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Austin Vanderford gives update on wife Paige VanZant
Paige VanZant has not fought since January of this year, when she submitted Rachael Ostovich. Since then, she has been sidelined due to yet another broken arm. For her husband Austin Vanderford, it has been hard to see her be on the shelf once again. “The hardest part of our relationship has been her arm. […]
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Mike Kimbel right where he wants to be as he prepares for Bellator 225
Mike Kimbel is days away from another fight with Bellator MMA, and another fight in his home state of Connecticut, as he’s set to battle Chris Disonell at Bellator 225 this Saturday. Kimbel is currently 3-1 as a professional, with all of his fights occurring in the Bellator cage. His most recent fight was a […]
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Austin Vanderford wants ‘marquee names’ after Bellator 225
Austin Vanderford will return to the cage at Bellator 225 and will take on Joseph Creer. Both men are undefeated. When he makes the walk to the cage he will be fighting at middleweight for the first time. He decided to move up a division for a simple reason, but also notes a return to […]
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Javy Ayala expects Vitaly Minakov fight to be ‘fireworks’
Javy Ayala is coming off of the biggest win of his career, as he TKO’d Frank Mir back in December. Now, in the co-main event of Bellator 225 this weekend, he’s set to take on the former champion in Vitaly Minakov. Although Javy Ayala hasn’t fought since December, he isn’t worried about his layoff. Instead, […]
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Bellator 222 | Pro fighters make their picks for Chael Sonnen vs. Lyoto Machida
Bellator returns to Madison Square Garden in New York City with the stacked Bellator 222 card this weekend. The card sees two titles on the line and an intriguing light heavyweight matchup between Chael Sonnen and Lyoto Machida. Ahead of the light heavyweight showdown, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions […]
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Aaron Pico says top featherweights are still turning down fights with him
At Bellator 222 inside Madison Square Garden, highly touted prospect Aaron Pico will return to the cage to take on Adam Borics. He’ll be looking to rebound from a knockout loss to Henry Corrales. Although Pico is coming off of a loss, he is ready to return and believes he’s taken the perfect amount of […]
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Aaron Pico explains move to JacksonWink MMA
Aaron Pico is one of the most highly touted prospects on Bellator’s roster. And, ahead of his upcoming fight at Bellator 222, he changed camps from Team Body Shop to JacksonWink MMA in Albuquerque. The 22-year-old says there is a simple reason for this change. “Back home all my coaches were great and I still […]
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Cris ‘Sunshine’ Lencioni willing to absorb and deliver some soccer kicks in RIZIN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsO88Wf8PLA The past month has treated Bellator featherweight, Cris ‘Sunshine’ Lencioni pretty kindly when it comes to the world of combat that he finds himself entrenched in. The 24-year old seven-fight veteran entered the cage for the first time in 2019 at Bellator 221 in Chicago, Illinois on May 11 where he would snap a […]
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Jon Fitch believes ‘we need some new people judging fights’ after controversial draw against MacDonald
Jon Fitch had his shot to win Bellator gold last Saturday, and many believed he had succeeded by the time the final bell rang. Fitch, who many counted out, came out and took Rory MacDonald down over and over again and dominated him on the ground. He even won one round 10-8 — but even […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Scott Coker explains why he took a chance on Leslie Smith
She’s back. After 21 months out of action, ‘The Peacemaker’ Leslie Smith will be returning to action as she has signed with Bellator MMA. A veteran of the sport, especially in the bantamweight division, Smith started to really find her stride in 2016-2017 and still currently rides a three-fight winning streak at 135-pounds. However, Bellator […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Scott Coker provides update on Fedor Emelianenko, likes the idea of a ‘victory tour’ and Josh Barnett fight
Without a doubt, Russia’s ‘Last Emperor,’ Fedor Emelianenko is one of the greatest mixed martial artists to ever grace the face of the Earth. But despite his incredible success throughout his career and late resurgence through the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix, it all ended abruptly in January. At Bellator 214, the vacant title was on […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Scott Coker says Kyoji Horiguchi vs Darrion Caldwell 2 not done deal, but working on it
At RIZIN 14 on New Year’s Eve 2018, we saw a massive inaugural title fight that saw two promotions best bantamweight fighters go head to head. Of course, on one side of the ring, there was the Japanese superstar, RIZIN’s Kyoji Horiguchi. On the other side, it was Bellator bantamweight champion, Darrion ‘The Wolf’ Caldwell […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Bellator 220 fighters share thoughts on potential RIZIN fights
The end of 2018 marked a new era of sorts when it comes to cross-promotion in MMA as Bellator and RIZIN teamed up like never before. For RIZIN’s annual big New Year’s Eve show, in 2018 that was RIZIN 14, one of their biggest stars, Kyoji Horiguchi would fight for the inaugural bantamweight title. His […]
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EXCLUSIVE | With a ‘Today is a good day to die’ mentality, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is well prepared for Bellator 220
Often times when fighters are undefeated, they can understandably be arrogant and perhaps overly confident. The same can be said for champions. So when mixing the two, it’s rare to see that zero stay a zero for all too long. However, despite being both undefeated and a champion, these descriptions wouldn’t be fitting for Bellator’s […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Benson Henderson still open to welterweight fights, but has eye on Bellator lightweight title
When it comes to the discussion of who is the greatest lightweight fighter of all time, debates can’t be had without the mention of the former WEC and UFC king, ‘Smooth’ Benson Henderson. Continuously underappreciated throughout his reigns as champion, Henderson was as active of a champion as any and constantly looking for a fight. […]
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Pro fighters make their picks for Rory MacDonald vs Jon Fitch
In the main event of Bellator 220, Rory MacDonald will look to defend his welterweight title against Jon Fitch. Not only will MacDonald be putting his belt on the line, but it will also be the last matchup of the first round of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Rory MacDonald impressed by Ben Askren’s UFC debut, ‘He’s quite a powerful star’
Current Bellator welterweight champion, Rory MacDonald has become fairly familiar with ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler over the years. Formerly a staple of the UFC’s 170-pound division, MacDonald would fight Lawler twice during his UFC run. The first time being in a three-round affair that saw him on the wrong end of a split decision. Their second […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Veta Arteaga was just ready to fight anyone when she got her title shot
History will be made this Saturday night at Bellator 220… And that will all be determined by the flyweights. In the night’s co-main event, we have the returning unbeaten champion, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane as she looks to extend her title defense number to three straight. On the other side of the equation, there’s the always game […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Phil Davis not bothered by Ryan Bader’s recent success ahead of Bellator 220
The man known as ‘Mr. Wonderful,’ Phil Davis, has been one of the best light heavyweights in the world since he started climbing his way up the UFC ladder from 2010 to 2014. After going 9-3 (1 NC) inside the Octagon, Davis would find his way to the Bellator cage where he would make his […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Rory MacDonald knows ‘what not to do’ against Jon Fitch after Gegard Mousasi fight
The last bout of the Bellator welterweight Grand Prix’s opening round is set to headline this Saturday night’s Bellator 220 event live in San Jose, California. The bout will be the first of the tournament to feature the title being contested. Of course, that means that the current champion, Rory MacDonald, will be putting his […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Adam Piccolotti ready to solidify himself in the division with win over Benson Henderson
Bellator 220 is set to take place this Saturday night live from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. While the card is headlined by two big title fights, there are some great fights that directly precede them. One of those involves the former WEC and UFC lightweight champion, Benson ‘Smooth’ Henderson who looks to […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Jon Fitch preparing to shock the world in Bellator 220 main event
Jon Fitch is fighting for the Bellator welterweight title on Saturday night, in the last first-round bout of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix. The 41-year-old, who is 1-0 inside the Bellator cage, will be taking on the champion Rory MacDonald in the main event of Bellator 220. Although Fitch is the underdog heading into this […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Ilima-Lei MacFarlane welcoming another title defense in her second home
There is no question the emotions were running high for Ilima-Lei MacFarlane’s last fight. MacFarlane got to defend her Bellator flyweight title at home in Hawaii where she defeated Valerie Letourneau in the third-round by submission. The win capped off an emotional fight week for MacFarlane. Now, she is set for yet another title defense […]
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Bellator 221 gets featherweight clash between Cris ‘Sunshine’ Lencioni and Adil Benjilany
Stacking up a card is nothing new in MMA. Promotions do it more often than not and it’s always to the fans’ satisfaction. While still in its infancy, Bellator 221 is beginning to form and take shape throughout its entirety. FloCombat reported yesterday that a featherweight scrap between Adil ‘Gloryboy’ Benjilany (5-1) and Cris ‘Sunshine’ […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Bellator 215’s Mike Kimbel is ready for everything and fearing nothing
When you start your professional MMA career with two incredible first-round victories, it’s hard to imagine how things could get any more impressive. Yet for Connecticut’s Mike Kimbel, who earned a highlight-reel slam finish in his first fight and a six-second knockout in his second, things are just getting started. Kimbel has had both of […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Valerie Loureda ready to live up to the hype in Bellator debut
All the hype surrounding Bellator 216 is about Michael Page vs Paul Daley, and rightfully so. However, another name getting attention is Valerie Loureda, who is set to make her Bellator debut against Colby Fletcher. Loureda, who is just 20-years-old comes from a Taekwondo background and was a big signing for Bellator when it was […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Austin Vanderford on special relationship with Paige VanZant, Bellator debut, and more
Ahead of his upcoming Bellator debut, Austin Vanderford wanted to get one simple thing out of the way early, he’s going on without a nickname. Previously known in his fighting career as ‘AK-47’ and then also known to many as ‘Mr. VanZant’ due to his recent marriage to UFC flyweight Paige VanZant, Vanderford made it […]
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EXCLUSIVE | Juan Archuleta says teammate TJ Dillashaw was ‘100 percent’ not affected by weight cut
At Bellator 214 tomorrow night, Juan Archuleta continues to push forward on his path to a title shot at the ranks of 135-pounds. Just a week earlier, however, his teammate, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw attempted to capture a title in a second weight class. Dillashaw would drop to 125-pounds as he fought for Henry […]