Category: Bellator

PFL adds Ante Delija vs. Vadim Nemkov to Bellator Champions Series: Road to Dubai on Jan. 25

A pair of former champions will throw down at Road to Dubai: Champions Series.

A pair of former champions will throw down at Bellator Champions Series: Road to Dubai.

[autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag] (24-6) takes on [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (17-2-1) in a heavyweight bout on Jan. 25 at Coca-Cola Arena, promotion officials announced Friday morning.

Unbeaten in his past 13 fights, former Bellator light heavyweight titleholder Nemkov returned to heavyweight in his past outing, submitting Bruno Cappelozza in the second round to capture the PFL vs. Bellator Super Belt.

2022 PFL heavyweight champion Delija saw his five-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Valentin Moldavsky at 2024 PFL 1 in April.

With the addition, the current lineup includes:

  • Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes – for lightweight title
  • Ante Delija vs. Vadim Nemkov

Video: How can PFL improve in 2025 after challenging year?

Is Donn Davis failing in his mission to make PFL the co-leader to UFC in the MMA space? And is it too late to fix things?

The PFL schedule is nearing its conclusion for the year, with 2024 PFL Championship marking penultimate event.

It’s a significant one, too, with six new $1 million champions set to be crowned in Saudi Arabia. However, it also comes in the midst of some negative headlines for the organization, with several Bellator champions venting complaints about inactivity right around the one-year anniversary of when PFL acquired the company.

The entire situation has generated conversation about whether PFL is doing enough to be a legitimate No. 2 option to the UFC in the MMA space, or if it has come up short of co-founder Donn Davis’ mission to become a co-leader in the industry.

MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn reviewed the state of PFL and Bellator going into 2025 on his “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie staff reporter Nolan King, and you can watch the entire conversation above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL Championship.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Nov. 26: Petr Yan back on the rise

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC Fight Night 248 in Macau.

UFC Fight Night 248 took place last weekend in Macau, and it produced a key shift in the men’s bantamweight division.

Former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] returned to action in the main event at Galaxy Arena, where he outperformed former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in an exciting headliner.

Entering the week at No. 5, the former champ climbs to No. 4 after back-to-back wins.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Nov. 19: Jon Jones back on top

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 309 in New York.

UFC 309 took place last weekend in New York, and it produced a massive update in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings.

UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] returned to action in the main event at Madison Square Garden, where he stopped former champion Stipe Miocic with a brutal spinning back kick to the body.

Entering the week at No. 5 in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings, Jones vaults back up to the No. 1 spot.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.

2024 MMA retirement tracker: A list of those who hung up the gloves

Here’s a list of every notable retirement announced by fighters from the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and more in 2024.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently, fighters from the era who helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves in order to move on to the next chapter in life.

If there’s one thing that’s well known about combat sports retirements, though, it’s that they often don’t last long. The urge to compete, and perhaps more importantly get a payday, will continue to drive fighters back even well beyond their expiration dates.

2024 has already seen a number of notable fighters announcing they are done with the sport, and we have a list of those who have opted to walk away this year (the list will update as new retirements are announced).

Ex-Bellator, Rizin FF champion Juan Archuleta ‘would love’ to sign with UFC

The fact that the UFC gave Michael Page a chance late in his career makes Juan Archuleta believe anything is possible.

[autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] has done plenty in his decorated MMA career, but there’s still one thing that’s evaded him: fighting for the UFC.

Archuleta (29-7) is currently out from under the Bellator-PFL umbrella and, while signed to a non-exclusive deal with Rizin, is looking to make a final career push to the UFC. The former King of the Cage, Rizin, and most notably Bellator champion is excited about the possibility of adding the UFC to the promotion he’s fought for.

The 36-fight veteran is hoping to get his chance, and he sees it as a possibility given the signing of a former Bellator colleague.

“I would love to get into the UFC and kind of make that last hurrah that I have,” Archuleta told MMA Junkie. “I’m 37 years old now. I don’t know if they would sign someone (that age), but I feel I’m the best I’ve ever been in my career right now.

“I’m getting hope from Michael ‘Venom’ Page getting released and then signing with the UFC. It gives me that structure of saying, ‘Maybe I can do this. Maybe they will sign me.’ I have a strong name and a strong fan base, and I can come and bring exciting fights.”

Although Archuleta was a longtime staple of Bellator, he was let go by the promotion after it was bought out by the PFL in November 2023. There were no hard feelings from Archuleta, especially after seeing how the PFL-Bellator merger has worked out for some fighters.

“After I lost the New Year’s fight, Bellator had said, ‘Hey, we’re going to have to cut you.’ And I said, ‘Why? What happened?,'” Archuleta said regarding his split with Bellator. “I had missed weight against Asakura, and it was hard for me at 135. I was pretty much done. They were like, ‘Oh, you missed weight, and we just have to let you go because you’re not planning on fighting at bantamweight anymore.’ … So I was like, ‘OK, if that’s the case, I’m going to move up to 145 at Rizin. I went out there and did a non-exclusive deal with them, and they were more than happy to have me.

“Bellator/PFL, they weren’t having activity for fighters like the Gegard Mousasi situation, so I didn’t raise no arms about it. I was kind of like more happy than bitter about being let go from them. Not too many people are fighting.”

Archuleta is looking to build his case for a UFC shot now out of Bellator. He won the Rizin bantamweight title in summer of 2023 but then lost it to Kai Asakura last December. Since the defeat, Archuleta dropped two fights at Rizin while fighting at featherweight.

“The Spaniard” hopes to snap his losing streak, stay active and be ready for a potential UFC call – which he’s free to answer.

“I’m in a non-exclusive contract with Rizin, which hopefully leads me into the next stage of my career. Like if something pops off with UFC Spain, I can jump on a card like that,” Archuleta said. “I’ve had a huge impact in the martial arts scene out there. That’s what I’m leaning towards, but yeah, right now I’m in a non-exclusive contract with Rizin.”

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Nov. 5: Former champ Brandon Moreno on the rise again at flyweight

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC Fight Night 246 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

UFC Fight Night 246 took place last weekend in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and it produced a key update in the men’s flyweight rankings.

Former UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] turned in a dominant performance against Amir Albazi in the main event. Moreno controlled the fight from beginning to end, only losing one round on one judge’s scorecard.

Entering the week at No. 5, Moreno replaces Albazi at No. 3, who falls down one spot in this week’s rankings update.

The co-main event featured a top 10 women’s flyweight bout between No. 4 Erin Blanchfield and No. 9 Rose Namajunas. Blanchfield had to dig deep to overcome the early advantage of the former strawweight champion, but she pulled out a big win to keep her name in title contention.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.

Javier Mendez: Usman Nurmagomedov ‘the most talented I’ve ever trained’

Javier Mendez had high praise for Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.

[autotag]Javier Mendez[/autotag] had high praise for Bellator lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag].

Like former undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, current UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, and No. 1 UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov, Usman is trained by American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez.

Although Mendez has trained some of the most accomplished fighters including former UFC dual-champion Daniel Cormier, former UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez, and former UFC middleweight champ Luke Rockhold, he made a bold claim about Usman Nurmagomedov (18-0).

“I see Usman as being the pound-for-pound greatest fighter myself – he’s got all the attributes,” Mendez told Red Corner MMA. “He’s the most talented I’ve ever trained. In regards to whether he ever goes to the UFC or not, I don’t know if it’s going to matter as long as he keeps showing people how great he is. So to me, if at one point he never goes, great – he’s still going to be regarded as one of the great ones. He will. You watch.

“He will be regarded as one of the great ones because what he does in that cage is like nobody. I’ve never seen anybody do the transitions, the movement that he does – he’s unbelievable. He’s only 26. He’s only getting better. So let’s see what happens, but you never know. He may be a PFL fighter/Bellator fighter for the rest of his career. For me, I’m happy about that because he’ll be successful with it. Wherever he goes, it’s going to be success.”

Nurmagomedov, who’s coming off a unanimous decision winΒ over Alexander Shabliy in September, doesn’t currently have a fight booked. But with Paul Hughes picking up a big win over A.J. McKee October at PFL: Battle of the Giants, that will likely be his next title defense.

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Oct. 29: Ilia Topuria’s UFC 308 KO leads to P4P shuffle

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.

[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]’s seismic knockout of Max Holloway in the UFC 308 main event this past Saturday will have plenty of aftershock ripples. One of them comes in the form of the pound-for-pound rankings.

Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), the UFC’s first champion from Spain, defended his featherweight title with a third-round finish of ex-champ Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Holloway never had been knocked out in his lengthy career and was coming off the monumental “BMF” title moment against Justin Gaethje.

It makes sense that Topuria takes a short climb up the ladder of the pound-for-pound rankings, and in this case, he will jump from No. 6 past Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou into third. Take a look at the fallout from that, as well as movement in other divisions after key UFC 308 results, as well, in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.

Bellator champ Patchy Mix staying active at ADXC 6 ‘does not mean Leandro Higo is off the hook’

Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix still hopes to see Leandro Higo soon.

ABU DHABI – Bellator bantamweight champion [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] still hopes to see [autotag]Leandro Higo[/autotag] soon.

Mix (20-1) was scheduled to defend his title against Higo (23-6) in the Bellator Championship Series: Paris main event on Nov. 16, but the event was canceled. In the meantime, Mix has opted to remain active by competing at ADXC 6 on Friday, where he’ll face former ONE Championship title holder Kairat Akhmetov in a no-gi grappling match.

“I want to stay active, and just because I’m staying active does not mean Leandro Higo is off the hook,” Mix told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “When they rebook this, he will be done in two rounds, and I’m hoping he’s watching me this weekend. … I feel like this fight will be rebooked early next year, and we’ll see how it goes, but I’m ready for it.”

Mix hasn’t gotten official word yet on what’s next but is open to defending his belt against anyone – including Raufeon Stots, who called for a rematch after submitting Marcos Breno this past Saturday at PFL: Battle of the Giants.

“I want them all, every one of them,” Mix said. “I’ve taken out everyone in the top five of my division, I’ve fought Magomedov twice, and it doesn’t matter. I’ve seen Raufeon Stots win. There’s a ton of guys out there, and it doesn’t matter who, it just matters when. You can send anybody, but you can’t send anyone you want back.”

PFL founder Donn Davis alluded to MMA Fighting that the Bellator brand might no longer exist in 2025. When asked his reaction, Mix said he just hopes to keep drawing top-level competition.

“As long as I keep getting these big fights, like there’s humongous names over there at PFL that I personally like,” Mix said. “Brendan Loughnane’s been killing it, he’s in the finale this year, he’s a world champion in the past. There are so many exciting fights, so I haven’t heard that.

“But no matter what it is, I’m just excited for the future. Like I said, I’m in my prime of my career, and I just want to prove to the world what I know, and that’s I’m the best 135-pound bantamweight walking in the world today, right now.”

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