MMA News

Tag: Bellator

  • Ryan Bader Signing With RIZIN, Will Fight On New Year’s Eve

    Ryan Bader Signing With RIZIN, Will Fight On New Year’s Eve

    The next stop for former Bellator heavyweight and light heavyweight champion is now known, as it appears he is signing with Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN.

    Bader appeared at the Rizin: Otoko Matsuri event held at the Tokyo Dome on May 4, announcing plans to take on the winner of the RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament. Such a fight would take place at the end of this year at RIZIN’s annual New Year’s Eve card.

    This will be Bader’s first MMA fight since his 21-second TKO loss to Renan Ferreira at the PFL vs. Bellator Champions vs. Champions card in February 2024. Bader officially parted ways with the PFL in March, two months after it was officially announced that the PFL was folding the Bellator brand. The PFL had formally purchased Bellator MMA in November 2023.

    Ryan Bader To Fight In RIZIN On New Year’s Eve

    Bader won the Bellator heayvweight championship by winning the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix held from January 2018-January 2019. The tournament saw Bader defeat Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Matt Mitrione and Fedor Emelianenko to become champion. Bader became the first Bellator heavyweight champion since Vitaly Minakov was formally stripped of the title in 2016 and became the first double champion in Bellator history.

    Bader defended the heavyweight title against Cheick Kongo, Valentin Moldavsky and Emelianenko before Bellator’s purchase by the PFL.

    Bader was also the light heavyweight champion at one point, winning the title in his Bellator debut at Bellator 180. He’d defend that title against Linton Vassell before losing the title to Vadim Nemkov.

    The eight-man RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix began at the May 4 event, which saw Marek Samociuk defeat Daniel James, José Augusto Azevedo best Tsuyoshi Sudario and Mikio Ueda beat Shoma Shibisai. The remaining quarterfinal will take place between Islambek Baktybek Uulu and Alexander Soldatkin.

  • Patrício Pitbull Sends Stern Warning To Former Employer After ‘Lies’ About PFL Release: ‘Do Not Go This Route’

    Patrício Pitbull Sends Stern Warning To Former Employer After ‘Lies’ About PFL Release: ‘Do Not Go This Route’

    Via his recent live fan Q&A with MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, PFL founder Donn Davis spoke more in detail about the current situation regarding Patrício Pitbull. The Bellator legend was recently granted his release from the promotion after being outspoken over the past several weeks about wanting to leave so that he could fight elsewhere.

    Pitbull had said that he wasn’t being offered fights and had reached a point where he had already made up his mind about fighting for another promotion, with one specific destination in mind. Davis argued against this during the Town Hall interview where he gave more context from the PFL’s point of view.

    Davis said that the reason this had been going on for several weeks is because the promotion was trying to keep Pitbull with them by making a deal work. He said that they also tried to get the Bellator featherweight champion to fight the only bout left on his contract before leaving, with a huge clash against Aaron Pico being the option that they were heading in.

    Pitbull quickly posted a response on X where he claimed that both of these points aren’t a fair reflection of the communications between the two parties.

    “Hi @DonnDavisPFL, let’s keep things true all the way. You never oficially offered me the fight with Pico, and I never said no. Pete told my management that Pico was the number 1 choice but he might be hitting free agency and if so you’d find someone else. Also…

    “You never said ‘fight for us this one time and we will let you go’. You said my 15 years in Bellator provided value for them and now you wanted me to provide value for PFL. And Pete said you’d exercise every legal right you guys had to prevent me from going to the competition.”

    Pitbull added one more message to the statement, stating that he will continue to dispute any claims that he believes aren’t factual. The 37-year old said that he doesn’t want to have to continue talking negatively about the promotion but he will if the truth isn’t being put out there.

    “I had all the intention of leaving everything behind and not talking about it anymore, but if I see any lies about me out there I won’t stay silent. As I said on our last conversation @DonnDavisPFL I hope @PFLMMA improves and can succeed, so do not go this route.”

  • Bellator Champion On Being Blindsided By PFL Scrapping The Brand: ‘Still Haven’t Heard A Thing’

    Bellator Champion On Being Blindsided By PFL Scrapping The Brand: ‘Still Haven’t Heard A Thing’

    It isn’t currently known what will happen to the current Bellator champions after Ariel Helwani stated that the promotion is “dead” from here on out. The Bellator Champions Series, which was established by the PFL in 2024, suffered from some major issues which as a result, has led some of the top fighters on the roster voicing their criticisms of the way that they have been treated since their contracts were acquired by the PFL in 2023.

    These events are set to be replaced by the PFL Champions Series which will introduce new PFL titles instead of having the belts up for grabs in the regular season format as has been the case in previous years. It now appears that the final fight that still has the Bellator name attached to it will be on January 25 where Usman Nurmagomedov defends the Bellator lightweight title against Paul Hughes in Dubai.

    One of the current champions of the promotion that is set to be fazed out of the PFL brand spoke out on social media following this news. Corey Anderson claimed that rather than being contacted by someone from the PFL, he found out that the brand which he is the light heavyweight champion of will cease to exist via his wife.

    “Imagine being the champion of an organization chilling on the couch and your wife walks in and tells you “did you see this? Bellator is dead now?”… and all you can do is shrug your shoulders in confusion…. CUZ you still haven’t heard a thing. Lol Yeaaaah, that was me.”

    Anderson has been particularly vocal in recent times due to the booking and subsequent cancelation of his matchup with Vadim Nemkov which was booked for the first “Road to Dubai” event on January 25. Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen also took to social media to raise the question of what this news means for his current status.

  • PFL ‘In A Good Spot’ Financially Despite 2024 Struggles, Fighter Complaints

    PFL ‘In A Good Spot’ Financially Despite 2024 Struggles, Fighter Complaints

    The PFL has undergone some major changes before the promotion hosts its first event of 2025. 2024 brought to light some big issues and criticism for the promotion which they are now looking to address for the year ahead.

    On Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, it was announced that the Bellator brand is officially “dead”. There was a lot of scepticism regarding the PFL’s plans to integrate Bellator in order to have both names co-exist under one roof after the promotion was acquired towards the end of 2023.

    Having the PFL’s season format continue alongside the Bellator Champions Series has created confusion for the fans and frustration for the fighters who aren’t being as active as they would like. PFL is looking to change this by removing the season-based format in place of a Grand Prix style tournament and by removing the Bellator brand entirely by integrating it all into a revised PFL system.

    One of the first adjustments that was reported which pointed to the promotion heading in a new direction was the news that starting in 2025, the prize money for the winner of the tournaments would drop from $1 million to $500,000. Many assumed that this is because handing out six $1 million dollar cheques isn’t financially viable for the promotion anymore.

    However, following the reports that the new tournament will consist of just eight competitors and that they will be more focused on up-and-coming talents rather than it being the ultimate end goal for fighters in the promotion (with PFL divisional titles set to be introduced), the drop in prize money makes sense. Ariel Helwani also stated during his update on the future of the promotion that cutting costs isn’t a major priority for the PFL based on what he has heard about their financial situation.

    “When this first came out about the $1 million to 500,000, it felt like ‘Oh, this is a sign that they’re dead’. Now, I’m being told that like as far as finances are concerned, they’re in a good spot. They have great, sold investment, all that stuff and more. They’re not hurting for cash, this is just kind of a restructuring of how the promotion is laid out. I actually think it makes a ton more sense.”

  • PFL Announces Major Change To Ruleset For 2025: ‘You Asked For…’

    PFL Announces Major Change To Ruleset For 2025: ‘You Asked For…’

    We haven’t been in 2025 for long but the PFL has already announced a major change to the promotion going forward. One of the most talked about criticisms of the action that takes place inside the Smart Cage has been the removal of one of the most dangerous weapons in mixed martial arts.

    Elbows are an incredibly important weapon in a fighter’s arsenal, especially for grapplers who do their best work when they’re on top of their opponents, raining down strikes. However, due to the promotion’s tournament format, they have not been allowed in the PFL’s ruleset because it makes it more difficult for fighters to make the required turnarounds throughout the season due to the cuts that elbows often open up.

    For a long time, fans have argued that whilst this may be the case, they should be given the all clear for elbows in championship fights and in this area, the PFL made a change by allowing this form of striking technique in the 2024 World Championships. Across that event alone, we saw some devastating elbows once they were unlocked with Dakota Ditcheva in particular making the case for why this ruleset should become permanent with her ruthless display against Taila Santos.

    The promotion have finally responded to this feedback from the fans and the fighters via a recent social media post from PFL founder Donn Davis who announced that from now, elbows will be allowed in every PFL fight. 2024 may have been a mixed bag for the promotion overall but this is a step in the right direction regarding the product itself.

    “New Year … New Adjustments YOU asked for ELBOWS @PFLMMA is giving you elbows! All elbows. All fights. All the time. #PFLMMA 2025 … COMING”

  • Donn Davis Lists ‘5 Bad Things’ That Happened To PFL In 2024: ‘Bellator Star Fighters Complained…’

    Donn Davis Lists ‘5 Bad Things’ That Happened To PFL In 2024: ‘Bellator Star Fighters Complained…’

    The PFL had some major highlights throughout 2024 from the debut of Francis Ngannou to the rise of one of the promotion’s new focal points, Dakota Ditcheva. However, the year also provided them with some difficult challenges, some of which are yet to be dealt with now that 2025 is underway.

    PFL founder Donn Davis spoke about this in a recent post on LinkedIn which has attracted the wrong kind of attention. In an effort to show the other side to what most business owners put out there on social media, Davis listed “5 bad things that happened to PFL in 2024.”

    The majority of the post references things that happened behind the scenes which fight fans wouldn’t have known about as Davis talks through some of the issues that they have experienced that come with running a company of this scale. He reveals how throughout 2024, they have had to battle potential investors wasting their time, an advertiser deal breaking down, the costs of international expansion into new regions and a delay in the promotion’s plans which was caused by one of their partners.

    It is the third entry in the list that is particularly of note as unlike the other problems, this one has taken place in the public eye. The PFL’s acquisition of Bellator has certainly led to the promotion having a better product overall when it comes to the talent on their roster but keeping everyone busy and happy has been a major issue with several big names openly voicing their issues with the way that they have been treated.

    Davis made reference to this in his post where he appeared to criticize these fighters for making claims which have damaged the promotion’s public perception.

    “Some Bellator star fighters complained on social media about not fighting, making PFL look like not meet our contracts.”

  • New Global Fight League Calls Out PFL Over Treatment Of Patrício Pitbull

    New Global Fight League Calls Out PFL Over Treatment Of Patrício Pitbull

    Patrício Pitbull has been very outspoken about his desire to leave the PFL after claiming that he has not been offered any fights in the second half of 2024. The Bellator champion states that during preparations for a recent return, the fight was cancelled and he was not given a new date or opponent.

    The Brazilian recently posted a series of messages on social media where he provided the latest update in his communications with the promotion. Pitbull started by saying that following a call between the PFL’s Pete Murray and his management, it was made clear that he will not be granted his release from the promotion with his contract running out in May.

    He criticized the promotion for claiming to be fighter first whilst planning to book him in April next year instead of allowing him to be active. In one of several posts, the champion wrote:

    “It’s really absurd and disappointing that I have to come on X to voice all this. Do the right thing and release me @PeteMurrayPFL @DonnDavisPFL. I was a @BellatorMMA fighter and it no longer exists. The promotion is gone and so should I.”

    There has been a lot of talk about the PFL, its format and its growth in recent years and the same is sure to be the case for the Global Fight League. The GFL is set to launch next year after announcing its huge roster and plans for the team-based season format.

    The GFL also claims to be putting the fighters first and has implemented systems like a revenue share and retirement fund in order to prove this stance. The new promotion on the block recently commented on the recent situation regarding Pitbull and his PFL contract by criticizing the way that he has been treated.

    “The GFL was designed, in part, to avoid these kinds of issues. ‘Fighters’ are athletes, and more importantly, people. They needn’t be treated merely as commodity. We hope there is a positive resolution to this issue for @PatricioPitbull.”

  • Former Bellator Prospect With 9-1 Record Asks Dana White For UFC Shot In 2025: ‘I’m Unstoppable!’

    Former Bellator Prospect With 9-1 Record Asks Dana White For UFC Shot In 2025: ‘I’m Unstoppable!’

    The UFC is set to return to Seattle, Washington in the new year with a Fight Night event hosted at the Climate Pledge Arena in February 22. With multiple big fights already announced for the promotion’s first trip back to Seattle for the first time since 2013, there is one fighter who isn’t currently signed to the UFC who is attempting to call his shot.

    Lance Gibson Jr. is a 9-1 lightweight who was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. The 29-year old fought six times in Bellator and after departing the promotion last year, he has produced back-to-back first-round finishes on Muckleshoot Fight Night in 2024.

    As he goes on to mention in a social media video, Gibson is the son of a former UFC fighter and Canadian MMA pioneer. Lance Gibson Sr. competed twice inside the Octagon at UFC 24 and UFC 29 in 2000. “Fearless” now believes that this is his time to join the UFC roster and with the Octagon finally making its return to his local arena, the stars have fallen into place.

    Gibson Jr. posted the following caption alongside an Instagram video where he made the case for why he deserves to be signed to the UFC so that he can make his debut on this card.

    “What better time than now? Let’s make this happen together. Like, Share, and Comment tagging @ufc @danawhite @seanshelby and let them know who you want to see on UFC Fight Night Seattle Feb 22nd, 2025. Tag #FearlessForUFC Thank you all for your love and support I couldn’t do it without you.”

    The video itself sees Gibson Jr. stood outside the venue where he delivers this message alongside clips from his and his father’s highlight reels.

    “Dana, Sean, I’ve been on your radar for a while now. You’ve seen what my dad did 25 years ago at UFC 24, March 10th, year 2000. I was born 10 minutes from this arena and I was raised on the mats in Seattle, Washington. This city knows my name. I fought for the pacific northwest my entire career. Fight after fight, I’ve shown I’m fearless. I’m ferocious. I’m unstoppable but most importantly, I’m one of a kind. I’ve dreamt my entire life of being able to fight in the UFC Octagon. What better time than now.”

  • PFL Founder Rejects Bellator Fighter Complaints, Insists Promotion Did ‘Best They Could’ In 2024

    PFL Founder Rejects Bellator Fighter Complaints, Insists Promotion Did ‘Best They Could’ In 2024

    2024 has provided some problems for the PFL that they haven’t had to deal with in the past. Despite having the PFL debut of Francis Ngannou and some great performances on the 2024 World Championships card, a lot of the talk surrounding the promotion as of late has revolved around the fighters that haven’t been in action.

    Following the acquisition of Bellator last year, the PFL was always going to have to work out how to keep a huge amount of new fighters on the roster busy and happy. This has not been the case for some of the top names in the promotion including Bellator champions like Patrício Pitbull, Cris Cyborg and Patchy Mix who have all complained about not being as active as they would like.

    In a recent social media post, PFL founder Donn Davis hit back at some of the criticisms by stating that the promotion always has and always will offer each athlete the opportunity to compete twice per calendar year. It is also worth noting that the following post was edited with a slight change to the wording.

    The post originally read that the PFL did “a good job” before it was later changed to state that the promotion did the “best we could”.

    “PFL has ALWAYS provided all fighters 2 fights a year … When we acquired Bellator THEY had ZERO fight events scheduled for their Bellator 210 fighters in 2024. @PFLMMA stepped in and did best we could for them in 2024 … 2025 ALL fighters again 2 fights a year!”

    Cyborg, who is the Bellator featherweight champion, has been one of the most vocal about her issues with the PFL but this has quietened down since her fight with Larissa Pacheco in October. The Brazilian icon responded to Davis’ post and showed her support for the promotion.

    Pitbull, on the other hand, has made his mind up that he wishes to be released from the promotion so that he can go and fight elsewhere after going public with his complaints. He also responded and disputed some of the claims made by Davis.

  • Two More Ireland vs. Dagestan Fights Added To Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes PFL Card

    Two More Ireland vs. Dagestan Fights Added To Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes PFL Card

    On January 25, the PFL is set to host its first event in Dubai with the Road To Dubai Champions Series at the Coca-Cola Arena. In the main event, the undefeated Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov will face the rising star Paul Hughes in a highly anticipated title fight.

    Following Hughes’ win over A.J. McKee at Battle of the Giants, he called for this fight and immediately attached the perfect tagline to it. When the event was announced, it was promoted as Ireland vs Dagestan 2 in reference to the biggest fight in the history of the sport between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

    As the cousin of Khabib, we know that the defending champion will have his family involved for this fight though it seems unlikely that the same can be said for McGregor linking up with Hughes right now. However, PFL appears to be doubling down on this particular theme for the card following the announcement of two more matchups that pit Ireland against Dagestan.

    A fantastic featherweight clash will see the undefeated Khasan Magomedsharipov take on Nate Kelly. Khasan, who is the younger brother of the former UFC featherweight contender Zabit Magomedsharipov, has won five consecutive fights under the Bellator banner and was recently named in the top 10 of ESPN’s 25 under 25 list for 2024.

    Ireland’s Kelly trains out of the same gym as McGregor, SBG Dublin, and has gone 10-0 since losing the first two pro fights of his career, having fought in both Bellator and the PFL in recent years.

    A second bout sees another undefeated fighter with Dagestani origins facing one of the emerald isle’s finest. 20-year old Ibragim Ibragimov also represents the English flag having been born in Dagestan before moving at a young age. The 8-0 featherweight out of Manchester Top Team recently earned a decision win over Nacho Campos at Battle of the Giants. His opponent will be another SBG Ireland fighter, Kenny Mokhonoana.

    The 27-year old has amassed a 5-1 record with two first-round finishes already under his belt in Bellator. His last fight in September last year saw him suffer his first pro loss to the highly regarded undefeated Welsh fighter Josh O’Connor.

    A trilogy fight between Vadim Nemkov and Bellator light heavyweight champion Corey Anderson at heavyweight was also recently confirmed for the card.

  • Patrício Pitbull Wants PFL Release By Christmas After ‘Lack Of Transparency, Events, & Answers’ 

    Patrício Pitbull Wants PFL Release By Christmas After ‘Lack Of Transparency, Events, & Answers’ 

    Patrício Pitbull has spoken out once again about wanting to be released from his PFL contract so that he can go and fight elsewhere. The Bellator featherweight champion last fought in March where he stopped Jeremy Kennedy to defend his title in Belfast.

    He recently stated in an article from MMA Fighting that he has had several fights cancelled with no plans to reschedule them or find him a different opponent. The Brazilian claims that fights with Aaron Pico and a rematch with Chihiro Suzuki in RIZIN both fell by the wayside and as a result, he would like to leave the promotion if they don’t have any plans for him.

    Pitbull specifically mentioned wanting to use this opportunity to finally fight in the UFC before it is too late for him.

    “I have to fight in the UFC. I have to face those guys. I see myself doing a good job there. I don’t see anything very special there. I can fight anyone there, even the champion. [Ilia Topuria] has some holes we can take advantage of. I’m sure they think the same about me, but I have to trust myself. This is the time.”

    Dana White was asked to give his opinion on this during his post-fight press conference after UFC 310 this past weekend. In response to the UFC boss’ comments, Pitbull posted on X to vent his frustrations about the lack of communication and activity for some of the fighters on the PFL roster.

    He ended the post by giving the promotion a deadline that he wants answers by.

    “The lack of transparency, events and answers from @PFLMMA about its future and @BellatorMMA ‘s is making both promotions look bad. What do you all think about what’s going on? Christmas is coming up and I’d love to receive my release by then.”

  • Bellator Champs Patrício Pitbull, Patchy Mix Request PFL Release: ‘They Don’t Know How To Act’

    Bellator Champs Patrício Pitbull, Patchy Mix Request PFL Release: ‘They Don’t Know How To Act’

    Two of the biggest names that the PFL acquired in the Bellator deal have recently voiced their frustrations with not being offered fights. Both Patrício Pitbull and Patchy Mix are reigning Bellator champions who have recently had upcoming bouts cancelled and they don’t seem happy with the communication that has taken place.

    Pitbull hasn’t fought since March where after finishing Jeremy Kennedy, he says he was told that he would be able to return to RIZIN for a rematch with Chihiro Suzuki to try and get his revenge. He also claims that he was then told he would be fighting Aaron Pico instead but this has also not materialized for him.

    As for the bantamweight champion Mix, he defended his title in May and was recently preparing for another title defence against Leandro Higo in November but since that event was postponed, he says that he hasn’t received word on when he will receive his next outing. Posting on X, Mix vented his frustrations and said that similarly to what has happened with other big names like Gegard Mousasi, he would like to be released if they don’t have any plans for him in the near future.

    “My manager told me to hold off but haven’t heard anything from PFLMMA DonnDavisPFL If you are not gonna have me fight then just please release me from contract. This is not what I want but if I’m not important to the company being a multi time champ. Then let me go respectfully”

    Pitbull made similar statements in a recent interview with MMA Fighting where he criticized the way that the promotion has handled the Bellator fighters since the acquisition last year.

    “PFL guys seem a bit lost there. Looks like Bellator is a bit too big for them, and they don’t know how to act properly.”

    Pitbull, like Mix, just wants to be active and he believes that leaving the PFL is the best way for him to do that at this stage in his career.

    “We were left with only promises. We lost rhythm, we lost part of our careers waiting for something that never came. It’s bad for me as a champion. I need to stay active. We know I’m not getting any younger, too. So I spoke with my managers and since my contract is not that long, it’s close to the end, we’ll ask to leave. I need to work.

    “Basically, Douglas Lima and my brother [Patricky Pitbull], the high-caliber guys of the organization, they either re-signed with their purse cut in half or they would be cut. That was basically forced, you know? Donn Davis said early in the merge that that would not happen, but it happened. We know the organization has valued semi-retired fighters and internet celebrities more than actual fighters that put on a show.”