On eve of Bellator 150, Marcos Galvao vs. Eduardo Dantas title fight pulled from card
(mmajunkie.com)Here’s some bad news for those of you looking forward to Friday’s Bellator 150 championship headliner.
Officials today announced bantamweight champion Marcos Galvao (17-6-1 MMA, 7-3 BMMA) has been sidelined with an illness, and his headlining title fight and rematch against Eduardo Dantas (17-4 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) has been pulled from the card.
The full Bellator 150 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (Spike, 9 p.m. ET)
Cheick Kongo vs. Vinicius Queiroz
Bobby Cooper vs. David Rickels
Gaston Reyno vs. Chuka Willis
Francisco France vs. Kendall Grove
Lena Ovchynnikova vs. Rebecca Ruth
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie, 7 p.m. ET)
Gregory Babene vs. Brandon Farran
David Hammons vs. Kyle Noblitt
Chris Harris vs. Julian Marquez
Henry Lindsay vs. Marcio Navarro
Thai Clark vs. Deron Carlis
Andre Fialho vs. Manuel Meraz
Jonathan Gary vs. Jason Witt
Justin Wren vs. Kimbo Slice next?
(mixedmartialarts.com)We all fight for a reason. But Bellator MMA heavyweight Justin Wren has a best one imaginable. His fights to promote his efforts to Fight for the Forgotten.
FFTF is a non-profit making life-altering impact in the remote parts of the Congo jungle. They are working to free the Mbuti Pygmy people from slavery, and then develop sustainability. Jesus said to love another. Wren really does that.
Dada 5000 suffers major medical scare after loss to Kimbo Slice
(mmafighting.com)The Harris Family would like to inform Dada's friends and fans that Dada is ok and resting comfortably in a Houston area Hospital under the care of an incredible staff of doctors and nurses.?The doctors have now informed us that Dada had accumulated extremely high levels of potassium in his blood which led to severe dehydration, fatigue and renal failure. The high potassium levels were likely caused by his 40lbs weight loss in preparation for the fight.?Thanks to the EMTs and doctors, Dada is now recovering nicely.
Dada showed the heart of a lion in the cage- not backing down throughout. He worked extremely hard preparing for the fight and stepped forward for 3 rounds against a tough veteran. He kept digging through the adversity- leaving it all in the cage for his fans and supporters. You can never take that away from him.?We'd like to thank all those who have supported Dada as well as express our sincere appreciation to Scott Coker, and the good people at BELLATOR and Spike who have been on-site to visit Dada and support the family.
Phil Davis vs. King Mo, Josh Thomson vs. Michael Chandler set for next Bellator tentpole event
(mmafighting.com)It'll be a battle of tournament winners headlining the next Bellator tentpole show.
Phil Davis will meet Muhammed Lawal in the main event of Bellator 154 on May 14 in San Jose, it was announced Friday during Bellator 149 in Houston. The two men were supposed to face each other in the finals of the Bellator MMA: Dynamite 1 light heavyweight one-night tournament back in September, but "King Mo" sustained a hip injury after winning in the first round.
Davis was lined up to challenge light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary, but McGeary is injured. The bout between Davis and "King Mo" will decide the No. 1 contender in the division.
In the co-main event, former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler and former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson will face off.
Scott Coker to launch Bellator Kickboxing in April on Spike
(mmajunkie.com)Bellator President Scott Coker and Spike executives today announced the upcoming launch of Bellator Kickboxing.
The kickboxing organization, slated for an April launch, will air on Spike like its MMA counterpart. Bellator’s MMA staff will run the kickboxing promotion out of its current Santa Monica, Calif., offices, according to Coker.
The first event is slated for April 16 and will be co-promoted with Oktagon Kickboxing. Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy, plays host. Spike will air a live Bellator MMA event as a lead-in
Kimbo Slice fight attracts unusual betting on underdog
(espn.go.com)Friday night's MMA bout in Houston between Kimbo Slice and relative unknown Dhafir "Dada 5000" Harris has attracted an unusual level of betting action on the underdog, causing the odds to shift dramatically and forcing multiple sportsbooks to take the fight off the board.
Slice opened as a -360 favorite before a flurry of action, including several large wagers, poured in on the underdog Harris, driving the price down to Slice -165 as of Friday morning.
"We took seven bets in the first two hours we had it up; all of them were to win four figures on the underdog," said Jason Simbal, vice president of race and sports at Las Vegas sportsbook operator CG Technology. "It was moving like crazy. We had to take it down."
Apparently lots of different bookies have removed the fight from their sites...
Wanderlei Silva’s Lifetime Ban and $70,000 Fine Lifted
(mmaweekly.com)Wanderlei Silva‘s longtime disciplinary case before the Nevada Athletic Commission came to a conclusion on Wednesday. The commission reduced Silva’s suspension to three years and erased the $70,000 fine levied against him.
Silva was initially handed a lifetime ban and a $70,000 fine by the commission for evading a random drug test prior to a planned bout with Chael Sonnen at UFC 175 in the summer of 2014.
Scott Coker: Bellator did talk with Alistair Overeem's reps, but 'we chose not to make an offer'
(mmafighting.com)During an appearance on Monday's The MMA Hour, Alistair Overeem said that he never engaged in talks with any other promotion during free agency before deciding to re-sign with the UFC.
Technically, that might be the case. Overeem himself didn't -- but, according to Bellator president Scott Coker -- his representatives did.
"I don't want to make a big deal out of it, but of course there were negotiations going on," Coker told MMA Fighting on Tuesday. "It's true that Alistair wasn't talking to me directly, because his agent or manager or lawyer was talking to me. I think that's kind of what the story is, and negotiations went back and forth, and at the end of the day we chose not to make an offer. And really what it came down to was a value proposition of what he wanted and what he thought was the market value for him.
Rampage Jackson returns to Bellator MMA following lawsuit settlement
(bloodyelbow.com)Quinton Jackson is back with Bellator MMA after more than a year-long lawsuit between the two parties over Rampage's contract. This news comes just two months shy of his UFC 186 co-main event vs. Fabio Maldonado. Here's today's press release in full:
Following an amicable agreement to settle the litigation between the two parties, the always entertaining and exciting Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is returning to Bellator.
Bellator MMA is thrilled to have "Rampage," one of the most recognizable fighters in the history of the sport, joining a very competitive light heavyweight division featuring champion Liam McGeary, Phil Davis, King Mo, Tito Ortiz, Emanuel Newton, Linton Vassell among others.
Tito Ortiz cited for misdemeanor battery after allegedly grabbing woman’s phone at club
(mmajunkie.com)UFC Hall of Famer and Bellator light heavyweight Tito Ortiz was cited for misdemeanor battery early this morning after an alleged struggle with a woman in a Las Vegas nightclub.
Police were called to the Cromwell Casino at 1:08 this morning and made contact with a woman who claimed Ortiz tried to take her phone as she was filming a video, Las Vegas police spokesperson Laura Meltzer today told MMAjunkie.
The woman told TMZ Sports Ortiz “whipped her around” at Drai’s nightclub, thinking she was taking pictures of him, and was “scared for her life” when he allegedly got physical.
Bellator planning heightened security measures before Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 5000 fight
(mmafighting.com)BEVERLY HILLS -- It's no surprise to anyone that Kimbo Slice and Dada 500 have disdain for each other. That's one of the reasons why Bellator MMA put the bout between the two streetfighting legends together.
With that knowledge, Bellator president Scott Coker told MMA Fighting that there will be heightened security during fight week before Bellator 149 on Feb. 19 in Houston.
Slice and Dada, whose real name is Dhafir Harris, are being put up in separate hotels and whenever precautions will be taken when they are in the same room at the same time for press conferences and workouts. Bellator staff and security will make sure the two fighters and their respective camps are far apart at all times.
Ex-champ Michael Chandler signs long-term extension with Bellator
(mmajunkie.com)After talking up his value and calling for big fights, ex-lightweight champ Michael Chandler has signed a long-term contract extension with Bellator MMA.
The Viacom-owned promotion announced the deal today, characterizing it as a “multi-year, multi-fight contract extension.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though MMA fans will get an idea of Chandler’s (14-3 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) minimum salary when show and win purses are reported by state athletic commissions.
“Michael Chandler is synonymous with our brand and doubles as an incredibly talented and exciting mixed martial artist,” Bellator President Scott Coker stated in a press release. “Not every fighter or free agent aligns with our future plans, but when looking at Chandler’s resume, inking him to a long-term extension was a no-brainer.”
Kendall Grove vs. Francisco France completes Bellator 150 card in Kansas
(mmajunkie.com)The card is complete for Bellator 150 later this month with the addition of a new middleweight fight to the main card.
Kendall Grove (22-15 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) will meet Francisco France (13-3-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) on the card, promotion officials today announced.
MAIN CARD (Spike, 9 p.m. ET)
Marcos Galvao vs. Eduardo Dantas – for bantamweight title
Cheick Kongo vs. Vinicius Queiroz
Bobby Cooper vs. David Rickels
Francisco France vs. Kendall Grove
Lena Ovchynnikova vs. Rebecca Ruth
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie 7 p.m. ET)
Gregory Babene vs. Brandon Farran
Gaston Reyno vs. Chuka Willis
David Hammons vs. Kyle Noblitt
Chris Harris vs. Julian Marque
Henry Lindsay vs. Marcio Navarro
Deron Charlis vs. Thai Clark
Andre Fialho vs. Manuel Meraz
Jonathan Gary vs. Jason Witt
Former UFC, PRIDE standout Wanderlei Silva to appear at Bellator 149 Fan Fest
(mmajunkie.com)Bellator may have taken the next step toward getting Wanderlei Silva into its fold by getting the former UFC standout and PRIDE champion onto its Fan Fest lineup for next week.
The Bellator Fan Fest takes place Feb. 18, the night before Bellator 149, at Dave & Buster’s (7620 Katy Freeway #100) in Houston. Bellator 149 takes place the next day at Toyota Center in Houston with a main card on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie. MMA veterans Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock meet in a trilogy rematch in the main event, and street fighting legends Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Dhafir “DADA 5000” Harris meet in a co-main event grudge match.
Bellator 151 card complete with addition of seven prelims in Oklahoma
(mmajunkie.com)The card is complete for next month’s Bellator 151 event in Oklahoma with the addition of seven prelims.
On Tuesday, the card’s co-main event got a change when unbeaten Brit Michael Page (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) had to pull out. Former RFA welterweight champion Gilbert Smith (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) stepped up on a month’s notice to face Fernando Gonzalez (24-13 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) in the co-feature. Now the rest of the card is set.
Bellator 151 takes place March 4 at Winstar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.
The complete Bellator 151 main card now includes:
MAIN CARD (Spike TV, 9 p.m. ET)
Joe Warren vs. Darrion Caldwell
Fernando Gonzalez vs. Gilbert Smith
Bubba Jenkins vs. Goiti Yamauchi
Sirwan Kakai vs. Joe Taimanglo
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie, 7 p.m. ET)
Chris Jones vs. Ray Wood
Steve Garcia vs. Ricky Turcios
Justin Patterson vs. Chance Rencountre
Aaron Roberson vs. Treston Thomison
Roger Carroll vs. Neiman Gracie
Jermayne Barnes vs. Derek Palmer
Stephen Banaszak vs. Steven Peterson
Scott Coker: Bellator, Rizin both interested in Wanderlei Silva
(mmafighting.com)If Wanderlei Silva can ever get clear of his issues with the Nevada Athletic Commission, he could be looking at a windfall.
Bellator MMA president Scott Coker told Ariel Helwani on a recent edition of The MMA Hour that both Bellator and Rizin are interested in Silva, a recent free agent, provided he's no longer under suspension.
"He's gonna have to clear that all up," Coker said. "That's gonna be part of the deal. I know that Rizin wants to sign him as well. There's gonna be a couple of bidders out there for Wanderlei's services."
Michael Page out of Bellator 151, RFA champ Gilbert Smith in vs. Fernando Gonzalez
(mmajunkie.com)Fans will have to wait a little bit longer to see Michael Page show off his flashy fighting style again in the Bellator cage.
Page (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is out of his scheduled Bellator 151 co-main event showdown with Fernando Gonzalez (24-13 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) for undisclosed reasons. Stepping in to replace “Venom” is the now former RFA welterweight champion Gilbert Smith (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
Bellator officials confirmed the switch to MMAjunkie
The latest Bellator 151 main card includes:
Joe Warren vs. Darrion Caldwell
Fernando Gonzalez vs. Gilbert Smith
Bubba Jenkins vs. Goiti Yamauchi
Sirwan Kakai vs. Joe Taimanglo
Neiman Gracie vs. Roger Carroll added to Bellator 151
(mmafighting.com)Neiman Gracie will finally return to the Bellator cage in March.
The undefeated welterweight, who tapped Bobby Flynn in his promotional debut in February of 2015, is slated to face Roger Carroll at the Bellator 151 card in Thackerville, Okla. on March 4, sources told MMAFighting.com.
Son of coral belt (red and black) Marcio Stambowsky and Carla Gracie, Gracie looks to extend his MMA record to 4-0 after scoring a pair of submission finishes at World Series of Fighting prior to his successful Bellator debut in 2015.
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