Tag: Bellator News

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…

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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.

Johnny Eblen Dominates Gegard Mousasi To Claim Bellator Middleweight Title, Fellow Fighters React

Johnny EblenAt Bellator 282, Gegard Mousasi had his four-fight winning streak snapped as undefeated contender Johnny Eblen put a five-round beating on ‘The Dreamcatcher’ to claim the Bellator 185lb title. Gegard Mousasi went into the fight a heavy favorite, but from the first round, it became apparent that the odds did not reflect how the fight […]

Johnny Eblen

At Bellator 282, Gegard Mousasi had his four-fight winning streak snapped as undefeated contender Johnny Eblen put a five-round beating on ‘The Dreamcatcher’ to claim the Bellator 185lb title.

Gegard Mousasi went into the fight a heavy favorite, but from the first round, it became apparent that the odds did not reflect how the fight would truly play out. Eblen had Mousasi hurt in the first few minutes, using crisp boxing to light the now former champ up. This would be the story of the fight, as Eblen continued to land one-two combination’s on Mousasi, and then utilized his wrestling skills to dominate when the fight entered the grappling realms.

Whilst it looked like the fight was close to being finished on numerous occasions, Eblen ultimately controlled every single round, picking up a one-sided unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45).

Fighters React To Johnny Eblen’s Impressive Victory

Unsurprisingly, Johnny Eblen’s title-winning victory over Mousasi caused waves all across the MMA social media space. The new champ had numerous fellow fighters reacting, in both positive and negative ways.

UFC BMF title holder, Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal, sent out a message of support to the ATT teammate, congratulating Eblen for picking up the upset victory.

However, Yoel Romero, who is coming off his own impressive win in the Bellator middleweight division, posted a challenge to the newly crowned champion:

Johnny Eblen also received support from another Bellator title holder, as welterweight champion Logan Storley posted:

What did you think of Johnny Eblen’s title winning performance?

Report | Katie Taylor, Cris Cyborg In Talks For Potential December Boxing Match

Katie TaylorTalks are reportedly underway for a professional boxing match between Olympic gold medalist and undefeated lightweight champion, Bray native, Katie Taylor and undisputed Bellator MMA featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg to take place before the close of this year.  As per an initial report by Sports Illustrated reporter, Chris Mannix, negotiations have taken place for a […]

Katie Taylor

Talks are reportedly underway for a professional boxing match between Olympic gold medalist and undefeated lightweight champion, Bray native, Katie Taylor and undisputed Bellator MMA featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg to take place before the close of this year. 

As per an initial report by Sports Illustrated reporter, Chris Mannix, negotiations have taken place for a professional boxing match between Taylor and Cyborg – also, with the view to a rematch between the Wicklow native and Amanda Serrano in Dublin next year.

“Negotiations are ongoing for @KatieTaylor to face MMA star @CrisCyborg in a boxing, sources told @SINow,” Mannix tweeted. “No deal yet, but the hope is for Taylor to face Cyborg in December – and then move forward with a rematch against Amanda Serrano in Ireland next spring.” 

Headlining in April at Madison Square Garden, decorated Irish puncher, Katie Taylor managed to successfully defend her WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles against the aforenoted, Cuba native, Serrano – defeating her in a close, split decision win over the course of 10 gruelling rounds. 

As for 36-year-old Curitiba native, Cyborg, the former undisputed Strikeforce, Invicta FC, and UFC featherweight champion, managed to lock up her fourth successful defense of the Bellator MMA title back in April to boot at Bellator 279, landing a judging win over Arlene Blencowe in a championship rematch. 

During her Bellator run, Cyborg has landed five consecutive victories, including other wins over Julia Budd, the aforenoted, Blencowe, Leslie Smith, and Taylor’s compatriot, Sinead Kavanagh. 

Katie Taylor has been heralded as the greatest sportsperson Ireland has produced

A five-time boxing World Championships gold medalist, Katie Taylor managed to land gold at the London 2012 summer Olympics in the lightweight category. With her victory over Serrano earlier this year, Taylor landed the title as the best female pound-for-pound boxer on the planet to the consensus.

Khabib Nurmagomedov Says Bellator’s “Gegard Mousasi Is The Most Underrated Fighter In MMA”, Another Former UFC Champion Agrees

Khabib Nurmagomedov, Gegard Mousasi, Lyoto MachidaFormer UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Gegard Mousasi is the most underrated fighter in the sport. Gegard Mousasi is set to take on Johnny Eblen this Friday at Bellator 282. His last outing came against Austin Vanderford earlier in February in Dublin, Ireland. Mousasi put on a sensational performance needing less than a minute […]

Khabib Nurmagomedov, Gegard Mousasi, Lyoto Machida

Former UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Gegard Mousasi is the most underrated fighter in the sport.

Gegard Mousasi is set to take on Johnny Eblen this Friday at Bellator 282. His last outing came against Austin Vanderford earlier in February in Dublin, Ireland. Mousasi put on a sensational performance needing less than a minute and a half to dispatch his opponent in the main event.

A trend we see repeated in his fights is his calmness inside the cage. Vanderford came out swinging hard from the first minute and despite throwing the kitchen sink at the 36-year-old Dutchman, he was unable to pressure him out of his game. Mousasi handed ‘The Gentleman’ the first loss of his professional career.

Khabib Nurmagomedov says “Gegard Mousasi is the most underrated fighter”

Following the win at Bellator 275, Khabib Nurmagomedov took to Twitter to heap praises on Mousasi.

“@mousasi_mma is the most underrated fighter in MMA today. Congratulations Gegard #Bellator275“

Mousasi’s next bout is against another undefeated challenger in Johnny Elben who also happens to train at the American Top Team gym alongside Vanderford. The pair will take to the octagon at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Currently on a four-fight win streak, ‘The Dreamcatcher’ has won 12 of his last 13 fights including his time in the UFC.

Lyoto Machida shares support for Mousasi

Another former UFC champion who expressed his support for Mousasi is Lyoto Machida, who fought Mousasi on two occasions, winning and losing one each.

“Nobody believes in what he can do, because his technique is very ordinary, nothing flashy,” said Machida. “But it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t kick as high as someone else, or he doesn’t do jump knees. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that he is good everywhere, so well-rounded and so calm. He can fight anybody and has fought everybody, and he wins.” (h/t ESPN)

The Bellator middleweight also has a win over Mark Hunt. Mousasi took on the much larger “Super Samoan” in a 2009 tournament under Dream, and managed to secure a first-round straight armbar submission.

Meanwhile, Gegard Mousasi remains unaffected by the talks. Much like Fedor Emelianenko, the composed Mousasi does not care about the titles and has only one aim ahead. “I don’t give a f— about belts,” Mousasi said. “I’m here to make money.”