On April 9, the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix will get underway. The tournament will continue on April 16. Then on May 7, Bellator Bantamweight Champion Juan Archuleta will put his gold. Bellator MMA (formerly known as 'Bellator Fighting Championships') is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class. At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded Bellator Fighting Championships as a tournament.
© Provided by FansidedBellator has announced their 2021 fight schedule and it's going to be really good.
On Tuesday, Bellator held a 2021 press conference where they announced a massive light-heavyweight tournament to begin on Showtime in April
The Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix will begin on April 9 and, although names have yet to be confirmed, will likely feature the following fighters.
- Vadim Nemkov (C)
- Yoel Romero
- Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson
- Corey Anderson
- Ryan Bader
- Gegard Mousasi
Bellator also announced title fights for Patricio Pitbull and Juan Archuleta.
- Starting on April 9, current Bellator heavyweight champion and former light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader (27-6, 1 NC) takes on former UFC champion Lyoto Machida (26-10) in a rematch of their 2012 bout, while two recent high-profile free agent signings Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson (22-6) and Yoel Romero (13-5) clash in a battle of Bellator.
- During a press conference announcing Bellator’s move to Showtime, the Light Heavyweight Grand Prix fighters were revealed. This will be an eight-man tournament. Included are Bellator Light Heavyweight.
#Bellator announces the following shows starting April 2 pic.twitter.com/guwi9EwVNB
— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) February 9, 2021
2020 was a hectic year for North America's second-biggest MMA brand
Bellator is coming off of a weird 2020 that saw a lot of change and unprecedented situations affect the company. Amid the COIVD-19 pandemic, Bellator put on a series of shows at the Mohegan Sun Arena to a largely empty arena. It also hosted minimal fans in Paris, France for what turned out to be the countries first international MMA event.
Bellator had to say goodbye to several of their fighters this year. Rafael Lovato Jr. had to vacate his middleweight championship due to a brain alignment. Bellator also saw arguably their most iconic fighter, Michael Chandler, leave the promotion, only for the promotion to rush out and nab several huge names to bolster their light heavyweight divisions. Names like Yoel Romero, Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson, and Corey Anderson all join the promotion in 2020.
The promotion also saw several new faces take their place among the faces of the promotion. Names like Vadim Nemkov and Juliana Velasquez defeated like-time Bellator champions to become the light heavyweight and women's flyweight champions. Long time mainstays held on to their standing in the company, like Gegard Mousasi, who defeated fellow mainstay Douglas Lima to win the vacant middleweight championship, and Patricio Freire retain his featherweight championship in the promotions Featherweight Grand Prix.
Outside of the talent, Bellator moved channels in the United States, going from Spike TV/Paramount+, their home for years, and moved over to the lesser-known CBS Sports Network, where they became a near-weekly fixture.
It was a busy year for Bellator in 2020, and 2021 looks to be even busier.
Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament
© Provided by MMAJunkieBellator on Tuesday announced that its next grand prix will be at light heavyweight, and it features a dream matchup right out of the gate.
The tournament is set to get underway April 9 at Bellator 256 with the first two quarterfinal matchups: Ryan Bader vs. Lyoto Machida and Corey Anderson vs. promotional newcomer Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov. The other two quarterfinal matchups are scheduled for April 16 at Bellator 257, with champion Vadim Nemkov defending his title against Phil Davis and Anthony Johnson vs. Yoel Romero.
All four fights on both events will take place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and air on Showtime.
© Provided by MMAJunkie
Courtesy of Bellator
Like previous Bellator tournaments, the title will be on the line in each round leading up to the final.
The fight between Bader (27-6 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) and Machida (26-10 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) is a rematch from 2012, when Machida knocked out Bader at UFC on FOX 4. For heavyweight champion Bader, 37, the grand prix marks the start of his quest to reclaim the 205-pound title he lost to Nemkov last August. Machida, 42, a former UFC light heavyweight champ, is looking to snap a two-fight losing streak.
Anderson (14-5 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), 31, signed with Bellator last year after a lengthy run in the UFC. He made a successful promotional debut last November when he finished Melvin Manhoef in the second round at Bellator 251. Yagshimuradov (18-5-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), 31, fights out of Ukraine and will make his promotional debut riding an eight-fight winning streak after most recently competing in the ACA and ACB promotions.
For his first title defense, Nemkov (12-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) draws Davis (22-5 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) in a rematch. Their November 2018 bout ended with Nemkov, 28, winning by split decision. Since then, Davis, 36, has reeled off three consecutive wins to earn a shot at claiming the belt for a second.
Ever since Johnson (22-6 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and Romero (13-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) signed with Bellator late last year, fans have salivated at the possibility of a matchup between the two heavy hitters who have competed for UFC titles. Johnson, 36, is making his return to the cage for the first time since announcing his retirement after a loss to Daniel Cormier in April 2017. Romero, 43, has spent the past eight years competing at middleweight and will look to snap a three-fight losing streak as he moves up a division.
Bellator Next Fight
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