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Bellator Announce Eight-Man Light Heavyweight Tournament

Bellator has announced a light-heavyweight Gran-Prix is set to take place. An anonymous source with knowledge of the announcement reported the news to MMA DNA earlier today. Bellator have since confirmed the story during a press conference. To no one’s surprise, newly signed knockout artists and former UFC title challengers Yoel Romero and Anthony ‘Rumble’ […]

Bellator has announced a light-heavyweight Gran-Prix is set to take place.

An anonymous source with knowledge of the announcement reported the news to MMA DNA earlier today.

Bellator have since confirmed the story during a press conference.

To no one’s surprise, newly signed knockout artists and former UFC title challengers Yoel Romero and Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson will be joining the action at 205 in their Bellator debuts. Although to a certain shock, Scott Coker has matched up these powerhouses to fight each other on April 16th!

Ryan Bader, the former kingpin of the division will also look to stake his claim back on the title. Bader was defeated by Fedor Emeilianko’s protege, Vadim Nemkov in a series of attacks in round two. While Bader may not get his revenge on Nemkov immediately, he will have a chance to redeem himself against another familiar opponent in Lyoto Machida. “The Dragon” knocked out Bader in their first outing in 2012. The two will meet once again on April 9th.

Nemkov now wears the crown at 205. He will take on former foe Phil Davis in a rematch. The two fought to a split decision back in 2018 with Nemkov getting the nod from the judges. This time the title will be on the line, come April 16th.

Another name that will be thrown into the mix is Corey Anderson. “Overtime” made quick work of Melvin Manhoef in his debut under the Bellator banner last November. He has since called out for a title shot against Nemkov. However, the new signings of “Rumble” and Romero have left the title picture complicated. Anderson will fight highly-touted debutant Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov.

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Bellator Announces LHW Grand Prix, Including Johnson vs. Romero

Bellator MMA has announced that it will be holding a light heavyweight tournament that will include an apocalyptic showdown between Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Yoel “The Soldier of God” Romero. Earlier today, Bellator held a major press conference whe…

Scott Coker Surprised UFC Released So Many Top Names: ‘Good For Us’

Many observers were surprised with the big names the UFC recently released. Bellator president Scott Coker was among them. In recent months, the likes of Corey Anderson, Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson have all departed the UFC and have been picked up by Bellator who further strengthened their light heavyweight division in the process. While […]

Many observers were surprised with the big names the UFC recently released. Bellator president Scott Coker was among them.

In recent months, the likes of Corey Anderson, Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson have all departed the UFC and have been picked up by Bellator who further strengthened their light heavyweight division in the process.

While Bellator has developed a reputation of signing former UFC fighters who are either past their prime or not at a high level anymore, this is certainly a different case with Coker believing the promotion’s recent pickups are fighters who made a difference in the UFC.

“You’re talking about a couple of guys that really made a difference in their division,” Coker told MMA Fighting. “I’m surprised they didn’t want to keep them. To me, it’s a great opportunity for us.

“To be honest, I think we’re a better fit for those guys. They’ll have a great home here. I think they’re going to be extremely happy here. A couple of the guys that I talked to, they wanted to make the move. They wanted to come to Bellator. People see when they get here how we treat the fighters and how it’s a family atmosphere. Yes, it is a business so we run like a business but it’s really run a lot different than other organizations.”

Fighters such as Anderson and Johnson were also particularly excited about the prospect of joining Bellator after certain circumstances led to their departure according to Coker.

“At the end of the day, I think the fighters wanted to be here,” Coker said. “They made the move to be here. I think each one of those guys had different circumstances with their past employer and I don’t think that they wanted to take this fight or that fight and some ultimatums were thrown around is what I heard. It just didn’t work out.

“Too bad for them, good for us and now look at that light heavyweight division we have.”

Coker has long claimed Bellator had the best light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts and after these recent pickups, it’s hard to argue with that.

And he only expects the weight class to grow further in 2021.

“There’s no doubt in my mind [we have the best light heavyweight division],” Coker said. “First of all, I think [Vadim] Nemkov is the best fighter on the planet at 205 until he gets beat. I think that’s going to be my position. Because I’ve never seen Ryan Bader get dismantled like the way he did against Nemkov.

“You’re talking about a guy that can wrestle, can strike, got a complete game. Top pound-for-pound rated in the world. Top rated in the 205-pound weight class and he won a heavyweight tournament. He’s a serious athlete, this guy is a killer. Nemkov just kind of did his thing with him.

“… The sport of MMA really was built, I believe, on the light heavyweight division. Back in the day when you had [Quinton] ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Tito [Ortiz] and Chuck [Liddell] and [Randy] Couture and to me this is the second wave of 205-pound killers that all assembled under one roof. They can all fight each other and have some great fights in 2021 for Bellator.”

Do you think Bellator has the best light heavyweight division?

Scott Coker Explains Why Bellator Originally Passed On Signing Yoel Romero

After Yoel Romero was released by the UFC, Scott Coker revealed Bellator was not interested, yet those changes planned. After a week or so, it was then reported that Romero has indeed signed with the Viacom-owned promotion. According to Coker, he says …

Scott Coker Explains Why He Signed Yoel Romero After Initially Ruling It Out

Bellator boss Scott Coker has explained why he decided to sign former UFC middleweight title challenger after initially ruling out signing the Cuban free agent. Romero was shockingly let go from the UFC despite competing for the promotions 185lb title earlier this year. The 43-year-old is on a three-fight losing streak but all of those […]

Bellator boss Scott Coker has explained why he decided to sign former UFC middleweight title challenger after initially ruling out signing the Cuban free agent.

Romero was shockingly let go from the UFC despite competing for the promotions 185lb title earlier this year. The 43-year-old is on a three-fight losing streak but all of those losses where close and competitive fights against top level opposition in Israel Adesanya, Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker.

At the beginning of December Coker insisted he was happy with his current roster after news broke of Romero’s UFC release. Just a few days later Romero was a Bellator fighter.

Speaking to MMA Junkie, Coker explained why he changed his mind about signing Romero, he said.

“Yoel started with us in Strikeforce back in 2008 Part of me wanted to do it. Part of me didn’t want to do it. After we signed ‘Rumble’ (Johnson), we had the chance to (sign) Yoel. We passed on (him). I’ll tell you, honestly, the amount of support he got coming through our doors and through the social channels really was impressive. Everybody wanted to see the Yoel Romero vs. ‘Rumble’ Johnson fight. I huddled up with my team.

“I’ll tell you one thing in this situation people don’t really realize: Even if we said we were going to pass, we talk to these agents all the time – every day. Yoel’s name kept coming up and coming up. Finally, I just said, ‘You know what? Let’s do it. Let’s just add him into the mix.’”

“He’s (such) an amazing talent,” Coker added. “He still is somebody that is very dangerous. He definitely can still fight. I said, ‘Let’s put him in the mix, and let’s just go for it.’ I’m glad we did. I had a little chat with him. It was great. He seems like such a nice guy and very mature. I’m looking forward to putting him into our 205-pound mix sometime next year.”

Do you think Scott Coker made the right call by signing Yoel Romero to Bellator?

Scott Coker: Romero vs. Johnson “The Fight The Fans Want To See”

Bellator President Scott Coker is well aware of the buzz surrounding a potential showdown between Yoel Romero and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. After Bellator added Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson to its light heavyweight roster, this pairing instantaneous…