Tag: Bellator

Bjorn Rebney: Fox Sports Latin America Came Calling and Bellator Answered

Several years ago, when Bellator MMA signed its first deal for an English-speaking broadcast partner in the United States, it was with the regional Fox Sports channels that aired all over America.
The promotion had originally been partnered with ESPN D…

Several years ago, when Bellator MMA signed its first deal for an English-speaking broadcast partner in the United States, it was with the regional Fox Sports channels that aired all over America.

The promotion had originally been partnered with ESPN Deportes, a Spanish-language station and, as the brand grew bigger and bigger, they eventually outgrew both partnerships. They now air on Spike TV, which is available in almost 100 million homes in the United States.

Bellator is continuing its expansion into new international markets, however, and they signed a major deal this week with Fox Sports Latin America that will bring the MMA promotion into more than 50 million homes starting this October.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney led the negotiations with Fox Sports Latin America after the dialogue was opened up by some old friends of his at the broadcast network from several years ago when the promotion was still airing on the Fox Sports local stations.

“The good news is over the years I was able to keep really good relationships with the people that I worked with at Fox many years ago. Remember many years ago when we came out of the ESPN Deportes deal, the first English language deal we ever did was with Fox Sports network. So I’ve always kept in touch with some of those guys, they were great guys,” Rebney told Bleacher Report on Tuesday.

“About four months ago they reached out to me and they were guys I worked with before at Fox, and they said ‘Hey, I would love to put you in a room with all the guys at Fox Sports International, they’re really interested in Bellator and they would like to talk to you about the potential of putting a deal together.’ That’s where it all started.”

Several months later, and now Bellator has inked a multi-year deal with the network to broadcast live shows as well as other programming on the Latin American station. While live fight cards are part of the deal, Rebney says this new partnership with Fox Sports Latin America goes beyond just sending a satellite signal and having the fights aired in the new markets.

He explains that Bellator programming as a whole will find a new home on Fox Sports Latin America with “best of” shows, pre-fight and preview shows, as well as the expansion of the brand into areas of Mexico, Brazil and Argentina where they will put on live fight cards as well.

“It includes every single piece of the puzzle,” Rebney said. “It’s the largest distribution platform in that part of the world, it’s going to have live events, it’s going to have live events take place in that area with Mexico, Brazil, Argentina. It’s going to have shoulder programming, it’s going to have independently produced Bellator shows that will air all throughout Latin America.

“There’s going to be huge cross platform support that Fox is going to give to us with all over their soccer programming and all of the other shows that they have on the largest sports network in the region. It’s got all the pieces. It’s the right fit.”

One of the first questions that came up when Bellator and Fox Sports Latin America announced the framework of their new deal on Monday was the fact that Fox Sports and the Fox brand, as a whole, have a seven-year, multi-million dollar deal with the UFC to broadcast their shows in the United States.

Even UFC president Dana White was taken aback by the news when he heard about the deal firsthand at a media event on Tuesday while promoting UFC 168. For his part, Rebney was as confused as anybody when Fox Sports Latin America came calling, but he wasn’t about to turn them away just because they were also partnered with the UFC.

If anything, he believes it’s an act of recognition that Fox Sports Latin America chose them for their network, and he’s happy to have a new television partner for that part of the world locked down now.

“Don’t think it wasn’t a question I had when they first made the overture to me and I was invited into the Fox corporate offices where there were UFC banners and UFC posters and UFC programming promotions all over the walls,” Rebney said. “It was a question I asked as well. As a fan of the space and as somebody that works in the space, I’d have to assume given the size of Fox’s U.S. deal with the UFC if Fox had wanted an alliance with the UFC in Latin America, I assume they would have made one happen.

“So you think about those things, and you wonder about those things, but the overriding consideration that I had was look they’re the biggest, they reach the most consumers, they have the largest reach, they’ve got the biggest promotional vehicle on the biggest sports, and that’s where we’d want to be.

“The UFC may be partnered here with Fox, but boy I’m thrilled to be partnered with the biggest player in the space down in Latin America.”

Rebney says that live programming will pick up next month on Fox Sports Latin America, and the residents in those areas will also be able to watch the live Bellator pay-per-view airing from the United States, pitting Quinton “Rampage” Jackson against Tito Ortiz.

The promotion won’t waste any time moving into the Latin America market either, and Bellator MMA will be expanding with plans for shows in Mexico and Brazil very soon as well.

It appears even though Fox Sports Latin America is a different branch of the Fox Sports brand, Bellator and the UFC will be bumping into each other more often than one may have first expected.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Tito Ortiz Attempts to Unite Fellow Disgraced UFC Fighters for Event-Crashing


(Tito Ortiz makes another stop on his global goodwill tour | Photo via @TitoOrtiz)

Tito Ortiz, Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture, Quinton Jackson and Frank Shamrock are all former UFC champions that are currently personas non grata to the organization and its President Dana White. (Not coincidentally, four of those five guys currently have some role in the Bellator organization.) For that reason, Ortiz seems to think it would be pretty funny if they all went to the UFC’s 20th anniversary show November 16th in Las Vegas.

“@ShamrockKen @frankshamrock @Randy_Couture @Rampage4real maybe we should crash the show. I will buy the tickets.” Ortiz recently tweeted.

Apparently, some of the other guys liked the idea. Tito’s former mortal enemy, Ken Shamrock, tweeted back, “I like TITO’s idea,” and then, “I will stand beside you Tito. – frank lets go!!!!!,” encouraging his brother to join them.

So we guess to Ken, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Or something. Ken told Tito to send him a direct message through twitter so they could totally discuss deets, and then sent out a “hi randy” shout out to Couture.

Couture, who is probably smarting more than anyone else about not being allowed at UFC events ever since Dana banned the two-division UFC champion from cornering his son Ryan, then weighed in. “feel sorry for the security guys dana sends to have us removed 🙂 hope they have guns !,” he tweeted, apparently still in character as Toll Road from The Expendables.


(Tito Ortiz makes another stop on his global goodwill tour | Photo via @TitoOrtiz)

Tito Ortiz, Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture, Quinton Jackson and Frank Shamrock are all former UFC champions that are currently personas non grata to the organization and its President Dana White. (Not coincidentally, four of those five guys currently have some role in the Bellator organization.) For that reason, Ortiz seems to think it would be pretty funny if they all went to the UFC’s 20th anniversary show November 16th in Las Vegas.

“@ShamrockKen @frankshamrock @Randy_Couture @Rampage4real maybe we should crash the show. I will buy the tickets.” Ortiz recently tweeted.

Apparently, some of the other guys liked the idea. Tito’s former mortal enemy, Ken Shamrock, tweeted back, “I like TITO’s idea,” and then, “I will stand beside you Tito. – frank lets go!!!!!,” encouraging his brother to join them.

So we guess to Ken, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Or something. Ken told Tito to send him a direct message through twitter so they could totally discuss deets, and then sent out a “hi randy” shout out to Couture.

Couture, who is probably smarting more than anyone else about not being allowed at UFC events ever since Dana banned the two-division UFC champion from cornering his son Ryan, then weighed in. “feel sorry for the security guys dana sends to have us removed :) hope they have guns !,” he tweeted, apparently still in character as Toll Road from The Expendables.

“can you imagine those guys would be sh[i]tting their knickers,” he went on gleefully. Bout time Couture took the, “what are you going to do about it, Dana?” approach to attending UFC events.

If these guys got together it might be fun for a few moments but it wouldn’t take long to become awkward, probably. They are a bunch of alpha-personalities who either have a long history of feuding with one another or are set to fight one another in the near future (Tito and Rampage), so chillaxing together seems unlikely. Still, it might be a confusing treat for the OG fans in attendance at the show if they somehow managed to get on the telecast.

What do you think, Nation? Is this is a clever prank or sad call for attention from Ortiz? And, if they are going to do this, which old fighters did Tito leave out that he should invite?

– Elias Cepeda

The Good, Bad and Strange from Bellator 100

Mark a milestone in the books as Bellator Fighting Championship logged its 100th event on Friday night in Phoenix, Ariz.
In just five years, the company CEO Bjorn Rebney founded in 2008 has battled its way to become the second-largest promotion in mixe…

Mark a milestone in the books as Bellator Fighting Championship logged its 100th event on Friday night in Phoenix, Ariz.

In just five years, the company CEO Bjorn Rebney founded in 2008 has battled its way to become the second-largest promotion in mixed arts. There have been some hiccups and growing pains along the way, but there have been plenty of great fights, brutal knockouts and highlight-reel material made in the process.

Champions have been crowned. Underdogs have risen. Well-known veterans have been retired competing inside the Bellator cage.

On Friday night, at the Grand Canyon University Arena, Bellator officially crossed the century mark, and what better way to do it than with kicking off its season nine welterweight tournament.

Since the promotion’s inception, the 170-pound collective has been the strongest weight class. Ruled by former NCAA Division I champion Ben Askren, Bellator‘s welterweight division has been home to some of the most notable names under the organization’s banner.

The main event at Bellator 100 featured a rematch between two of the promotion’s top welterweights in Douglas Lima and Ben Saunders. In their first go around at Bellator 57 back in 2011, the ATT teammates locked up in a memorable affair until Lima starched Saunders with a devastating right hand to end the tilt via knockout in the second round. 

It was more of the same in the rematch as the 25-year-old Lima once again drubbed the UFC veteran in a more devastating fashion than the first fight. Lima blistered Saunders with a beautiful body punch/head kick combination to end the fight and earn another shot at the welterweight title.

Outside of the fight at the top of the billing, there was plenty of leather and bad intentions flying around the Grand Canyon University Arena on Friday night in Phoenix. 

Let’s take a look at the good, bad and strange from Bellator 100.

 

The Good

Lima is once again gunning for the welterweight title, and he made a big statement on Friday night. “The Phenom” squared off in a rematch against friend and training partner Ben Saunders, and much like their first fight, it was Lima who emerged victorious. 

His win over Saunders at Bellator 100 makes Lima successful in 13 of his past 14 outings. His only loss in the past four years came against champion Ben Askren, and by defeating “Killa B,” he earned another shot at the 170-pound title.

While there is no telling when his title shot will materialize, his left to the body, right high kick knockout over Saunders was a thing of beauty, and the highlight will certainly make its rounds. 

Love him or hate him, War Machine continues to win under the Bellator banner. The hard-scrabble veteran picked up his second victory fighting for the promotion when he choked Vaughn Anderson unconscious in the second round of their bout at Bellator 100.

The San Diego-based fighter is a lightning rod of controversy outside of the cage—but inside, he’s enjoying a career resurgence. Back-to-back victories over opponents nowhere near the Top 20 isn’t something to throw a party about, but War Machine is making quick work out of lesser opponents, and that’s precisely what he needs to do in the tournament format.

After testing the waters in the lightweight division, Brent Weedman returned to the 170-pound fold at Bellator 100. The Kentucky native made short work out of Justin Baesman as he earned a first-round submission victory to kick off the televised portion of the program.

Where Weedman‘s aggression has hurt him in the past, it paid huge dividends against Baesman. The 28-year-old walked down his opponent and put his back to the cage, where he scored a trip takedown to put Baseman on the canvas. Once the action was on the mat, it was just a matter of time before Weedman ended the fight.

Rick Hawn also returned to the welterweight division for season nine. The former lightweight title challenger got the job done on Friday night as “Genghis” defeated yolked-up slugger Herman Terrado. It wasn’t a pretty fight, but the former Olympic judoka scored the cleaner shots to win the unanimous decision. He will face Weedman in the semifinals of the tournament. 

Liam McGeary used his 6’6″ frame to hand down a knockout to Beau Tribolet. The undefeated light heavyweight could be a solid addition to Bellator‘s 205-pound division, but he’ll need to defeat tougher competition to prove that true. Nevertheless, a 27-second knockout in his promotional debut is certainly impressive.

 

The Bad

On Friday night, Saunders suffered an unfortunate setback. “Killa B” has fought 11 times since being released from the UFC back in 2010, and while the American Top Team product has been successful in the large majority of those contests, the three losses he’s suffered on this stretch have been crucial, two of which have come at the hands of Lima.

There is no doubting the 30-year-old is tough as nails and a solid fighter, but getting knocked out once again by Lima and failing to earn another title shot will push Saunders further away from elite status. It’s an unfortunate turn for the gritty veteran and one that will be difficult to bounce back from.

When a fighter comes into a tournament as a highly touted prospect, there is going to be some expectation. Unfortunately for Brandon Bender, he wasn’t able to fulfill said expectation and lost a fight he was completely in control of on Friday night.

The 26-year-old was on the verge of backing up the hype and was close to earning a spot in “the good” category as he dominated and battered Travis Marx in the opening frame of their bout. But the second round was as a different story as Bender fell apart under the pressure of a Marx swarm and came out on the receiving end of a TKO courtesy of a flurry in the second.

Bender looked good in the opening stages of the fight, but MMA is a crazy game, and a fighter has to be able to close out a wounded opponent to be successful.

 

The Strange

Flash knockouts are a strange phenomenon in mixed martial arts, and Sergio Junior provided the latest example in his bout against Ron Keslar. In the second round of their tilt, Keslar juiced the veteran with a brutal right hand that not only dropped Junior like a sack of bricks, but made his body bounce off the mat with the force of the impact.

Junior managed to recover and finish out the fight, but he came out on the losing end of a split decision on the judges’ cards. The fact he survived Keslar‘s bomb was strangely impressive, but how one judge scored the fight in Junior’s favor was simply awful. It is possible the judge who gave Junior the nod was captivated by his pink shorts and sombrero combination for the walk-out. 

Eight. That is the number of combined tournaments Weedman and Hawn have been involved in under the Bellator banner. There is no doubt BFC likes its talent to be home grown, but recycling the same fighters in different weigh classes is a curious move.

Highly touted prospect Bubba Jenkins saw his momentum derailed for the time being at Bellator 100 as he suffered a TKO defeat against Larue Burley. The former All-American wrestler from Arizona State University was undefeated coming into the bout, but Burley‘s striking proved too much. With Jenkins’ natural ability, he should be able to rebound strong, but a setback this early in his MMA career will require some moxie. 

Christy Mack, War Machine’s girlfriend and porn star, got some camera time on the broadcast. That’s always a good thing.

Finally, did I mention Lima’s combination knockout on Saunders was beautiful?

 

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The Good, Bad and Strange from Bellator 100

Mark a milestone in the books as Bellator Fighting Championship logged its 100th event on Friday night in Phoenix, Ariz.
In just five years, the company CEO Bjorn Rebney founded in 2008 has battled its way to become the second-largest promotion in mixe…

Mark a milestone in the books as Bellator Fighting Championship logged its 100th event on Friday night in Phoenix, Ariz.

In just five years, the company CEO Bjorn Rebney founded in 2008 has battled its way to become the second-largest promotion in mixed arts. There have been some hiccups and growing pains along the way, but there have been plenty of great fights, brutal knockouts and highlight-reel material made in the process.

Champions have been crowned. Underdogs have risen. Well-known veterans have been retired competing inside the Bellator cage.

On Friday night, at the Grand Canyon University Arena, Bellator officially crossed the century mark, and what better way to do it than with kicking off its season nine welterweight tournament.

Since the promotion’s inception, the 170-pound collective has been the strongest weight class. Ruled by former NCAA Division I champion Ben Askren, Bellator‘s welterweight division has been home to some of the most notable names under the organization’s banner.

The main event at Bellator 100 featured a rematch between two of the promotion’s top welterweights in Douglas Lima and Ben Saunders. In their first go around at Bellator 57 back in 2011, the ATT teammates locked up in a memorable affair until Lima starched Saunders with a devastating right hand to end the tilt via knockout in the second round. 

It was more of the same in the rematch as the 25-year-old Lima once again drubbed the UFC veteran in a more devastating fashion than the first fight. Lima blistered Saunders with a beautiful body punch/head kick combination to end the fight and earn another shot at the welterweight title.

Outside of the fight at the top of the billing, there was plenty of leather and bad intentions flying around the Grand Canyon University Arena on Friday night in Phoenix. 

Let’s take a look at the good, bad and strange from Bellator 100.

 

The Good

Lima is once again gunning for the welterweight title, and he made a big statement on Friday night. “The Phenom” squared off in a rematch against friend and training partner Ben Saunders, and much like their first fight, it was Lima who emerged victorious. 

His win over Saunders at Bellator 100 makes Lima successful in 13 of his past 14 outings. His only loss in the past four years came against champion Ben Askren, and by defeating “Killa B,” he earned another shot at the 170-pound title.

While there is no telling when his title shot will materialize, his left to the body, right high kick knockout over Saunders was a thing of beauty, and the highlight will certainly make its rounds. 

Love him or hate him, War Machine continues to win under the Bellator banner. The hard-scrabble veteran picked up his second victory fighting for the promotion when he choked Vaughn Anderson unconscious in the second round of their bout at Bellator 100.

The San Diego-based fighter is a lightning rod of controversy outside of the cage—but inside, he’s enjoying a career resurgence. Back-to-back victories over opponents nowhere near the Top 20 isn’t something to throw a party about, but War Machine is making quick work out of lesser opponents, and that’s precisely what he needs to do in the tournament format.

After testing the waters in the lightweight division, Brent Weedman returned to the 170-pound fold at Bellator 100. The Kentucky native made short work out of Justin Baesman as he earned a first-round submission victory to kick off the televised portion of the program.

Where Weedman‘s aggression has hurt him in the past, it paid huge dividends against Baesman. The 28-year-old walked down his opponent and put his back to the cage, where he scored a trip takedown to put Baseman on the canvas. Once the action was on the mat, it was just a matter of time before Weedman ended the fight.

Rick Hawn also returned to the welterweight division for season nine. The former lightweight title challenger got the job done on Friday night as “Genghis” defeated yolked-up slugger Herman Terrado. It wasn’t a pretty fight, but the former Olympic judoka scored the cleaner shots to win the unanimous decision. He will face Weedman in the semifinals of the tournament. 

Liam McGeary used his 6’6″ frame to hand down a knockout to Beau Tribolet. The undefeated light heavyweight could be a solid addition to Bellator‘s 205-pound division, but he’ll need to defeat tougher competition to prove that true. Nevertheless, a 27-second knockout in his promotional debut is certainly impressive.

 

The Bad

On Friday night, Saunders suffered an unfortunate setback. “Killa B” has fought 11 times since being released from the UFC back in 2010, and while the American Top Team product has been successful in the large majority of those contests, the three losses he’s suffered on this stretch have been crucial, two of which have come at the hands of Lima.

There is no doubting the 30-year-old is tough as nails and a solid fighter, but getting knocked out once again by Lima and failing to earn another title shot will push Saunders further away from elite status. It’s an unfortunate turn for the gritty veteran and one that will be difficult to bounce back from.

When a fighter comes into a tournament as a highly touted prospect, there is going to be some expectation. Unfortunately for Brandon Bender, he wasn’t able to fulfill said expectation and lost a fight he was completely in control of on Friday night.

The 26-year-old was on the verge of backing up the hype and was close to earning a spot in “the good” category as he dominated and battered Travis Marx in the opening frame of their bout. But the second round was as a different story as Bender fell apart under the pressure of a Marx swarm and came out on the receiving end of a TKO courtesy of a flurry in the second.

Bender looked good in the opening stages of the fight, but MMA is a crazy game, and a fighter has to be able to close out a wounded opponent to be successful.

 

The Strange

Flash knockouts are a strange phenomenon in mixed martial arts, and Sergio Junior provided the latest example in his bout against Ron Keslar. In the second round of their tilt, Keslar juiced the veteran with a brutal right hand that not only dropped Junior like a sack of bricks, but made his body bounce off the mat with the force of the impact.

Junior managed to recover and finish out the fight, but he came out on the losing end of a split decision on the judges’ cards. The fact he survived Keslar‘s bomb was strangely impressive, but how one judge scored the fight in Junior’s favor was simply awful. It is possible the judge who gave Junior the nod was captivated by his pink shorts and sombrero combination for the walk-out. 

Eight. That is the number of combined tournaments Weedman and Hawn have been involved in under the Bellator banner. There is no doubt BFC likes its talent to be home grown, but recycling the same fighters in different weigh classes is a curious move.

Highly touted prospect Bubba Jenkins saw his momentum derailed for the time being at Bellator 100 as he suffered a TKO defeat against Larue Burley. The former All-American wrestler from Arizona State University was undefeated coming into the bout, but Burley‘s striking proved too much. With Jenkins’ natural ability, he should be able to rebound strong, but a setback this early in his MMA career will require some moxie. 

Christy Mack, War Machine’s girlfriend and porn star, got some camera time on the broadcast. That’s always a good thing.

Finally, did I mention Lima’s combination knockout on Saunders was beautiful?

 

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ben Saunders and Douglas Lima Not Concerned If Ben Askren Returns or Not

The Bellator welterweight title currently sits in limbo as champion Ben Askren awaits word on whether he will re-sign with the promotion or exit to potentially join a new home in the UFC.
While Askren sits and contemplates his future, the Bellator 170-…

The Bellator welterweight title currently sits in limbo as champion Ben Askren awaits word on whether he will re-sign with the promotion or exit to potentially join a new home in the UFC.

While Askren sits and contemplates his future, the Bellator 170-pound division will move on Friday night when the most recent tournament finalists Ben Saunders and Douglas Lima square off live on Spike TV.

The winner presumably sits next in line for a shot at the belt, but with Askren currently a restricted free agent there is no telling when the title will next be defended.

Saunders would have no problem facing Askren in the cage, but right now as he approaches his upcoming fight against Lima he could care less what Askren is doing next, or if he plans on returning to defend the title.

“Right now, Ben Askren‘s a free agent, who knows what’s going to happen for him,” Saunders said. “Right now he is not officially on the Bellator roster. So Douglas Lima is the No. 1 guy, and some people have him as an honorable mention for the top 10 in the world, so that’s all I give a f—k about. I want to get up in the rankings, I want basically cement my legacy.

“I want to go out there and prove what I’m made of and prove that I’m not just some regular fighter. I’m not a guy who’s on sometimes and off sometimes—I’m one of the best motherf—kers in the world. A win over Lima proves that in my opinion.”

While he may go to battle with Saunders on Friday night, Lima sounds like he’s in agreement with his upcoming opponent. Lima actually won a Bellator tournament already but lost to Askren by decision in a fight that took place in April 2012.

He’s very much in the same position as Saunders—if Askren returns to Bellator, he’ll gladly face him for the belt, but if not he has no problem winning the gold from any opponent the promotion puts in front of him.

“When I came to Bellator my goal was to be the champion, and it didn’t change,” Lima said. “I want that belt around my waist. This next step is the most important one to do it. Right now, this is the fight of my life. I’m really going to go in there like it’s my last one. I’m going to leave everything in there. I want a shot at that title.

“With Ben Askren, I don’t know what the situation is with him, if he’s leaving or if he’s staying. It doesn’t matter, I just want to fight for the belt, it doesn’t matter who the guy is.”

Lima’s long-term goal is to get the championship, and he’s not set on some kind of revenge fantasy to get another shot at Askren. It’s a fight that happened, and if it happens again Lima will gladly sign on the dotted line to face him, but he’s not losing any sleep over it.

“Not really, a title’s a title, doesn’t really matter who holds it,” Lima said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s vacant, or if I take it from the champion. A title’s a title, it’s important for me to have that to be considered a world champion. It doesn’t matter if Ben leaves or not, I just want a shot at that title.”

Saunders takes it one step further.

After participating in three Bellator tournaments, he just finally wants to win one, and he believes whoever walks out victorious on Friday night can hold their head up high as the real champion in the welterweight division.

“I see nothing more than I want that big ass f—king check on my wall and say that I f—king accomplished that,” Saunders said. “A belt’s a belt, I could really care less. In my opinion, Douglas Lima’s the No. 1 guy on the roster so I don’t really need a belt to prove I’m the champion as much as me beating him proves that I’m not only the season eight champion, but it proves legitimately that I kind of am the champion. This is pretty much a championship fight in my eyes.”

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator 99 Results: Matyushenko Wins, Four Featherweights Advance

Bellator 99 continued its ninth season with a feature light heavyweight bout, as well as the opening round of the featherweight tournament. In the main feature, Bellator staple Patricio “Pitbull” Freire welcomed UFC vet Diego Nunes to the company in what was believed would be a competitive fight. It was anything but that, as Freire […]

Bellator 99 continued its ninth season with a feature light heavyweight bout, as well as the opening round of the featherweight tournament. In the main feature, Bellator staple Patricio “Pitbull” Freire welcomed UFC vet Diego Nunes to the company in what was believed would be a competitive fight. It was anything but that, as Freire […]

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