Matthew Riddle has a new gig. And no, he hasn’t opened a marijuana dispensary. MMA’s most vocal pro-pro advocate this side of Nick Diaz has found a home in Bellator MMA. The company officially announced Monday that the welterweight standout will compete in their season nine tournament. Riddle (7-3, 2 no-contests) had his hand raised [...]
There was a news item a few days ago that on first glance, had nothing to do with MMA, but upon further thought, has everything to do with it. The news bit was that Spike’s pro wrestling franchise, TNA Impact Wrestling, is moving from its current 8-10 p.m. start time on Thursday to 9-11 p.m., [...]
Eddie Alvarez can no longer hold back. The Philadelphia native is a working-class, heart-on-his-sleeve sort of guy, one whose word is his bond. So as his legal dispute with Bellator drags on, Alvarez can’t disguise his thoughts on the way he feels his past — and perhaps future — employer has been playing. “If they’re [...]
As reported last week, Bellator will launch its 2013 summer series on June 19, and the main card is now set, with a stacked lineup including a championship match. Undefeated lightweight titleholder Michael Chandler attempts to defend the belt against challenger Dave Jansen in the night’s headliner. Chandler (11-0) won the belt in Nov. 2011, [...]
According to a press release from Spike TV and Bellator, MMA’s second-most important organization averaged approximately 861,000 viewers for their eighth season, the first on Spike. While not matching the numbers UFC earned on the same channel, Spike and Bellator framed the numbers as a ‘knockout’. While their star power was on the rise prior [...]
Mo Lawal will be back in mixed martial arts competition this summer when he returns to the Bellator cage as part of their Summer Series bouts on Spike TV. Spike TV President Kevin Kay confirmed the news with MMA Fighting. Lawal, the former light heavyweight champion of Strikeforce, is 1-1 in Bellator. As a season [...]
Thursday night’s Bellator season finale tied for the second-largest audience in the company’s history, as 901,000 viewers on average, saw the show headlined by Pat Curran’s featherweight title defense over Shahbulat Shamhalaev. The number tied with the Feb. 28 show, headlined by Attila Vegh’s light heavyweight title win over Christian M’Pumbu, for the second-largest audience. [...]
Pat Curran continues to tighten his stranglehold on Bellator’s featherweight division. The champion successfully defended his belt for a second time, putting Shahbulat Shamhalaev to sleep with a first-round guillotine choke in the Bellator 95 main event. The finish was officially ruled a technical submission since Shamhalaev never tapped. Referee Keith Peterson called for the [...]
Watch Bellator 95 live stream online on MMA Fighting for the preliminary card at 7:15 p.m. ET. The fight card for this portion of the event is as follows: Anton Talamantes vs. Liam McGearyKevin Roddy vs. Brylan Van ArtsdalenMichael Brent Hess vs. Will MartinezJimmie Rivera vs. Brian KelleherPhillipe Nover vs. Darrell HorcherCarlos Brooks vs. Tom [...]
What a week, eh? Not that the entire thing went up in smoke, but it was certainly an annoying, tedious thing to cover to say nothing of the fact that two of the premier light heavyweights in the sport lost the chance to face one another. UFC on Fuel TV 9 will still go forward [...]