Tag: Bellator firings

And Now They’re All Fired: Bellator Cuts Attila Vegh, Mighty Mo, and 11 Other Fighters


(Photo via Bellator.com)

For such a respectful, soft-spoken guy, Bellator President Scott Coker has absolutely no problem firing dudes by the dozen. In June, he slashed 19 jobs just a week after joining the organization. And now, 13 more Bellator fighters have been released, as MMAFighting confirmed yesterday evening. Here they are, in order of most surprising to least surprising…

Attila Vegh (5-1 in Bellator), who won the 2012 light heavyweight tournament, then became Bellator’s 205-pound champion with a decision win over Christian M’Pumbu in February 2013. In March of this year, he lost his title in a rematch against Emanuel Newton; Vegh and Newton now hold split-decision victories over each other. Vegh’s dismissal is kind of inexplicable. He’s one of the best light-heavyweights Bellator had under contract, and a rubber-match against Newton seemed like an obvious booking in the future. I don’t get it.

“Mighty Mo” Siliga (3-1 in Bellator), the 43-year-old kickboxing veteran who’s had an unexpected resurgence in Bellator since last year. Mo ended his first three fights in the promotion by stoppage — and proved he had some grappling skills too — but got knocked out by an Alexander Volkov head kick during the Season 10 heavyweight tournament semi-finals in April. Despite his age, Mo has always been a reliably entertaining presence and you’d think the new regime would want to keep him around.

Bryan Baker (8-4 in Bellator), a five-year veteran of the promotion who competed in four tournaments, reaching the Season 2 middleweight finals and Season 6 welterweight finals. Along the way, Baker defeated the likes of Ben Saunders, Joe Riggs, and Jeremy Horn. Baker lost his last two fights and hasn’t competed since February 2013.


(Photo via Bellator.com)

For such a respectful, soft-spoken guy, Bellator President Scott Coker has absolutely no problem firing dudes by the dozen. In June, he slashed 19 jobs just a week after joining the organization. And now, 13 more Bellator fighters have been released, as MMAFighting confirmed yesterday evening. Here they are, in order of most surprising to least surprising…

Attila Vegh (5-1 in Bellator), who won the 2012 light heavyweight tournament, then became Bellator’s 205-pound champion with a decision win over Christian M’Pumbu in February 2013. In March of this year, he lost his title in a rematch against Emanuel Newton; Vegh and Newton now hold split-decision victories over each other. Vegh’s dismissal is kind of inexplicable. He’s one of the best light-heavyweights Bellator had under contract, and a rubber-match against Newton seemed like an obvious booking in the future. I don’t get it.

“Mighty Mo” Siliga (3-1 in Bellator), the 43-year-old kickboxing veteran who’s had an unexpected resurgence in Bellator since last year. Mo ended his first three fights in the promotion by stoppage — and proved he had some grappling skills too — but got knocked out by an Alexander Volkov head kick during the Season 10 heavyweight tournament semi-finals in April. Despite his age, Mo has always been a reliably entertaining presence and you’d think the new regime would want to keep him around.

Bryan Baker (8-4 in Bellator), a five-year veteran of the promotion who competed in four tournaments, reaching the Season 2 middleweight finals and Season 6 welterweight finals. Along the way, Baker defeated the likes of Ben Saunders, Joe Riggs, and Jeremy Horn. Baker lost his last two fights and hasn’t competed since February 2013.

Shahbulat Shamhalaev (3-2 in Bellator), won the Season 7 featherweight tournament with three consecutive KO/TKOs, then suffered back-to-back first-round stoppage losses to Pat Curran and Fabricio Guerreiro.

Desmond Green (3-2 in Bellator), a finalist in the Season 10 featherweight tournament who came up short against Daniel Weichel, losing by rear-naked choke at Bellator 119 in May.

Egidijus Valavicius (2-1 in Bellator), a Lithuanian journeyman who was a semi-finalist in the Season 10 light-heavyweight tournament.

Justin Torrey (2-1 in Bellator), who was knocked out of the Season 9 middleweight tournament quarterfinals by Brennan Ward last September.

Rodney “Sho Nuff the Master” Wallace (1-1 in Bellator), the light-heavyweight UFC vet who lost a decision to Kelly Anundson in the 2014 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament quarterfinals in June.

Luis Sergio Melo Jr., aka Sergio Junior (1-1 in Bellator), who lost a decision to Ron Keslar at the Season 9 welterweight tournament quarterfinals last September.

Ron Sparks (3-3 Bellator), a heavyweight slugger who kicked off his Bellator stint with three straight first-round stoppages, then lost three straight fights in the first round — enough to earn his release fair and square.

Patrick Cenoble (0-1-1 Bellator), a lightweight who fought to a draw against Tony Fryklund before being outpointed by Terry Etim last November. Cenoble handled himself well against solid competition, but his lack of victories made him expendable.

Mark “The Hand Of” Godbeer (0-1 in Bellator). A pun-nickname and a loss to Cheick Kongo. To the rubbish pile with you.

Austen “Corndog” Heidlage (0-1 Bellator). Never heard of him, and I have to assume that his presence on the Bellator roster was the result of some clerical error.

BELLATOR BLOODBATH 2014: Promotion Cuts 19 Fighters to Make Room for Tito vs. Kimbo (Allegedly)


(The referee isn’t mad at Eric Prindle. He’s just disappointed. / Photo via Sherdog.)

Hey everybody, thanks for joining me on such short notice. The reason I called you all to the conference room today is because, well, you know with every change in leadership there’s going to be some growing pains. I don’t want to use the word “redundancies,” because I don’t see a single person in this room who I’d call “redundant.” You’re all unique, valuable — we hired you for a reason. And we appreciate what you’ve done to help Bellator grow. By the way, the bagels and cream cheese are for everybody, feel free to dig in. I think there are some plastic knives in that bag over there.

The reality of the situation, however, is this: The current budgetary climate has forced us to get lean and mean. Maybe it’s just temporary, maybe it’s the new normal. But the fact is that we’re trying to stay competitive in the post-Bjorn era, and that means trimming some fat. Well, again, “fat” is a word I don’t like to use because it implies something unwanted that has grown on the body due to excess consumption, or a general lack of movement. So yes, maybe “trimming some fat” is actually the perfect metaphor to use here.

At any rate, the partners have gotten together and pored over every contract, and — look, I’m just going to say it — 19 of you have been fired. The following people will no longer be working here, effective immediately…


(The referee isn’t mad at Eric Prindle. He’s just disappointed. / Photo via Sherdog.)

Hey everybody, thanks for joining me on such short notice. The reason I called you all to the conference room today is because, well, you know with every change in leadership there’s going to be some growing pains. I don’t want to use the word “redundancies,” because I don’t see a single person in this room who I’d call “redundant.” You’re all unique, valuable — we hired you for a reason. And we appreciate what you’ve done to help Bellator grow. By the way, the bagels and cream cheese are for everybody, feel free to dig in. I think there are some plastic knives in that bag over there.

The reality of the situation, however, is this: The current budgetary climate has forced us to get lean and mean. Maybe it’s just temporary, maybe it’s the new normal. But the fact is that we’re trying to stay competitive in the post-Bjorn era, and that means trimming some fat. Well, again, “fat” is a word I don’t like to use because it implies something unwanted that has grown on the body due to excess consumption, or a general lack of movement. So yes, maybe “trimming some fat” is actually the perfect metaphor to use here.

At any rate, the partners have gotten together and pored over every contract, and — look, I’m just going to say it — 19 of you have been fired. The following people will no longer be working here, effective immediately…

Eric Prindle. Anthony Leone. Frank Baca, Nick Kirk. Travis Marx. Hiroshi Nakamura. Rodrigo Lima. Sergej Grecicho…good to finally meet you, Sergej. Jared Downing. Jason Fischer. Tim Welch. Nathan Coy. Anthony Lemon. Trey Houston. Vaughn Anderson. Keith Berry. Jeremy Kimball. Carlos Eduardo. Eric Smith.

If I’ve called your name, please report to HR where your severance benefits will be explained to you, and then go back to your desk where a security guard will be present to watch you gather your things in a cardboard box. Yes, it’s the kind of cardboard box with the handles on the sides, so we expect this transition to be as smooth as possible.

For the rest of you, wow, quite a day, am I right? You can breathe easy now. We see all of you as the fighters who are going to help get Bellator to the next level. All of you are crucial supporting talent that will give an air of legitimacy to the circus freak show bullshit that we will need to promote in order to keep our heads above water. That rumored fight between Tito Ortiz and Kimbo Slice? I can neither confirm or deny that at this moment. All I can say is: Watch out for that metal thing.

I said, watch out for that metal thing. Huh. I was expecting a bigger laugh there.

And Now He’s Fired: Bellator Releases Ben Saunders, For Some Reason [UPDATED]


(“You want to put me on a t-shirt? Sure, sounds great buddy!” — Marcus Davis / Photo via topmmanews)

Since his Bellator debut in 2011, Ben Saunders has been one of the most visible and entertaining members of the promotion’s welterweight division. But unfortunately, he was never able to win a tournament, failing to secure the Big Check in three consecutive years. And so, in the wake of his head kick knockout loss to Douglas Lima at Bellator 100 in September, Bellator has released the Killa B. Bjorn Rebney explained the decision in a statement released to MMAMania:

“I’ve been a ‘Killa B’ fan for years, and Ben’s given 100 percent of his heart every single time he’s stepped into the Bellator cage. After competing in three Bellator tournaments, Ben could never get to the top of that mountain, and as we continue to grow and expand I spoke to Ben and we both decided it was time to move in a different direction, so we provided Ben his complete release.“


(“You want to put me on a t-shirt? Sure, sounds great buddy!” — Marcus Davis / Photo via topmmanews)

Since his Bellator debut in 2011, Ben Saunders has been one of the most visible and entertaining members of the promotion’s welterweight division. But unfortunately, he was never able to win a tournament, failing to secure the Big Check in three consecutive years. And so, in the wake of his head kick knockout loss to Douglas Lima at Bellator 100 in September, Bellator has released the Killa B. Bjorn Rebney explained the decision in a statement released to MMAMania:

“I’ve been a ‘Killa B’ fan for years, and Ben’s given 100 percent of his heart every single time he’s stepped into the Bellator cage. After competing in three Bellator tournaments, Ben could never get to the top of that mountain, and as we continue to grow and expand I spoke to Ben and we both decided it was time to move in a different direction, so we provided Ben his complete release.”

Saunders compiled a 7-3 record in Bellator, with two of his losses coming in the finals of 170-pound tournaments — both to Lima, both by second-round KO. Last year, he also lost a decision to Bryan Baker in the semifinals of Bellator’s Season 6 welterweight tourney. Just like Yushin Okami, Saunders could have theoretically continued on this “perennial contender” path forever, coming close to title contention in Bellator, but not quite reaching the goal. Instead, he’ll be looking for new opportunities in World Series of Fighting or One FC, with the rest of MMA’s lost souls.

It’s understandable that Bellator wants to get some fresh bodies in the division. Then again, they just released a guy who won three of his last four fights and still has more name value than any other WW currently in the company besides War Machine. Did Bellator make the right call here?

Update: Ben’s tweet from last night…