Tag: Bellator News

Scott Coker Responds To Potential UFC & ONE Trade

Scott Coker responds to a potential trade between the UFC and ONE Championship.

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The UFC and ONE Championship could be on the verge of making mixed martial arts (MMA) history.

Earlier today (Wed. October 24, 2018) it was reported that the two promotions are discussing the first major blockbuster ‘trade’ within the sport. The UFC is willing to release Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson from his contract, and allow him to sign with ONE Championship. In turn, ONE would release Ben Askren in order for him to sign with the UFC.

This would be a major move for both parties, who would each be benefiting greatly from the deal. Bellator MMA President Scott Coker recently took to Twitter to react to the reports. Here’s what he had to say:

Johnson was recently defeated for the first time in his MMA career at 125 pounds. He dropped the UFC flyweight title to Henry Cejudo via split decision this past summer. Johnson was never really much of a draw as champion, and the same can be said about the flyweight division as a whole. Potentially trading away Johnson could mark the end of the UFC’s 125-pound division.

As for Askren, he hasn’t fought since November of last year, successfully defending the ONE welterweight title via first-round TKO. After the fight, Askren planned on retiring from MMA competition. However, these recent developments indicate Askren wants a few superfights before he walks away from fighting once and for all.

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Bellator 208 Medical Suspensions: Chael Sonnen Receives Short Ban

Check out the full list of Bellator 208 medical suspensions, featuring Chael Sonnen who will be forced to sit 30 days.

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Several competitors on the Bellator 208 card have received medical suspensions from the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC).

After his first-round TKO loss to Fedor Emelianenko in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix semi-finals, Chael Sonnen will be forced to sit 30 days. Fedor received a seven-day ban after his victory.

Andy Martin leads the way with a 60-day suspension, while both Ryan Castro and Jessica Ruiz have received 45-day suspensions. You can check out the full list of medical suspensions below (via MMA Fighting):

  • Andy Main: 60 days
  • Ryan Castro: 45 days
  • Jessica Ruiz: 45 days
  • Chael Sonnen: 30 days
  • Timothy Johnson: 30 days
  • Christian Medina: 30 days
  • Eric Olsen: 30 days
  • Anatoly Tokov: 14 days
  • Fedor Emelianenko: 7 days
  • Benson Henderson: 7 days
  • Saad Awad: 7 days
  • Cheick Kongo: 7 days
  • Alexander Shlemenko: 7 days
  • Henry Corrales: 7 days
  • Jerome Mickle: 7 days
  • Nick Fiore: 7 days
  • Tommy Espinosa: 7 days
  • Sukhrob Aydarbekov: 7 days
  • Zarrukh Adashev: 7 days
  • Drews Rodriguez: 7 days
  • Michael Diorio: 7 days
  • Dennis Buzukja: 7 days
  • Jeremy Puglia: 7 days
  • Jennifer Chieng: 7 days
  • Shaquan Moore: 7 days
  • David Meshkhoradze: 7 days

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Ryan Bader: Fedor’s Mystique Will Be Gone When We Step In The Cage

It looks like Ryan Bader will be treating heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko as just another man when they share the Bellator cage together.

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Bellator MMA light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader says Fedor Emelianenko’s mystique will be gone once they step into the cage together.

Both men earned their right to fight for the Bellator heavyweight title in January. Bader and Fedor made it through a grueling Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament and will compete for the vacant title against one another.

Fedor, 42, is a heavyweight legend in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). As one of the most dominant fighters of his time, this certainly presents a huge opportunity for Bader. However, “Darth” isn’t looking at “The Last Emporer” as if he’s a mythical being. Instead, he’s treating the Russian like he’s any other man (via MMA Junkie):

“I think he gets just as anxious and nervous and all that like the rest of us, and I could see that,” Bader said. “For me, it’s just – I’m not going to put him on a pedestal. I’m going to go out and do what I do.

“I’m coming out as the champ, as ‘I’m going to go out there and beat him.’ I’m the best in the world. That’s my mentality. The mystique and all that about it, it’s going to be gone. It’s very cool when I can look back later at it. But right now I’ve just go to see him as just another man.”

Bader and Fedor will headline Bellator’s show in Las Angeles, California in January. The card currently doesn’t have a number assigned to it as of this writing. Nonetheless, the event goes down from The Forum in Los Angeles, California on January 26, 2019.

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Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko Early Betting Odds Released

The early betting odds for the final bout of the Bellator heavyweight tournament.

The post Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko Early Betting Odds Released appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko early betting odds have been released as the two fighters are preparing for this fight.

Bellator President Scott Coker has already confirmed that the tournament final will take place at The Forum in Los Angeles, California on January 26, 2019.

Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko Odds

Bovada.lv has released the odds that lists Bader as a -450 favorite. If you place this bet then it means that there is an 82 percent probability of victory in the fight.

If you think and bet on Fedor to win this fight then Emelianenko comes back as a +325 underdog. For those who plan on betting on this fight, a winning bet of $100 on Bader would earn you $122.20, while the same $100 on Emelianenko would net $425.

Fedor beat Chael Sonnen at Bellator 208 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York by first round TKO. Before this, in the main event of the Bellator 198 event, the MMA legend finished former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.

The finish saw him land strikes in the first round at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, on the Paramount Network. This bout served as the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bout.

The Bellator light heavyweight champion scored a decision win over Matt Mitrione at Bellator 207. This served the headliner at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

This served as a heavyweight grand prix semifinal bout. Before this fight, Bader picked up a first-round knockout victory over Muhammed Lawal in the quarterfinals of this tournament. This fight went down at the Bellator 199 event on the Paramount Network at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

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Fedor vs. Sonnen Peaks At Over One Million Viewers

The Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinal bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen (highlights) at Bellator 208 last Saturday night (Oct. 13, 2018) was entertaining for as long as it lasted. Fans tuned as they often do when “The Last Emperor” fights as a result. According to MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer, they did so to the tune of […]

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The Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinal bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen (highlights) at Bellator 208 last Saturday night (Oct. 13, 2018) was entertaining for as long as it lasted.

Fans tuned as they often do when “The Last Emperor” fights as a result. According to MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer, they did so to the tune of 802,000 viewers for the course of the main event, peaking with 1,090,000 when including DVR viewership added in through Tuesday night.

In total, Bellator 208 averaged 521,000 viewers live. The event netted another 83,000 viewers over the next three days courtesy of DVR viewership.

DVR viewership was expected to be higher than normal levels as Bellator 208 faced Saturday night competition from college football, the MLB baseball playoffs, and the Terence Crawford vs. Jose Benavidez boxing fight on ESPN, which was the highest-rated boxing match aired on cable television this year.

Packed Weekend Of Events

In comparison, Bellator 207 one day before at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, averaged an underwhelming 493,000 viewers. That includes DVR viewership over the next few days. However, the Bader vs. Mitrione fight averaged 620,000 viewers including DVR viewership with a peak of 798,000.

Bellator 207 exhibited positive signs overall. The event drew the highest ratings for a Bellator show on Friday night in the 18-49 demo since last year’s Bellator 176. That card featured Rory MacDonald’s promotional debut from London.

It’s important to point out that these numbers only reflect viewership from Paramount Network because DAZN does not report streaming numbers.

Bellator officials stated that 3.9 million people watched at least one minute of their programming between the two shows on Paramount. It’s tough to say just what that means for overall viewership quantifying.

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Chael Sonnen Is ‘Heartbroken’ After Loss To Fedor Emelianenko

Former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen is “heartbroken” after his TKO loss to Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 208.

The post Chael Sonnen Is ‘Heartbroken’ After Loss To Fedor Emelianenko appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Over this past weekend (Sat. October 13, 2018) Chael Sonnen suffered a heartbreaking loss at Bellator 208.

In the semi-finals of Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament, Fedor Emelianenko defeated “The American Gangster” via first-round TKO. Fedor will advance to the tournament finals to face Ryan Bader, and crown a new Bellator heavyweight champion.

After his losing effort, Sonnen spoke to “The MMA Hour” to offer his reaction to the loss. Sonnen noted that everything hurt him physically at the moment, and emotionally, he feels heartbroken (via MMA Fighting):

“Physically, everything hurts,” said Sonnen. “[Emelianenko] hit me with a missile about five-seconds in. That one still hurts a little bit. But other than that, I am doing well…My teeth are okay.

“If I had one wish going into a fight, aside from serious injury, it’s that I won’t lose a tooth. I had that same wish since I started this when I was 19 years old.

“But, yes they are all intact. Emotionally, I get heartbroken about these things. From a competitive standpoint, I have dedicated my whole life to this since I was nine years old and I would have started earlier if my dad would have let me.

“He wouldn’t let me start until I was nine. It hurts. It hurts really bad that you don’t get those moments back.”

Sonnen has shared the cage and lost to legends of mixed martial arts (MMA) before. Those include names such as Anderson Silva (twice), Jon Jones, Tito Ortiz, and Rashad Evans. The heartbreaking feeling is no stranger to Sonnen. But at the end of the day, Sonnen believes this is what it means to be a fighter:

“I’ve had these feelings before,” said Sonnen. “I am convinced, in my interpretation, this is what it means to be a fighter. Somewhere over time that word became corrupted.

“It became about the punches and the kicks. But I’ve always believed it’s feeling like I’m feeling right now and getting out of bed anyway and facing the media and getting back on it.

“So now I have to be a fighter. I prefer to be a winner, I prefer to be on top of the world and looking down on everybody else. But today I’ve got to fight.”

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