Tag: Amanda Bell

Bellator parts ways with 18 fighters: Daniel Straus, Tywan Claxton, Liam McGeary included

Bellator MMA has parted ways with over a dozen fighters, including more than a handful of notable names.

Eighteen fighters are no longer on the Bellator roster.

Among those who have parted ways includes former featherweight champion Daniel Straus, former light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary, boxer-turned-MMA-fighter Heather Hardy, and former UFC fighter Bec Rawlings. The list also includes two fighters who never got to compete after signing with the promotion because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s unclear whether each fighter was released, left on their own accord, or elected not to re-sign with the promotion. However, a Bellator official recently informed MMA Junkie that the promotion is moving on without the 18 fighters listed below.

Bellator 260 gets two new fights, including undefeated prospect Lucas Brennan

Bellator officials continue to fill out the promotion’s summer lineup, and June’s Bellator 260 has received a pair of new contests.

Bellator officials continue to fill out the promotion’s summer lineup, and June’s Bellator 260 has received a pair of new contests.

MMA Junkie today learned from Bellator officials that featherweights [autotag]Lucas Brennan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Matt Skibicki[/autotag and women’s featherweights [autotag]Amanda Bell[/autotag] vs. Marina Mokhnatkina have been added to the card, which takes place June 11 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Both contests are expected for the evening’s preliminary card, which streams live on MMA Junkie ahead of a main card on Showtime.

Brennan (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), the son of UFC, PRIDE and King of the Cage veteran Chris Brennan, fought most recently in November, picking up a decision win over Andrew Salas at Bellator 252. It was the first time the 20-year-old featherweight had gone to the judges, after opening his career with three consecutive stoppages. He now takes on Skibicki (4-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who makes his Bellator debut.

Meanwhile, Bell (7-7 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) is currently ranked No. 8 in the latest Bellator official women’s featherweight rankings, though she’ll be hoping to rebound from a September loss to the No. 4-ranked Leslie Smith at Bellator 245. In that search, she’ll take on Mokhnatkina (4-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) who suffered a loss in her promotional debut, dropping a decision to the No. 6-ranked Janay Harding at Bellator 219 in March 2019.

With the addition to the card, the Bellator 260 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Douglas Lima vs. Yaroslav Amosov – for welterweight title

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Bobby King vs. Nick Newell
  • Tywan Claxton vs. Justin Gonzales
  • Lucas Brennan vs. Matt Skibicki
  • Amanda Bell vs. Marina Mokhnatkina

Leslie Smith vs. Amanda Bell headed to Bellator 245 in Connecticut

The first night of Bellator’s back-to-back events later this month has a new women’s featherweight bout on the bill.

The first night of Bellator’s back-to-back events later this month has a new women’s featherweight bout on the bill.

[autotag]Amanda Bell[/autotag] (7-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) will take on [autotag]Leslie Smith[/autotag] (11-8-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) at Bellator 245. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with a Bellator official following an initial report from Sherdog.com.

Bellator 245 takes place Sept. 11 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., where Bellator has been holding every-other-week events the past several weeks during the COVID-19 era. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie. The following night, Bellator 246 takes place at the same venue.

Smith will be looking to get back in the win column following a decision loss to Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 233 in November 2019. That snapped a three-fight winning streak that included a majority decision victory over Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator 224 in her promotional debut after coming over from the UFC after a seven-fight run there.

Amanda Bell

Bell will be looking for her first winning streak since a modest two-fight run in 2017. At Bellator 233, she finished Janay Harding with a TKO with just 16 seconds left in their fight. That was her return to the win column after a 22-second knockout loss to Blencowe at Bellator 224. She has alternated wins and losses her past five fights.

With the addition, the Bellator 245 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Paramount, DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Phil Davis vs. Lyoto Machida
  • Gabrielle Holloway vs. Cat Zingano
  • Taylor Johnson vs. Ed Ruth
  • Raymond Daniels vs. Peter Stanonik

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie)

  • Rafael Carvalho vs. Alex Polizzi
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Jack May
  • Keith Lee vs. Vinicius Zani
  • Khonry Gracie vs. Trevor Gudde
  • Amanda Bell vs. Leslie Smith

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Combat Rewind, May 7: A scintillating spinning backfist

Check out the best highlights from this day in history with MMA Junkie’s “Combat Rewind.”

There’s “Flashback Friday” and “Throwback Thursday” (and Tuesday, too, if you want). But at MMA Junkie, we figured why not expand that to every day?

“Combat Rewind” brings you some of combat sports’ best highlights from every calendar day of the year. It’s a look back at history, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass archives, featuring stellar finishes and classic moments in MMA and beyond on their anniversaries.

So kick back and relive the following bits of greatness in the video above:

Fight footage courtesy of UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s official digital subscription service, which is currently offering a seven-day free trial. UFC Fight Pass gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s biggest fight library.