John McCarthy off the back of an impressive unanimous decision win against Leandro Higo at Bellator 282 last weekend in Uncasville, Connecticut. 

Sabatello, who improved to 13-1 as a professional last weekend with his quarter final Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix victory over Brazilian division mainstay, Higo.

Danny Sabatello lands himself a title shot against Raufeon Stots next

An alum of both Dana White’s Contender Series as well as Titan FC, Sabatello, who holds three victories since his Bellator debut – now progresses to the semi final bracket, where he draws interim bantamweight champion, Raufeon Stots – who landed the interim crown with a high kick knockout success against former undisputed champion, Juan Archuleta. 

Off the back of Sabatello’s victory against Higo, the American Top Team mainstay moves to the last-four, drawing Stots, ahead of a projected finale outing opposite either Patchy Mix, or Magomed Magomedov.  

Reportedly warned against an expletive-filled rant in his post-fight interview prior to his matchup with Higo, Sabatello chose to ignore his warning – and as a result, has officially been slapped with a $5,000 fine by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Commission. 

“I was told if I swore in my post-fight interview, I might get fined,” Danny Sabatello told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “So, it’s a good thing I don’t give a f*ck. I just beat an absolute animal, and not one of you is going to do sh*t. You want to do something? Come in here right now and do something.” 

Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation, Mike Mazzulli confirmed to MMA Fighting that Rule 12 of the MMA Unified Rules prohibits “use of abusive language in the fighting area” – leading to Sabatello’s subsequent fining.

“I said just be respectful of the sport, that’s all I ask, and don’t push,” Mike Mazzuli said. “You heard him (Danny Sabatello) standing there saying, ‘I’m going to get fined, but I don’t care.’ So he got fined.”

Danny Sabatello Fined $5,000 For Bellator 282 Interview Profanity

Bellator bantamweight Danny Sabatello paid a hefty price for his profanity-laced post-fight interview with “Big” John McCarthy at Bellator 282. Sabatello earned a unanimous decision win over Leandro Higo in the Bellator 282 co-main event. The win allowed him to move on to the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix semifinals and he’ll face interim champion…

Continue Reading Danny Sabatello Fined $5,000 For Bellator 282 Interview Profanity at MMA News.

Bellator bantamweight Danny Sabatello paid a hefty price for his profanity-laced post-fight interview with “Big” John McCarthy at Bellator 282.

Sabatello earned a unanimous decision win over Leandro Higo in the Bellator 282 co-main event. The win allowed him to move on to the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix semifinals and he’ll face interim champion Raufeon Stots next.

Sabatello, who has been known as one of Bellator’s biggest trash talkers, used his post-fight interview to cuss out his detractors. Now, the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation has fined him $5,000 for abusive language.

During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Sabatello gave his reaction to the fine. (h/t MMA Fighting)

“Yeah, that’s f****** bulls***,” he said. “That’s such f****** bulls***. But you know what, I don’t care. If I fight there again, I’m telling you right now, I’m going to do the same s***. You can keep f****** fining me. Nothing is going to deter me from being myself, and also, it wouldn’t do justice to the fans. I want the fans to understand exactly who they’re dealing with. That’s who I am. That’s my personality. Fine me. I don’t give a f***. It’s just money.”

Sabatello will likely appeal the fine and he’ll hope to have it resolved ahead of his next fight against Stots.

Sabatello has every reason to exude confidence following seven-straight wins, including victories in the tournament over Jornel Lugo and Higo. The former Dana White’s Contender Series standout has been branded as one of Bellator’s fastest-rising stars.

Sabatello will likely continue his profanity-laced approach to trash-talking in the future, but he may look to fight at other venues other than the Mohegan Sun Arena to avoid potential financial penalties.

Do you think it’s fair for Danny Sabatello to be fined for cursing?

Continue Reading Danny Sabatello Fined $5,000 For Bellator 282 Interview Profanity at MMA News.

Cat Zingano Calls For Long-Awaited Title Shot At Cris Cyborg After Bellator 282 Win

Cat Zingano, Cris Cyborg, Bellator 282Cat Zingano has called for a shot against Bellator MMA champion Cris Cyborg. This past Friday, Cat Zingano extended her win streak to three with a dominant performance against Pam Sorenson at Bellator 282. The women’s featherweight contest took place on the preliminary card at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Although Zingano had a […]

Cat Zingano, Cris Cyborg, Bellator 282

Cat Zingano has called for a shot against Bellator MMA champion Cris Cyborg.

This past Friday, Cat Zingano extended her win streak to three with a dominant performance against Pam Sorenson at Bellator 282. The women’s featherweight contest took place on the preliminary card at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Although Zingano had a point docked for an illegal knee, she would adjust her game plan accordingly to secure the victory.

Cat Zingano reflects on Bellator 282 performance

At the post-fight press conference, Cat Zingano reflected on her performance and shared her thoughts on what went inside the cage that night.

“I’m happy with the performance,” Zingano told MMA Junkie after the fight. “I feel like I was very dominant. I get (to top position on the canvas) a lot and I stay there a lot, and I feel like I cause a lot of damage. It’s a very comfortable, happy place for me. I feel like I want to be doing more.”

“I feel like I got some really good head kicks off on her and at one point, I watched one land and as I turned away, I just watched her head start dripping. I’m like, ‘Damn, she’s got a chin. That didn’t do anything but cut her.’ I cut her again and I cut her again, and it still wasn’t fazing her. … Once I hurt my knee, it was just top game and try to cut her up and see if I can get a finish from there.”

Zingano wants to fight Cris Cyborg for the title

She expressed her interest in competing against Cris Cyborg for the Bellator women’s featherweight title. ‘Alpha’ believes the long-awaited shot that was brought up multiple times in the past is ready to come to fruition.

“I do (think I should get a title shot),” Zingano said. “I feel like I’ve done a good job moving up the ranks in Bellator and getting the experience. The environment is here. Me and Cyborg are here. We’ve both been talking about each other for quite a while. Putting it together obviously makes a lot of sense.

“I think we have very different styles, and different styles make awesome matchups. I think that’s cool and I think it’ll be interesting. We’re both OGs and we both came from training in the same kind of hard-knocks environments to come up and still figuring it out and making it happen.”

Would you like to see Cat Zingano fight for the title against Cris Cyborg?

Johnny Eblen On Bellator 282 Title Win: “It Shuts Up Everybody. There’s No Question I’m The Best Middleweight In The World”

Johnny EblenJohnny Eblen believes he’s the best middleweight after becoming the Bellator champion. This past Friday, Johnny Eblen took on the former two-time Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. The undefeated prospect snapped Mousasi’s four-fight win streak with a dominant performance that saw him get a clean sweep on the judges’ scorecards. All the judges scored each […]

Johnny Eblen

Johnny Eblen believes he’s the best middleweight after becoming the Bellator champion.

This past Friday, Johnny Eblen took on the former two-time Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. The undefeated prospect snapped Mousasi’s four-fight win streak with a dominant performance that saw him get a clean sweep on the judges’ scorecards. All the judges scored each round for Eblen as he won 50-45.

Mousasi had the opportunity to claim his 50th win inside the octagon, a feat unparalleled in the sport with very few athletes to ever reach near the number. He was going into the bout off a first-round finish of Austin Vanderford in Dublin, Ireland. ‘Dreamcatcher’ displayed his signature coolness and knocked out Vanderford within 90 seconds using counter-attacking prowess.

However, the same Mousasi was not seen at Bellator 282. While he was his usual composed self, he severely lacked in effective countering and appeared to not have the answer for Eblen’s right hand.

Johnny Eblen says he’s “the best middleweight in the world”

During the post-fight press conference for Bellator 282, Johnny Eblen reflected on becoming the new 185 lbs king in the promotion. Eblen expanded on a commanding victory that saw him drop Mousasi and control the fight in all aspects of the game.

He was asked whether he felt better that he left no questions unanswered than getting a knockout win that some might allege was lucky. Eblen stated that he expected the fight to go exactly the way it did and further went on to claim he’s the best middleweight in the world.

“I hurt him,” Eblen said. “I dominated the wrestling, I dominated the grappling, and I went all five rounds, and I won every single round. It just shuts up all the haters. It shuts up everybody. There’s no question I’m the best middleweight in the world.”

UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya might disagree with Eblen’s claims. ‘Stylebender’ will mark his return to action in a title defense against Jared Cannonier on July 2 at UFC 276.

Bellator 282 Results & Highlights: Eblen Upsets Mousasi

Bellator 282 has wrapped up, and you can find all the results and highlights from the action below! At Bellator 282, Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi took on #1 contender Johnny Eblen. Mousasi’s second title reign began in 2020 when he defeated Douglas Lima via unanimous decision for the vacant championship. For his first two defenses,…

Continue Reading Bellator 282 Results & Highlights: Eblen Upsets Mousasi at MMA News.

Bellator 282 has wrapped up, and you can find all the results and highlights from the action below!

At Bellator 282, Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi took on #1 contender Johnny Eblen. Mousasi’s second title reign began in 2020 when he defeated Douglas Lima via unanimous decision for the vacant championship. For his first two defenses, he defeated John Salter and Austin Vanderford.

But could Mousasi fend off the challenge of the undefeated Johnny Eblen? Eblen entered the fight with a professional record of 11-0 having most recently defeated Salter via unanimous decision at Bellator 276.

The co-main event featured Leandro Higo facing Danny Sabatello. Additionally, the bantamweight grand prix quarterfinals were held with Leandro Higo facing Danny Sabatello and Magomed Magomedov battling Enrique Barzola.

Below, you can check out the highlights from the main card followed by the quick results for the full card!

Brennan Ward def. Kassius Kayne

Magomed Magomedov def. Enrique Barzola

Danny Sabatello def. Leandro Higo

Johnny Eblen def. Gegard Mousasi

Bellator 282 Quick Results

Main Card

  • Middleweight Championship Bout: Johnny Eblen def. Gegard Mousasi via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
  • Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal: Danny Sabatello def. Leandro Higo via unanimous decision (49-46×3)
  • Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal: Magomed Magomedov def. Enrique Barzola via submission (guillotine choke): R4, 1:27
  • Brennan Ward def. Kassius Kayne via TKO (punches): R2, 1:11

Preliminary Card

  • Killys Mota def. Dan Moret via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
  • Lucas Brennan def. Johnny Soto via submission (rear-naked choke): R1, 3:34
  • Alexander Shabliy def. Brent Primus via knockout (punches): R2, 1:22
  • Cat Zingano def. Pam Sorenson via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-27×2)
  • Anatoly Tokov def. Muhammad Abdullah via TKO (punches): R1, 2:28
  • Sabah Homasi def. Maycon Mendonca via knockout (punch): R1, 0:58
  • Ilara Joanne def. Alejandra Lara via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27×2)
  • James Gonzalez def. Cody Law via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 30-26)
  • Aaron Jeffery def. Fabio Aguiar via TKO (punches): R2, 3:32
  • Mandel Nallo def. Bryce Logan via TKO (punches): R1, 1:07

Continue Reading Bellator 282 Results & Highlights: Eblen Upsets Mousasi at MMA News.

Johnny Eblen On Bellator 282 Title Shot: “Higher Stakes, Same Sh*t”

Bellator middleweight contender Johnny Eblen is not feeling any added pressure ahead of his title challenge this Friday. In the main event of Bellator 282, Eblen will look to dethrone one of the world’s top middleweights, Gegard Mousasi. The former UFC star is in the midst of his second reign in the Bellator cage and…

Continue Reading Johnny Eblen On Bellator 282 Title Shot: “Higher Stakes, Same Sh*t” at MMA News.

Bellator middleweight contender Johnny Eblen is not feeling any added pressure ahead of his title challenge this Friday.

In the main event of Bellator 282, Eblen will look to dethrone one of the world’s top middleweights, Gegard Mousasi. The former UFC star is in the midst of his second reign in the Bellator cage and has already defended the belt twice since capturing the vacant 185-pound belt with a victory over Douglas Lima in 2020.

Having added the first blemish to Austin Vanderford’s record earlier this year, Mousasi will look to accomplish a similar feat when he shares the cage with Eblen at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena tomorrow night.

Like Vanderford, Eblen will enter his championship opportunity with a perfect 11-0 professional résumé. But while the pressure perhaps got too much for “The Gentleman,” who was finished inside one round, Eblen isn’t concerned about replicating that.

During a pre-fight interaction with the media, Eblen rejected the narrative that his upcoming collision with Mousasi feels any different to his previous fights, suggesting that the title fight is a natural progression for his career.

“I get a lot of questions like, ‘Hey, does it feel too much,’ Like, nah, it’s just higher stakes, same sh*t… It feels like the right step, it feels like nothing has really changed too much,” said Eblen. “If anything, I’m just fighting a little bit later, fighting a few more rounds, and fighting a better guy. That’s normal when you move up.”

Eblen: Mousasi Will Be Facing A “Different Animal”

With that, Eblen is incredibly confident that he can upset the odds on Friday and hand Mousasi his eight career loss in what will be his 59th appearance.

After admitting it’ll feel good to showcase his talents on the main-event stage and silence his detractors, “The Human Cheat Code” assured the champ that he’ll be sharing the cage with a “different animal” come fight night.

“It’s gonna put my name on the map, so it’s kinda nice. I get to shut some haters up… Solidify my name,” said Eblen. “People are gonna be like, ‘Damn, Johnny’s legit.’ … This my craft, and I’m putting my craft on this stage for everybody to see… Showcasing my craft on such a high-level guy, and executing things, it’s gonna feel good for me to do.

“I have a lot of tools on my tool belt, and I can’t wait to utilize all these tools when I go out there,” Eblen continued. “It’s gonna be a different fight stylistically (to Mousasi vs. Vanderford)… I’m a different animal.”

Do you think Johnny Eblen has what it takes to dethrone Gegard Mousasi?

Continue Reading Johnny Eblen On Bellator 282 Title Shot: “Higher Stakes, Same Sh*t” at MMA News.