Tag: Bellator

Bellator’s Nine Hottest New Prospects for Season Nine


(Hey, if BJ Penn can be the UFC’s first three-title champion, then a middle-aged kickboxer can be the future of the heavyweight division. / Photo via crucifixusa.com)

By Adam Martin

Bellator’s ninth season recently commenced, and if last week’s opener is any indication, it’s going to be a fun and action-packed couple of months in the world of “Viacom MMA.”

During the summer, Bellator signed a number of new fighters that will make their promotional debuts during season nine, and we wanted to highlight a few of these hungry young prospects that fans should keep an eye on starting with tonight’s event in Temecula, California.

So, without further ado, here are nine Bellator prospects to watch out for during this coming season of fights.

9. John Alessio

(Photo via Getty)

The first fighter to keep an eye on this season is veteran John Alessio, who has been fighting professionally since 1998. After making his name as a top prospect fighting for SuperBrawl in Hawaii, the UFC fed Alessio to the sharks when, at just 20 years of age, he fought Pat Miletich for the UFC welterweight title. And while Alessio would get tapped out in just 1:43 and leave the UFC immediately afterwards, he returned in 2006 and fought both Diego Sanchez and Thiago Alves, losing to both and losing his spot on the roster again. Never perturbed, Alessio then carved out a solid run in the WEC, MFC, Dream, and a few other promotions to get yet another crack in the Octagon in 2012, but after losing to Mark Bocek and Shane Roller — becoming the only fighter in UFC history to go 0-5 — he was cut for good. Bellator then picked him up and he’s been installed as a participant in the season nine lightweight tournament. Winning it, he says, is his destiny.


(Hey, if BJ Penn can be the UFC’s first three-title champion, then a middle-aged kickboxer can be the future of the heavyweight division. / Photo via crucifixusa.com)

By Adam Martin

Bellator’s ninth season recently commenced, and if last week’s opener is any indication, it’s going to be a fun and action-packed couple of months in the world of “Viacom MMA.”

During the summer, Bellator signed a number of new fighters that will make their promotional debuts during season nine, and we wanted to highlight a few of these hungry young prospects that fans should keep an eye on starting with tonight’s event in Temecula, California.

So, without further ado, here are nine Bellator prospects to watch out for during this coming season of fights.

9. John Alessio

(Photo via Getty)

The first fighter to keep an eye on this season is veteran John Alessio, who has been fighting professionally since 1998. After making his name as a top prospect fighting for SuperBrawl in Hawaii, the UFC fed Alessio to the sharks when, at just 20 years of age, he fought Pat Miletich for the UFC welterweight title. And while Alessio would get tapped out in just 1:43 and leave the UFC immediately afterwards, he returned in 2006 and fought both Diego Sanchez and Thiago Alves, losing to both and losing his spot on the roster again. Never perturbed, Alessio then carved out a solid run in the WEC, MFC, Dream, and a few other promotions to get yet another crack in the Octagon in 2012, but after losing to Mark Bocek and Shane Roller — becoming the only fighter in UFC history to go 0-5 — he was cut for good. Bellator then picked him up and he’s been installed as a participant in the season nine lightweight tournament. Winning it, he says, is his destiny.

8. Paul Sass

(Photo via MMAJunkie)

Another UFC veteran to look out for this season is Paul Sass, the British submission wizard who was picked up by Bellator after two-straight losses in the Octagon, although his 3-2 overall UFC record wasn’t too bad. Sass, in my opinion, was cut far too early by the UFC as he was one of the best submission guys in the entire 155-pound division and seemed to be coming along a bit with his striking. Although Bellator’s lightweight division is very good, I do believe that Sass had it rougher in the UFC’s 155-pound shark tank and so I expect him to pick up some nice undercard wins in Bellator and then maybe get a shot in a future lightweight tournament.

7. Vladimir Matyushenko

(Photo via LowKick.com)

Vladimir Matyushenko, who at 42 years and eight months old is almost the oldest fighter on the Bellator roster, was cut by the UFC earlier this year after a 4-3 second run in the Octagon that culminated with back-to-back stoppage losses to Ryan Bader and Alexander Gustafsson. Not too long after, Bellator reached out to the former IFL light-heavyweight champion and he signed a deal with the promotion. According to Matyushenko, he still has something left in the tank and wants to prove it to both himself and to the fans in the circled Bellator cage tonight at Bellator 99. The Janitor will be making his promotional debut against Houston Alexander, with the winner of the fight getting an immediate shot against Keith Jardine (just kidding about the Jardine part).

6. Houston Alexander

(Photo via MMAWeekly)

As stated above, Alexander recently signed with Bellator after two-straight wins on the regional circuit and the 41-year-old will take on Matyushenko in a battle of two hard hitters who have been knocked out a combined nine times. Something tells me that one of these two men is going to wake up to a doctor’s flashlight – or maybe even both will, for the rare double KO – and, in a fight between two fighters with a combined age of 83, it wouldn’t be surprising if this match marks the end of one or both of these fighters’ careers. Or, maybe they’ll just keep dragging along. Isn’t 40 supposed to be the new 25?

5. Mighty Mo

I had no idea until I was looking through the official Bellator roster (forgive me, I don’t do it often) that they recently signed Mighty Mo, who is currently on an eight-fight losing streak in kickboxing, turns 43 next month, and is most fondly remembered in MMA for getting kicked in the groin by Josh Barnett and then getting to return the favor after the fight back in DREAM. Mo, who is just 3-2 in mixed martial arts competition, hasn’t fought in MMA in over three years, and I’m puzzled why Bellator signed him. I guess they were impressed by his knockout of Ruben “Warpath” Villareal back at Dynamite!!! USA in 2007 – his last win in MMA – and think he has the power to cause problems in the Bellator heavyweight division. Truth be told, he can still probably compete with guys like Ron Sparks and Rich Hale, and he could definitely be involved in some sloppy, groin-shot-filled Bellator heavyweight bouts in the near future.

On the next page: A legit featherweight contender, and some big names you love to hate.

Bellator: Building on UFC Veterans, the Impending Pay-Per-View and More

Bjorn Rebney has made it clear in the past through interviews and statements; Bellator does not want to build their company on UFC veterans, and he doesn’t want to become a feeder system to the world’s largest promotion. This can somewhat be seen in the never-ending negotiations with Eddie Alvarez and their unwillingness to sign […]

Bjorn Rebney has made it clear in the past through interviews and statements; Bellator does not want to build their company on UFC veterans, and he doesn’t want to become a feeder system to the world’s largest promotion. This can somewhat be seen in the never-ending negotiations with Eddie Alvarez and their unwillingness to sign […]

Related Posts:

Matt Riddle Retires from MMA, but Is Money Really to Blame?

Matthew Riddle announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on Monday at the ripe old age of 27. 
Riddle, who debuted on the national scene on Season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter, said via Twitter that he can’t fight as scheduled on September 20&…

Matthew Riddle announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on Monday at the ripe old age of 27. 

Riddle, who debuted on the national scene on Season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter, said via Twitter that he can’t fight as scheduled on September 20 because of a cracked rib and that his newest employer Bellator can’t give him a fight this year.

Thus, he can no longer afford to train in mixed martial arts. It’s a sad story to see such a young fighter forced to stop pursuing something he’s good at because his employers don’t pay him enough money and can’t find him enough fights to live on.

And you know Bellator is telling the truth about being unable to find Riddle a fight, because it’s featuring former UFC talent anytime it possibly can. Especially if a fighter is coming off a drug test failure in his last fight (Riddle and Lavar Johnson), or if he’s mentally unbalanced and generally regarded as a terrible human being (Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver). 

So I started feeling bad for Riddle, because again, it’s never fun to see such young talent walk away before he realizes his potential. And then I started thinking: I wonder how much money he made over the past, oh, two years or so, when he was fighting regularly in the UFC? Why is he living in poverty?

I decided to take a look at reported salaries for the last five Riddle fights, which would take us back to September 2011. 

First, a few notes:

1. Salaries for international events, whether held under the auspices of the UFC or a local sanctioning body, are generally not released to the public. In these cases, however, it’s easy to estimate a fighter’s win/show money based on previously reported fights.

For instance, Riddle went from earning $12,000/$12,000 to earning $15,000/$15,000. That signifies that he either signed a new deal with the UFC or that escalator clauses in his previous contract changed the number from $12,000 to $15,000. 

2. These numbers are simply reported earnings and do not include sponsorships. 

So, let’s take a look at Riddle’s last five fights, with his reported earnings:

Note: the two highlighted rows denote results that were overturned due to drug test failures.

Let’s do a little math, shall we?

You’ll note that Riddle had two of his five fights overturned due to drug test failures for marijuana. Despite my firm belief that marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug and that the regulations restricting its usage in mixed martial arts are stupid (for lack of a better term), the fact remains that they’re still the rules and must be followed.

If you can’t exist without marijuana, and you know that allowances will not be made that enable you to smoke pot, then you cannot smoke pot. It’s that simple. Follow the rules (stupid as they may be), or find something else to do.

Without those two drug test failures, Riddle would have earned approximately $252,000 in 17 months.

With the failures? The number drops to $157,000. 

Both of these estimated earnings do not include taxes, which Riddle would have to pay due to his status as a contractor.

But still—$157,000 before taxes? That’s a salary many independent contractors would kill for, even with the taxes involved.

Again, these estimates do not include sponsorships. Given Riddle’s placement on each fight card, it is reasonable to expect that he earned a minimum of $25,000 to $50,000 over the duration of the five fights I’ve listed above.

These numbers also do not account for whatever percentage his manager and gym took from each of his fight purses. Knowing the industry, that number could range from 10 percent (for good management) 50 percent (for sleazy management).

So, to recap: Prior to failing two drug tests in three fights, Riddle was on a course to make somewhere between $250,000 and $300,000 over the course of 17 months, before paying taxes and management and gym fees. After failing two drug tests, he earned somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 to $180,000.

Now, I’m not a financial planning expert. This is just a surface look at the numbers, and you’d need someone far more intelligent and experienced than me to break them down.

But with just this surface look at Riddle’s earnings, I can safely say there’s no way he should be so financially destitute at this point in his career that he’s forced to retire from mixed martial arts because he can no longer afford to train. And if he is broke, then it might be time to visit with a financial planner or someone else who can help him figure out where his money went and why his money doesn’t need to go there anymore.

I know plenty of fighters who make far less than what Riddle has reportedly earned over the past two years, and all of them survive. They don’t have the coolest rides or the nicest houses. They don’t eat in the finest eateries money can buy. But they live and survive because they want to train another day all in the hopes of someday reaching the level Riddle did before two drug test failures forced the UFC to ditch him. 

Mixed martial arts isn’t the most honest sport in the world, and it doesn’t always feature the most upstanding citizens of humanity. But you can’t blame this one on the sport, and you can’t blame this one on Bellator. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator News Roundup: Cheick Kongo’s Debut Opponent Announced, Why Joe Warren Was Medically Ineligible for Saturday’s Card, And The Arm Collector Retires


(Step 1: Pretend that you’ve suddenly gone blind. Step 2: Hope that Cheick Kongo takes pity on you. Step 3: ???. Step 4: Profit. / Mark Godbeer photo via Sherdog)

I’m sure Jared won’t be reading this post, but for those of you who still care about Bellator, listen up:

— New Bellator heavyweight/recent UFC castoff Cheick Kongo has gotten his first booking in the circular cage. Bellator has confirmed that Kongo will meet Mark Godbeer at Bellator 101, September 27th in Portland. Yes, “Mark Godbeer” sounds like a made-up name. But apparently he’s a real guy with a punny nickname and an 8-1 record earned on the UK circuit.

The 6’4″ 29-year-old last competed at BAMMA 9 in March 2012, where he scored a corner-stoppage TKO victory against Catalin Zmarandescu. Godbeer was scheduled to make his Bellator debut against Ron Sparks last October, but a back injury put him out of action. None of Godbeer’s fights have lasted past the second round. Alright, so he’s not world-class, but Bellator could have done worse for Kongo’s first victim Bellator. Then again, those 18 months of ring rust won’t be doing the Brit any favors.

— We now have an actual explanation for Joe Warren being declared medically unfit to compete at Saturday’s Bellator 98 card against Nick Kirk. According to an MMAFighting report, Warren was recently knocked out during sparring, and Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulations commissioner Mike Mazzulli canceled the bout after seeing the medical report. Though Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney wouldn’t confirm the reason behind Warren’s withdrawal from this weekend’s event, he did say that the Fight Master coach could be off suspension within 2-3 weeks.

Knockouts during MMA training sessions are an unfortunately common occurrence — especially when puppies are on the line — but the fact that this happened so close to the event should raise concerns. Was this just a freak accident? Considering the brutal KO’s that Warren has previously suffered against Alexis Vila and Pat Curran, you have to wonder if his chin (and brain) are starting to deteriorate to the point where he can’t even make it through a friendly sparring session without getting shut off.


(Step 1: Pretend that you’ve suddenly gone blind. Step 2: Hope that Cheick Kongo takes pity on you. Step 3: ???. Step 4: Profit. / Mark Godbeer photo via Sherdog)

I’m sure Jared won’t be reading this post, but for those of you who still care about Bellator, listen up:

— New Bellator heavyweight/recent UFC castoff Cheick Kongo has gotten his first booking in the circular cage. Bellator has confirmed that Kongo will meet Mark Godbeer at Bellator 101, September 27th in Portland. Yes, “Mark Godbeer” sounds like a made-up name. But apparently he’s a real guy with a punny nickname and an 8-1 record earned on the UK circuit.

The 6’4″ 29-year-old last competed at BAMMA 9 in March 2012, where he scored a corner-stoppage TKO victory against Catalin Zmarandescu. Godbeer was scheduled to make his Bellator debut against Ron Sparks last October, but a back injury put him out of action. None of Godbeer’s fights have lasted past the second round. Alright, so he’s not world-class, but Bellator could have done worse for Kongo’s first victim Bellator. Then again, those 18 months of ring rust won’t be doing the Brit any favors.

— We now have an actual explanation for Joe Warren being declared medically unfit to compete at Saturday’s Bellator 98 card against Nick Kirk. According to an MMAFighting report, Warren was recently knocked out during sparring, and Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulations commissioner Mike Mazzulli canceled the bout after seeing the medical report. Though Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney wouldn’t confirm the reason behind Warren’s withdrawal from this weekend’s event, he did say that the Fight Master coach could be off suspension within 2-3 weeks.

Knockouts during MMA training sessions are an unfortunately common occurrence — especially when puppies are on the line — but the fact that this happened so close to the event should raise concerns. Was this just a freak accident? Considering the brutal KO’s that Warren has previously suffered against Alexis Vila and Pat Curran, you have to wonder if his chin (and brain) are starting to deteriorate to the point where he can’t even make it through a friendly sparring session without getting shut off.

— And finally, one of MMA’s greatest one-trick ponies has called it a day. Following his TKO loss to undefeated prospect Jason Butcher at Bellator 98 Saturday, Brazilian middleweight Giva “The Arm Collector” Santana has retired from competition at the age of 41. Santana leaves behind an 18-3 record, with 13 of those wins by armbar.

“As time goes by, you start to feel things more and more until you feel it’s time to stop,” Santana said after the fight. “After training for years, the body starts to complain about the injuries that pile up. I told everyone I was fine for this fight, but actually I had an injured arm and ribcage from sparring in Rio de Janeiro. This rib injury, especially, really affected my training. But it was an accident. I thought I broke a rib, but gladly that wasn’t the case. It was the cartilage. These things happen. When I came back from Rio, I tried to continue training but I couldn’t all I wanted…

“I wish to serve as an example,” he said. “I want to be a good example for those kids learning the sport. If they see something in my game they like, by all means, use it. What doesn’t work so well, they don’t have to use. I also wish to be an example of good diet, health and longevity.”

Bellator 98: Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brett Cooper 2 Live Cageside Results

Bellator’s Season 9 Middleweight Tournament is kicking off, and we’re here bringing you all the live results from cageside at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Topping everything off is a middleweight title fight between Alexander Shle…

Bellator’s Season 9 Middleweight Tournament is kicking off, and we’re here bringing you all the live results from cageside at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Topping everything off is a middleweight title fight between Alexander Shlemenko and Brett Cooper!

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Alexander Shlemenko Unhappy with Recent Inactivity: ‘I Make Money When I Fight’

There’s a tactical nature to some champions in mixed martial arts where a course is plotted, and everything has to fall perfectly in place to put a fight together.
For example, rarely will you see a champion take a fight on short notice or enjoy it muc…

There’s a tactical nature to some champions in mixed martial arts where a course is plotted, and everything has to fall perfectly in place to put a fight together.

For example, rarely will you see a champion take a fight on short notice or enjoy it much when an opponent has to drop out and a replacement steps in. At the level where championships are involved, it’s sometimes becomes a complicated situation in regards to matchups and timing in order to get it all together.

In the UFC and Bellator, most champions only defend a title, on average, twice per year, and the same can be said for many organizations. More goes into preparing for a title fight, so the men and women holding the gold belts tend to compete a little less often than the contenders.

Whether he’s a champion or not, Bellator middleweight king Alexander Shlemenko does not prescribe to the theory that just because he’s ranked at the top of the division, he somehow receives special treatment. He’s no fan of sitting out and waiting for contenders to climb up the mountain to him—he’s happy to get down in the trenches and face anybody that stands in his way.

Shlemenko just wants to fight.

In 2010, Shlemenko fought a total of six times, and he followed that up with an encore in 2011, where he competed seven times. So it’s easy to see why Shlemenko is a little disappointed that his fight this weekend against Brett Cooper will mark only his second trip to the cage in 2013.

Even if it means fighting a friend, a training partner, and somebody he’s already beaten instead of Doug Marshall, who suffered an injury and was forced out of the bout, Shlemenko didn’t care too much who was facing him this weekend—just as long as the fight still happened, he’s a happy Russian.

“Well of course it would be more interesting for me to face Doug Marshall mainly because I have a good relationship Brett Cooper, we already fought and we train together,” Shlemenko said. “But I’m very glad that this fight is actually happening, because lately I’ve been fighting very, very rarely and it bothers me a lot. The fact that I would still be able to fight even though Marshall got hurt makes me happy because I still get to fight.”

Shlemenko fighting two times in 2013 is equal to most champions, so Bellator isn’t necessarily doing anything wrong by not booking the Russian middleweight in more bouts. Shlemenko just loves to stay active, and this is his business.

Like any business, there’s no money coming in if the doors are closed.

“I can say I’m a professional mixed martial arts fighter, and I make money when I fight,” Shlemenko said. “It’s extremely difficult for me to stay without a fight for a long period of time as it happened earlier. That’s why I’m happy my fight was not canceled, Bellator replaced the opponent and the fight can still happen.

“I heard about these new rules that Bellator has about putting in different opponents just in case, and they can keep the champions active. That’s very good and I’m happy it could work out and I can fight no matter what.”

If it was up to Shlemenko, he’d still be fighting six or seven times a year/ However, as champion, that may not always be a realistic goal. So once he gets through Cooper this weekend, the Russian fighter is hoping Bellator can match him up with Marshall the moment he’s recovered and can take the fight.

The middleweight division can’t churn fast enough for Shlemenko, but he’s hopeful that the matchmakers and executives at Bellator will continue to scout the planet for the best fighters in the world to bring him competition.

If they are willing to step up, Shlemenko is ready to fight them.

“I know Bellator matchmakers are constantly searching for new fighters, they are looking around the whole world to find the best possible fighters for the middleweight division,” Shlemenko said. “The only thing that really matters is the ability for me to fight as much as possible.”

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