Tag: Bellator News

Pic: Fedor & Ryan Bader’s First Heavyweight Title Staredown

Fedor Emelianenko picked up an impressive first-round TKO over Chael Sonnen (full highlights here) in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., October 13, 2018) Bellator 208 from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The fight served as the last semifinal match-up of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix. The Russian legend came out guns firing from […]

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Fedor Emelianenko picked up an impressive first-round TKO over Chael Sonnen (full highlights here) in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., October 13, 2018) Bellator 208 from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

The fight served as the last semifinal match-up of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix.

The Russian legend came out guns firing from the start, dropping the former UFC title contender in the opening moments. “The American Gangster” was a tough challenge, however, and hung in to use his feared wrestling, taking “The Last Emperor’s” back. But the tide went in Fedor’s favor soon. Sonnen got a bit careless when he rolled for a rear-naked choke.

From there, the former PRIDE FC champion’s legendary ground and pound dominated what little was left of the bout. Emelianenko poured it on until referee Dan Miragliotta was left with no choice but to stop the fight.

Bellator’s Biggest Fight

With his second straight knockout in the Bellator MMA cage, Fedor now moves on to a more difficult opponent. He’ll meet Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader for the vacant heavyweight title. Scott Coker announced it will be in Los Angeles on January 26, 2019.

Bader earned a spot in the Grand Prix final by dominating Matt Mitrione in the main event of last night’s (Fri., October 12, 2018) Bellator 207 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

It’s the best possible outcome for Bellator. They have their new, streaking champ in Bader and the time-honored legend in Emelianenko. It also contains an interesting ‘Star Wars’ reference with the “Emperor” fighting “Darth” Bader.

Bader revealed he wanted the fight for his legacy, and he should. “The Last Emperor” handled Sonnen’s wrestling well despite some brief concerns.

Will he be able to do the same with the much bigger and more powerful Bader’s relentless takedown attempts?

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Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader Set For Bellator Heavyweight Tournament Final

The finals for this tournament has been booked.

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Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader is set to serve as the final bout of the Bellator heavyweight tournament.

Tournament Final

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.

The Process

Bellator MMA is finally going to crown its new heavyweight champion, which has been expected for some time. Thus, the Viacom-owned promotion brought back a tournament to find their heavyweight champion.

The company has been without a heavyweight champion since the title was vacated by then-champ Vitaly Minakov after Bellator decided to strip him of it in May of 2016 for failing to defend the title.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Ryan Bader

The main event of Bellator 207 on Friday night (October 12, 2018) at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut saw Ryan Bader score a decision win over Matt Mitrione. 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 at the Bellator 199 event on the Paramount Network at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

On the flip side, Fedor beat Chael Sonnen on Saturday night 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 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, on the Paramount Network, the MMA legend finished former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir with strikes in the first round. This bout served as the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bout. Emelianenko is a historic figure in the history of the MMA game and no doubt an MMA Legend.

Why LA?

“L.A. has a great MMA market, we have a great relationship with the Forum, and when you look at the fighter bases, there’s so many great gyms there,” Coker told the LA Times as to why they picked this location for the final of the tournament. “When I think about MMA in the United States, I think first of L.A., the Bay Area, Las Vegas and New York … L.A. is such a big hub. The guys know that when they fight in L.A., they better bring it.”

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Bellator 208 Results: Fedor Emelianenko Finishes Chael Sonnen

Join us for live play-by-play coverage.

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Bellator 208 results are underway as the Viacom promotion holds this latest event on television for fight fans around the world to watch the show.

It’s once again fight day here at LowKickMMA, and the talent on display tonight (Saturday, October 13, 2018) will come in the form of Bellator 208. Headlining the card are Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen, but there’s a whole bunch of great fights also taking place on the rest of the main card.

Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen meet in a heavyweight tournament semifinal bout in the main event. In round 1, Fedor drops Sonnen with a huge left hook to the jaw but lets him up. Sonnen is very aggressive, looking for the takedown. Sonnen shoots in again, but Fedor reverses him and lands on top. Fedor stands up. Sonnen shoots in again but Fedor simply tosses him to the canvas and lets him back up. Sonnen is nearly stopped before he rolls over and covers up.  Sonnen ties him up and takes Fedor down hard. Sonnen’s takedown is stuffed. Fedor is on top and raining down punches. Chael can’t escape and the fight is over.

Benson Henderson and Saad Awad meet in a lightweight bout in the co-main event. In round 1, Henderson slams a left kick into Awad’s ribs to start the fracas. Awad is coming forward; Henderson is backing away to create space. Henderson shoots in and scores a nice takedown. Awad went for a d’arce choke from his back but Henderson fought out by landing a series of strikes. In round 2, Henderson shoots in for a takedown but Awad reverses him and lands on top. Henderson scrambles and then presses Awad into the cage. enderson takes Awad’s back but he is too high and slips off. Awad can’t capitalize and Henderson takes him down against the cage again. Henderson goes for the arm-triangle but time runs out. In round 3, Henderson shoots. Awad sprawls and lands a knee that looked illegal. Awad gets taken down again. This is just a clinic. They were stood up after Henderson grabbed the cage in top position. Henderson landes a takedown to end the round and fight. Bendo got the decision win.

Cheick Kongo vs. Timothy Johnson is next in a heavyweight bout. In round 1, Johnson is rocked by a glancing right to the temple and he falls to the canvas before rolling over. Kongo cracks him with a few more punches to wrap it up.

Alexander Shlemenko vs. Anatoly Tokov is next in a middleweight bout. In round 1, Tokov goes with the double underhooks and drags Storm to the canvas and lands on top. Storm gets back to his feet but Tokov takes him right back down. It’s a slow-paced round and it’s close.  In round 2, After trading punches, Storm accidentally slams his foot right on Tokov’s groin. Tokov is controlling the pace, mostly from within the clinch. In round 3, Shlemenko is gassing out as he backs away.  There was some action but nothing meaningful. Nice knee and body kick by Shlemenko. okov changes levels and takes Storm down, but he can’t keep him there. The judges gave the win to Tokov.

Opening the main card on the Paramount is Andy Main vs. Henry Corrales in a featherweight bout. In round 1, Main lands a few low kicks and continues to keep a distance behind that jab. In round 2, Corrales pops Main with a two-punch combo upstairs late in the round. In round 3, Massive left hand by Corrales drops Main! Henry pounces on the ground and Rob Hinds calls it off.

Bellator 208 Results

Here are the results for this event:

MAIN CARD (Paramount Network, 9 p.m. ET)

Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal Bout: Fedor Emelianenko def. Chael Sonnen via TKO (punches) at 4:46 of R1

Lightweight Bout: Benson Henderson def. Saad Awad via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

Heavyweight Bout: Cheick Kongo def. Timothy Johnson via KO (punches) at 1:08 of round one

Middleweight Bout: Anatoly Tokov def. Alexander Shlemenko via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Featherweight Bout: Henry Corrales def. Andy Main via KO (punches) at 2:08 of round three

PRELIMINARY CARD (Online, 7 p.m. ET)

Jeremy Puglia def. Eric Olsen via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:16
Dennis Buzukja def. Ryan Castro via knockout (punches) – Round 1,
Andrews Rodriguez def. Mike DiOrio via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Zarrukh Adashev def. Christian Medina via TKO (punches, knee) – Round 1, 10:08
Jennifer Chieng def. Jessica Ruiz via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:22
David Meshkhoradze def. Shaquan Moore via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Tommy Espinosa def. Suhrob Aidarbekov via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:27
Nick Fiore def. Jerome Mickle via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Matt Mitrione Reacts To Bellator 207 Loss

Matt Mitrione has given his reaction to losing in this headliner.

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Matt Mitrione reacts to the latest loss of his pro-MMA career that came inside of the Bellator cage under the banner of the Viacom-owned promotion.

The Loss

As seen in the main event of Bellator 207 on Friday night (October 12, 2018) at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, Ryan Bader scored a decision win over Mitrione. This served as a heavyweight grand prix semifinal bout.

Last Fight

Mitrione advanced to the semifinals of this eight-man tournament by picking up a majority decision win over Roy Nelson at Bellator 194 in February. This fight had some controversy as Mitrione lashed out at Nelson for using illegal tactics to keep top control in the third round in their fight at Bellator 194. His fight against Bader had no such problems as it was a clear cut loss.

Matt Mitrione Reacts

Following the fight, the former UFC heavyweight star didn’t make any excuses as to the reason that he lost this fight. Instead, he praised Bader for the performance. He also made it known that he was proud for not giving up inside the cage.

“I obviously got (expletive) up there, lost this one,” Mitrione said in an Instagram video following Bellator 207 (H/T to MMAJunkie). “I felt like in the middle of it I thought to myself, ‘It’s the perfect time for a Snickers commercial,’ because I wasn’t going anywhere for 15 minutes. That mother(expletive) just rode me like a pony, man.”

Praises

Mitrione continued by stating that Bader is a great wrestler and took advantage of the situation inside of the cage.

“He’s a great wrestler; I’m not. He took advantage of it and did a great job. Great job, Bader. You whooped my ass. I didn’t quit. I didn’t look very good, but I never gave up, so I can still go home to my babies with my head held high.”

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Ryan Bader Downplays Critics Of Bellator 207 Win

Ryan Bader has dismissed those who were critical of his win over Matt Mitrione.

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Ryan Bader downplays the critics who have given some negative feedback regarding his latest fight inside of the Bellator cage.

The Fight

As seen in the main event of Bellator 207 on Friday night (October 12, 2018) at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, Bader scored a decision win over Matt Mitrione. 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 at the Bellator 199 event on the Paramount Network at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

Ryan Bader Downplays

Following the fight, Bader spoke with the media and addressed his haters when it comes to the lackluster action-packed fight that the fans didn’t like.

“I don’t think I’ve got hit this whole tournament,” Bader told MMAjunkie post-fight at Bellator 207. “It’s a way to go in there, go into the finals without getting hit. A guy like Matt Mitrione, I’m not going to stand and trade with him. He’s a big heavyweight; that’s what he’s good at. I used my gameplan, what I’m good at: shut him completely down.”

To Keep In Mind

One thing to keep in mind when watching this fight is the fact of what did they expect was going to happen? This was a typical wrestler vs. striker fight. The former UFC heavyweight star has real KO power while Bader does have some power, his background is wrestling.

Gameplan

The point of an MMA fight is to win and Bader went with the perfect gameplan that got his hand raised.

“I don’t care about those,” Bader said. “That was a dominant performance against the No. 1 heavyweight in Bellator. Going in there, it wasn’t a rock ’em, sock ’em fight. It was a ground mauler. I don’t really take too much to the boos.”

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50 Cent Offers Big-Money Bellator Deal To Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov has received an offer by 50 Cent to fight in Bellator MMA.

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50 Cent offers a big money deal to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in order to sign with Bellator MMA.

50 Cent Making Moves

This is the latest attempt by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson to make some moves in the landscape of mixed martial arts. It should be noted that the rapper does have some connections with the Viacom-owned promotion as recently signed an apparel deal with Bellator. He also revealed that he would be giving out a $1 million cash prize to the winner of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix.

Recently, Jackson took to his official Twitter account where he gave the offer to the UFC lightweight champion. He also brought up how the UFC is not the only game in town and that he would be willing to deal with UFC President Dana White about getting him out of his contract. This is after the melee at UFC 229 that involved Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor and their respective teams.

How We Got Here

The money deal would see Khabib and his teammate, featherweight Zubaira Tukhugov, make the jump from the UFC to Bellator MMA to fight. This comes off the heels of Nurmagomedov threatening to quit the UFC should the UFC release his teammate in the fallout of the UFC 229.

50 Cent Offers

Jackson wrote the following on his official Instagram account, which later saw Khabib respond in the comment section by stating “send me the location.”

“@khabib_nurmagomedov I’ll deal with Dana and your contract later. The UFC is not the only game in town. Zubaira is welcome also. #bellator #lecheminduroi.”

The Deal

For those who may not recall, the reason for such an exact amount of money offered by the rapper is due to it matching Nurmagomedov’s fight purse for UFC 229 that is held by the NSAC. McGregor received his full $3 million paycheck.

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