Who was the biggest winner on a UFC vs. Bellator head-to-head night? MMA Junkie’s Dave Doyle, Danny Segura, and Simon Samano give you their picks.
Saturday was another one of those wild and woolly MMA nights. The UFC and Bellator went head to head for the first time in 2020, with UFC on ESPN+ 24 and Bellator 238 going down on opposite coasts.
Plenty of stars shined on both shows, but who shined brightest? MMA Junkie’s Dave Doyle, Danny Segura, and Simon Samano sound off on who they think was the weekend’s biggest winner in the latest edition of Triple Take.
Without further ado …
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Dave Doyle: Cris Cyborg’s history-making performance the obvious choice
Full disclosure: As of this writing, I’ve yet to watch UFC Raleigh. I covered Bellator 238 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., late in the night, and Sunday was my off day.
But that said? Working cageside meant I got to see [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag]’s handiwork up close and personal, and I’m quite confident nothing I’ll see when I catch up with the UFC show could convince me that anyone other than Cyborg was the weekend’s biggest winner.
We’re on the back end of MMA’s third decade, and as the sport becomes more established and entrenched, history-making moments become fewer and further between.
Saturday night was one of those nights, and Cyborg lived up to the moment. By finishing Julia Budd, she became the first fighter, regardless of gender, to win championships in four separate major promotions, all in the same weight class, 10-plus years apart.
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But it’s not just the fact she got the job accomplished: It was how she did it. Budd’s a legit talent who has ruled over a Bellator women’s featherweight division that is deeper than the UFC’s version. Cyborg never let Budd get untracked. Cyborg has evolved as a fighter over the years, one capable of going into deep waters. The combination of ferocity and pinpoint accuracy Cyborg displayed in finishing Budd in the fourth round was the type of display she used to put on in the opening minutes of fights during her early days.
An all-time great adding to her legacy and creating history in the process? Yeah, I’ll take that over anything else either card could possibly serve up.
Next page – Danny Segura: Michael Chiesa is quickly becoming a threat welterweight
Scott Coker was impressed with Aaron Pico’s performance at Bellator 238 but won’t feed him again to the big dogs – at least not yet.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Bellator president [autotag]Scott Coker[/autotag] liked what he saw from [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] on Saturday night.
Coker was content with Pico’s performance at Bellator 238 at The Forum. The young prospect, who entered the event coming off back-to-back stoppage loses, picked up a dominant second-round knockout over Daniel Carey to bounce back from a skid that had some doubting his future in the sport.
Coker thought Pico (5-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) showed enough to prove he’s developing and advancing in his game as a mixed martial artist.
“Aaron Pico is back. He looked great,” Coker said following the event. “He had a great knockout, and I thought he was a fighter who had a lot of patience in there. He wasn’t just rushing in, trying to finish. He looked like he took a step forward in his development as an athlete and a mixed martial arts fighter.
“I think Pico showed me you have to be patient in there and have to work certain things. What I saw was a patient fighter that wasn’t just looking for the one punch knockout, even though he knocked him out in the end.
“I’m proud of him, really. This is the thing, and as a promoter I always tell my athletes, ‘You have to continue to get better in something that you’re weak in. If you’re a grappler, don’t just grapple, go out there and work on your stand up, take some chances, because this is MMA. One day you’ll meet another grappler like you, and the standup is what’s going to make the difference.’ It’s their job to continue to grow, and I saw Aaron grow and lift today.”
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Facing some of the best and most experienced fighters in Bellator, Pico had a rough start to his MMA career. It was maybe one many didn’t see coming, keeping in mind his prestigious accolades as a national Junior Golden Gloves champion and U.S national wrestling champion.
Although Coker remains high on Pico’s potential, he wants to be cautions with matchmaking the 23-year-old fighter moving forward.
“I think that we should probably let him rest, but my goal is to have him back soon and maybe have him get another two or three fights before the end of the year,” Coker said. “Maybe we can turn him loose at that point and have him fight some of the bigger guys.
“He has to prove that he can continue improving and rebuilding because, you know, if you’re the same fighter you were a year ago, you’re going to have a hard time. You have to grow, and I saw some growth today, but let’s see how he looks at the end of the year.”
Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 238, which took place Saturday and saw Cris Cyborg beat Julia Budd in the main event.
The first Bellator event of the year unfolded Saturday with Bellator 238, which went down at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., with a main card that streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
In the main event, [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (22-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) enhanced her legacy with another championship belt when she scored a fourth-round TKO of [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) to claim the women’s featherweight belt.
The card also featured a quarterfinal bout in the ongoing Bellator featherweight grand prix, as well as some other notable results. For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for 30 post-event facts about Bellator 238.
General
Betting favorites went 4-2 on the main card (5-2 overall in fights where odds were available).
Total fight time for the six-bout main card was 41:59.
Main card
Cris Cyborg
Cyborg became the first in history to win titles in Bellator, UFC, Invicta FC and Strikeforce.
Cyborg became the second in history to win titles in Bellator and UFC. Eddie Alvarez also accomplished the feat.
Cyborg has earned 18 of her 22 career victories by knockout.
Budd had her 11-fight winning streak snapped for her first defeat since November 2011.
Budd has suffered all three of her career losses by stoppage.
Budd suffered her first knockout loss since Jan. 7, 2011 – a span of 3,306 days (more than nine years) and 14 fights.
Darrion Caldwell
[autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) improved to 6-0 in Bellator featherweight competition. He’s 8-0 in the weight class during his career.
Caldwell’s six-fight Bellator winning streak in featherweight competition is the second longest active streak in the division behind A.J. McKee (16).
Caldwell’s six submission victories in Bellator competition are tied for second most in company history behind Goiti Yamauchi (seven).
[autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) had his 14-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
[autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (24-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) has earned four of his six Bellator victories by decision.
Sergio Pettis
[autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (19-5 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) earned his first submission victory since Sept. 28, 2013 – a span of 2,311 days (more than six years) and 15 fights.
[autotag]Alfred Khashakyan[/autotag] (11-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) earned the first submission victory of his career.
[autotag]Raymond Daniels[/autotag] (2-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) improved to 2-0 since he returned to MMA competition from a nearly 11-year layoff in May.
Daniels has earned both of his career victories by knockout.
[autotag]Jason King[/autotag] (8-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) has suffered five of his six career losses by stoppage. He’s suffered all those defeats by knockout.
[autotag]Emilee King[/autotag] (4-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is on a four-fight winning streak after starting her career 0-4.
[autotag]Ava Knight[/autotag] (1-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) suffered the first loss of her career.
Preliminary card
Aaron Pico
[autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) improved to 5-2 since he dropped to the featherweight division in September 2017.
Pico has earned all of his career victories by knockout.
Pico’s five knockout victories in Bellator featherweight competition are third most in divisional history behind A.J. McKee (six) and Patricio Freire (six).
[autotag]Adel Altamimi[/autotag] (8-7 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) has suffered six of his seven career losses by stoppage.
Altamimi suffered the first submission loss of his career.
With the disappointing 2019 he just endured, Aaron Pico isn’t about to get ahead of himself with callouts and big talk.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – 2019 wasn’t kind to Bellator featherweight [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag]. However, 2020 is starting out as a different story.
Ghosts of his back-to-back knockout losses to Henry Corrales and Adam Borics were put to rest when he viciously knocked out Daniel Carey on Saturday at Bellator 238.
The finish at The Forum was one for the highlight reels, with Pico (5-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) slugging Carey (7-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) early in Round 2 to pick up his first victory since September 2018. Pico credits his gym, Jackson Wink MMA, for the victory.
“The moment feels really good,” Pico told MMA Junkie. “Honestly, I feel really humbled. It was a tough 2019 year, for sure. It was really hard. I said a lot of crazy things. My family heard me out. I was venting a lot. I have to give it up to the coaches as Jackson Wink. They brought me in and put a lot of damn time into me. They were there for me every single day of the week to really help me.
“I have nothing but great things to say about Greg (Jackson), ‘Six Gun’ (Brandon Gibson), coach (Mike) Winkeljohn, Roberto Tussa, and all my training partners. There are a lot of good guys over there at Jackson Wink that help me out. My family. I just feel really, really humbled. I’m very, very happy. I’m happy. That’s all I can say.”
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Despite the emphatic and brutal nature of his return to the win column, Pico wouldn’t call out anyone. According to the 23-year-old fighter, he’s in no position to be calling the shots – at least not at this point in time.
“That’s a good question for Ali Abdelaziz, my manager,” Pico said. “I’m not in the position, honestly. It was a great win for me. It was a great win for my team. But honestly, I’m in no position to be calling people out. I wish I could.
“There’s a lot of people I’d like to fight, but I’ll leave that up to the management and Bellator. Like I said, when I start getting my wins back, I’ll make it known who I want to fight and stuff. Right now, I’m just going to keep chipping away every single day.”
If you wrote Aaron Pico off after his recent setbacks, think again.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] vowed you would see the 2.0 version of his fight career Saturday night, and he delivered on his promise at Bellator 238.
Now well established at Jackson Wink MMA, Pico returned to The Forum back home in the Los Angeles area looking to shake off back-to-back knockout losses when he took on Daniel Carey in a preliminary bout.
Pico (5-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) still has that knockout power he’s shown since he broke into MMA, but he also displayed patience, which was missing from his game before, as he felt things out in the first round of the featherweight fight.
Then, in the second, when he saw a real opening, he pounced. Pico threw a wicked left that seemed part punch, part forearm smash.
Check it out below:
[jwplayer mnN6MxrF-RbnemIYZ]
However you wish to categorize it, it was the end of the night for Carey (7-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) at the 15-second mark of the round.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
MMA Junkie’s Simon Head looks ahead to Bellator 238 as the action returns to The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., will play host to the first big Bellator card of 2020 when the organization’s biggest signing in years gets set to make her eagerly anticipated debut.
Cris Cyborg’s title challenge against defending champion Julia Budd forms the headline act on a packed card of fights, with strong support provided by a fascinating clash in the Bellator featherweight grand prix. Throw a host of interesting matchups into the mix, including the return of Aaron Pico, and it all adds up to a solid card of fights on the West Coast.
Here are five burning questions ahead of fight night on Saturday:
Can “The Jewel” turn back the challenge of Cyborg?
Former UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta featherweight champion [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] has won almost everything there is to win in the sport of MMA. Now she gets the opportunity to add another belt to her growing trophy cabinet when she takes on Bellator’s 145-pound women’s champion, [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag].
Cyborg (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) lost her UFC featherweight title in spectacular fashion to Amanda Nunes, and her quest to get back to the top of the promotion ended somewhat acrimoniously. The Brazilian eventually left the UFC as a free agent. Scott Coker and Bellator wasted no time in snapping up Cyborg’s services, and the promoter who helped guide the Brazilian to the top of women’s MMA during their time with Strikeforce has offered her a shot at championship gold in her first fight for the promotion.
But to label this fight as simply a coronation exercise would be to disrespect the current champion. Budd (13-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) hasn’t lost since she was armbarred in only hour fourth professional fight by a young Ronda Rousey back in Strikeforce nine years ago. Since then, “The Jewel” has gone from strength to strength as she has risen the ranks to become Bellator’s reigning 145-pound queen. She won the title with a TKO finish, and two of her three title defenses to date have also ended in stoppages. A similar finish over Cyborg would cement her status as Bellator’s most dominant female fighter.
Cyborg is heading into the fight with a point to prove and a chip on her shoulder. She wants to show the world her loss to Nunes was a rare aberration, and will be looking to serve up the sort of dominant display we’ve seen from her countless times over the years.
But against Budd, she faces a prodigious athlete who is likely to be every bit as strong as she is. Budd is a live underdog against Cyborg, but then again, so was Nunes at UFC 232 …
Considering Aaron Pico’s tough run of recent form, Daniel Carey can’t quite understand why they’d match Pico up with him.
LOS ANGELES – Hot on the heels of his last win, [autotag]Daniel Carey[/autotag] will return to action against another hot prospect. But this one might be the most highly-touted of them all.
Carey (7-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) faces [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] this Saturday at Bellator 238 and, considering his opponent’s tough run of recent form, he admitted he can’t quite understand why they’d match Pico (4-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) up with him.
Pico, a fighter that has been dubbed as a future champion, suffered back-to-back stoppage losses to Henry Corrales and Adam Borics, while Carey’s most recent outing saw him hand Peruvian prospect Gaston Bolanos only the second loss of his MMA career. Now Carey wonders how Pico will be able to deal with another defeat, as he plans on knocking him out on Saturday.
“Yeah I think they thrusted him in there a little too quick,” Carey told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “Threw him against some pretty tough opponents and then they made him pay for it and then why on earth they would give him me after two KO losses in a row? I have no idea because I’m going to KO him a third time and I don’t know how his brain is going to handle that. It’s going to be rough for him.”
With the story of the fight centered on Pico’s potential comeback story, Carey knows he’s being underestimated in this fight, but he has no problem playing spoiler once again.
“I think they’re overlooking me a little bit,” Carey said. “You keep throwing prospects at me, I keep knocking them down. You think I’d get a little bit more love, but I get it. It’s fine. I think I’m going to make my next t-shirt, it’s going to say ‘Prospect Killer’ all over it, especially after I KO this kid.”
Although he says he hasn’t had the credit he deserves for his displays, Carey says a decisive victory over Pico could change all that and potentially propel him towards the division’s big names.
“I wouldn’t mind being an alternate to that million-dollar tournament, or possibly fighting for a title,” Carey said. “I wouldn’t mind either one of those. They keep throwing these prospects, their next big up and coming guy, and I keep knocking them down, so why don’t you throw me the champ or the best guy in the tournament or whatnot?”
Check out all the facts and figures about Bellator 238, which takes place Saturday with a Julia Budd vs. Cris Cyborg title-fight main event.
The first Bellator event of the year goes down Saturday with Bellator 238, which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., with a main card that streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
In the main event, the only women’s featherweight champion in Bellator history, [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), will attempt to continue her reign atop the division when she takes on her biggest test yet in former UFC champion [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who gets a title shot in her promotional debut.
The card also includes a matchup in the ongoing Bellator featherweight grand prix, as well as some other often-seen notables. For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for 30 pre-event facts about Bellator 238.
* * * *
Main event
Julia Budd
Budd’s only career losses came against current UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes and ex-titleholder Ronda Rousey.
Budd competes in her eighth Bellator featherweight bout, the second-most appearances in divisional history behind Arlene Blencowe (nine).
Budd enters the event on an 11-fight wining streak. She hasn’t suffered a defeat since November 2011.
Budd’s three consecutive Bellator title defenses are tied with Patricio Freire for second most among current champions behind Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (four).
Budd’s seven-fight Bellator winning streak is tied for the third-longest active streak in the company behind A.J. McKee (16) and Macfarlane (10).
Budd’s seven-fight Bellator winning streak in women’s featherweight competition is the longest active streak in the division.
Budd’s seven-fight Bellator winning streak is the second longest active streak among female fighters in the promotion behind Macfarlane (10).
Budd’s seven victories in Bellator women’s featherweight competition are most in divisional history.
Budd’s three stoppage victories in Bellator women’s featherweight competition are tied with Blencowe and Amanda Bell for most in divisional history.
Cris Cyborg
Cyborg can become the first in history to win titles in Bellator, UFC, Invicta FC and Strikeforce.
Cyborg can become the second in history to win titles in Bellator and UFC. Eddie Alvarez also accomplished the feat in the men’s lightweight division.
Cyborg makes her Bellator debut following a seven-fight UFC stint where she went 6-1 and held the promotion’s women’s featherweight title.
Cyborg’s four victories in UFC women’s featherweight competition are most in divisional history.
Cyborg outlanded her seven UFC opponents 460-148 in significant strikes.
Cyborg has earned 17 of her 21 career victories by knockout. She’s finished 10 of those wins in Round 1.
Co-main event
Darrion Caldwell
[autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) is 5-0 in Bellator featherweight competition. He’s 7-0 in the weight class during his career.
Caldwell’s five-fight Bellator winning streak in featherweight competition is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind McKee (16).
Caldwell has earned five submission victories in Bellator competition. The company record is seven, which is currently held by Goiti Yamauchi.
Adam Borics
[autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag]’ (14-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) five-fight Bellator winning streak in featherweight competition is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind McKee (16).
Borics’ five-fight stoppage streak in Bellator competition is the longest among active fighters in the company.
Borics’ five stoppage victories in Bellator featherweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind McKee (11) and Patricio Freire (10).
Remaining main card
Juan Archuleta
[autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (23-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) was a three-division champion under the King of the Cage banner, holding titles at lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight.
[autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) makes his Bellator debut following a 14-fight UFC stint where he went 9-5.
Pettis earned all nine of his UFC victories by decision.
Pettis is the only fighter in UFC history to earn his first nine wins with the promotion by decision.
[autotag]Raymond Daniels[/autotag] (1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), 39, is the oldest of the 12 scheduled main-card fighters.
Daniels was successful in his return to MMA competition after nearly 11 years when he won at Bellator Europe 1 in May.
[autotag]Ava King[/autotag] (3-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is on a three-fight winning streak after starting her career 0-4.
Preliminary card
Aaron Pico
[autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] (4-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) is 4-2 since he dropped to the featherweight division in September 2017.
Pico has suffered all three of his career losses by stoppage.
Aaron Pico knows he’s stumbled on an expected road to glory, and that makes him all the more determined to get back in the win column at Bellator 238.
LOS ANGELES – [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] put on a brave face in front of the public, but he’s ready to admit that privately, he had a very tough time bouncing back from high-profile losses.
The heavily hyped competitor, considered by many a future world champion, suffered back-to-back stoppage losses in a pair of fights he was winning against Henry Corrales and Adam Borics in 2019, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t hurt by the brushback.
“When you’re on national TV and you get embarrassed, it (expletive) gets tough sometimes, and then a lot of people don’t realize how much work we put in,” Pico told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “Us fighters put in so much time – our time, our family, our girlfriends, our everything.”
The talented featherweight has a strong support system, however, and used it to dust himself off and get his head back in the game.
“Luckily for me, my fans have been very, very good to me, and treated me well and it’s been positive: ‘Hey you’ll be back, you’ll be back,'” Pico said. “Of course you get the (expletives) who say stupid (expletive), that’s just normal, but it was really, really tough for me. But the only thing that (gets you through) is your family hears you out, lets you vent or whatever, and then you can’t just sit here and say ‘poor me, poor me.’ That (expletive) doesn’t get you anywhere. It really doesn’t. I wake up the next day, I’m in the gym, I’m getting better. That will either break you but I’ll tell you, I’ll never (expletive) quit. I’ll never (expletive) quit.”
With that, Pico (4-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) plans on going full steam ahead in 2020. He’ll meet Daniel Carey (7-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) on the undercard of Bellator 238 on Saturday night, and he’ll do so as a fully entrenched member of Albuquerque’s Jackson Wink MMA.
Pico says training with the likes of Greg Jackson, Mike Winkeljohn and Brandon Gibson at one of the world’s most decorated MMA gyms has made all the difference.
“They work day in and day out,” Pico said. “I’ve heard a lot of people say you don’t get the attention there. I get a lot of attention there. With the coaches, the one thing about them, if you show up for the practices and you want to become a better fighter, they’ll put the time in. It’s the people that, I don’t know the past and stuff like that, but I’ve just heard stories or whatever, but if you show up and you (expletive) get better, they’ll be there for you. I have nothing but good things, I feel good in the gym and outside the gym. The people there have embraced me and been excited about sharing their culture with me in Albuquerque.”
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Pico isn’t going to let himself entirely forget his stumbles, because he wants to remind himself how far he still has to go. But he’s confident about starting the next chapter in what’s already been an eventful career.
“There’s not really much to say other than, the hardest part is, I was winning those fights,” Pico said. “So it’s like, (expletive), damn, I was just so close, but, my last fight I was only with Jackson Wink six weeks. Now I’ve had seven months to prepare with the coaches there, and I feel like I have grown as a person and as a fighter. I’m amazed what I know now. What I know now looking back and thinking back to back then still, like, green, you know? And I still am green. But yeah, 2019 was a tough year for me, (expletive), sometimes I just gotta get back up and get back in the gym.”
Bellator 238 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
To hear more from Pico, check out the video above.
