Tag: Archie Colgan

Bellator Champions Series: Paris weigh-in results: Title fight official, one fighter misses weight

Check out the results from the official Bellator Champions Series: Paris fighter weigh-ins in France.

The official weigh-ins for Bellator Champions Series: Paris are in the books, and all but one fighter hit their marks.

In the main event, [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (19-1) defends his bantamweight title in a rematch against [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] (20-3). Both fighters made championship weight at 135 pounds.

In the co-headliner, French superstar [autotag]Cedric Doumbe[/autotag] (5-1) takes on [autotag]Jaleel Willis[/autotag] (16-5) in a 175-pound catchweight bout. Doumbe weighed in at 175.5, whereas Willis came slightly under at 174.6.

[autotag]Thibault Gouti[/autotag] (17-6) was the only fighter who missed weight. Gouti takes on [autotag]Archie Colgan[/autotag] (9-0) at lightweight, but weighed in at 157.7 pounds and will be fined a percentage of his purse. Colgan was on weight at 154.9.

The weigh-ins took place at the Bellator host hotel. Accor Arena in Paris hosts Friday’s event (Max, MMA Junkie).

The full Bellator Champions Series: Paris weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (Max, 3 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Patchy Mix (135) vs. Magomed Magomedov (135) – for bantamweight title
  • Cedric Doumbe (175.5) vs. Jaleel Willis (174.6)
  • Gregory Babene (185.7) vs. Costello van Steenis (185.8)
  • Jonas Bilharinho (145.9) vs. Yves Landu (145.4)
  • Archie Colgan (154.9) vs. Thibault Gouti (157.7)*
  • Louis Sutherland (265.9) vs. Slim Trabelsi (239.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Max, noon ET)

  • Mansour Barnaoui (153.7) vs. Yusuke Yachi (155.3)
  • Steven Hill (184.3) vs. Mike Shipman (185.9)
  • Aspen Ladd (145.8) vs. Katerina Shakalova (144.2)
  • Asael Adjoudj (145.9) vs. Bruno Fontes (145.4)

*Gouti missed the lightweight limit and will be fined a percentage of his purse.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event page for Bellator Champions Series: Paris.

Bellator Champions Series: Archie Colgan wants return to finishing ways against Thibault Gouti in France

That Archie Colgan still is unbeaten reasonably early in his career is not that rare. But lately, the heat has been turned up a bit.

That [autotag]Archie Colgan[/autotag] still is unbeaten reasonably early in his career is not that rare.

But lately, the heat has been turned up a bit, and the results have been mostly the same. Well, the part that’s been the same – the most important part – has been the wins at the end. But the most recent two have taken a little more work.

Colgan (9-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) had six finishes in his first seven fights, including stoppages in his first four Bellator wins. But this past year, the level of opponent was stepped up for him big time and he took a pair of decisions from former featherweight title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez and Pieter Buist.

Instead of opponents with his similar level of pro experience, he was fighting two guys with four times his experience. The finishes were traded for 15-minute decisions.

“My past two fights have been a big step up in competition,” Colgan told MMA Junkie Radio. “These guys had 25 (fights), and I’ve come away with dominant decisions. But I want to get back to that finishing way.”

Next week, Colgan will be in Paris for a Bellator Champions Series fight against French foe Thibault Gouti (17-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), who has gotten back on track of late after a tough 1-5 run in the UFC six or so years ago.

He knows to get a win, he’ll have to take some verbal punishment from Gouti’s home fans, but it’ll be worth it.

“(The goal is) coming out there, facing some adversity with the crowd, going through that pretty easily, dominating my way to a finish, and proving to everybody that I can do to this level as I believe I could – to the level that was maybe a step behind (before).”

Colgan said he’s never really felt the pressure that goes with being unbeaten, and he doesn’t plan on starting now, even if the level of competition stays high like with Gouti. But it no doubt will be increasingly difficult to keep that 0 at the end of his record.

“It wasn’t like I was like, ‘Hey man, I just want to get to 10-0 one day’ or 5-0 or 15 or any of that,” Colgan said. “It was really just like, ‘I just want to not lose. I just don’t want to lose. I just want to win.’ Every single fight was not about trying to hold on to an undefeated record. It was just like, ‘Man, I just don’t want to lose.’ That’s it. I just more than wanting to win.

“I just didn’t want to lose. I just had to go out there and perform my best and the next thing you know, it’s like, ‘Dang, I’m 5-0 – that’s pretty cool.’ And then, ‘Oh, I’m 9-0, going for 10 now.’ Perfect scenario to me is that I go out there, I want the adversity of being booed in (his) home crowd. … Then I go out there and impose my will and I go back to my finishing ways.”

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 18-24)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Sept. 18-24.

Ex-champ Juliana Velasquez, Keri Melendez among new additions to Bellator 301 in Chicago

The lineup for Bellator’s second trip to “The Windy City” in five months continues to build with a former champion set for the prelims.

The lineup for Bellator’s second trip to “The Windy City” in five months continues to build with a former champion set for the prelims.

Former women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) will try to get back on track when she takes on fellow Brazilian [autotag]Paula Cristina[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). Additionally, the undefeated [autotag]Keri Melendez[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) will take on promotional newcomer [autotag]Sabriye Sengul[/autotag] (3-3 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).

Bellator 301, which features two title fights and a lightweight grand prix semifinal on the main card, takes place Nov. 17 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. The event will be Bellator’s third trip to Chicago in a year.

In addition, lightweight prospect [autotag]Archie Colgan[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Pieter Buist[/autotag] (17-7 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Matheus Mattos[/autotag] (13-2-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) meets former LFA bantamweight champion [autotag]Richard Palencia[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) on the preliminary card. Bellator officials informed MMA Junkie of the new bookings Sunday. An official announcement is expected Monday.

Velasquez had a perfect 12-0 start to her career, and in December 2020 upset Ilima-Lei Macfarlane to win the women’s flyweight title. She defended it seven months later against Denise Kielholtz. But in April 2022, she was submitted by Liz Carmouche in Hawaii and lost the belt. Eight months later, she was submitted by her in a rematch at Bellator 289. Cristina has dropped two of her past three fights after a 5-0 pro start. In May, she lost a decision to Kielholtz in her Bellator debut.

With the additions, the Bellator 301 lineup now includes:

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

  • Champ Yaroslav Amosov vs. Jason Jackson – for welterweight title
  • Champ Sergio Pettis vs. interim champ Patchy Mix – bantamweight title unification bout
  • Danny Sabatello vs. Raufeon Stots
  • A.J. McKee vs. Sidney Outlaw
  • Patricky Freire vs. Alexander Shabliy – lightweight grand prix semifinal

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 5 p.m. ET)

  • Ali Isaev vs. Daniel James
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Marcelo Golm
  • Justin Gonzales vs. Timur Khizriev
  • Pieter Buist vs. Archie Colgan
  • Paula Cristina vs. Juliana Velasquez
  • Keri Melendez vs. Sabriye Sengul
  • Matheus Mattos vs. Richard Palencia
  • Mike Hamel vs. Tim Wilde
  • Sumiko Inaba vs .Denise Kielholtz
  • Islam Mamedov vs. Killys Mota

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.

Archie Colgan interested in ‘a certain Irish lad in September’ after Bellator 297 win

Two weeks ago, Archie Colgan and his wife had a child – so there’s only one matchup that could pull him out of Dad life in the immediate.

CHICAGO – [autotag]Archie Colgan[/autotag] knew what he was getting himself into Friday at Bellator 297, but somehow, he was still surprised.

For the first time as a professional MMA fighter, Colgan (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) needed all 15 minutes to pick up a victory, when he defeated former featherweight title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez (20-9 MMA, 12-8 BMMA) via unanimous decision in a lightweight bout.

The decision win marked the end of his career-long finishing streak. While Colgan believed in his opponent’s reputation as a tough out, Sanchez’s stalwartness and durability was even above expectations.

“I did truly believe that I was going to get the finish in that fight,” Colgan told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “Leading into the fight, I believed that. Even during the fight, I was hitting him with some big shots. I was doing the damage and I believed until we heard 30 seconds left. Up until that point, I still believed that I was going to find a finish. I didn’t, but I see now why he is 20 fights in Bellator and has yet to be finished.”

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Colgan, 27, isn’t rushing to get back into the cage. His life is in the midst of a major personal event. Two weeks ago, Colgan and his wife welcomed their second child into the world.

“I would like to take a little bit of time off and enjoy Dad life and really get a bond with my second son, as I haven’t been able to really do that in the midst of this camp,” Colgan said. “Maybe late this year, October, November, or if a certain Irish lad in September needs a dance partner, they can get me out for that one.”

While Colgan didn’t specifically namedrop which Irishman, Peter Queally (13-8-1 MMA, 2-4 BMMA) is the lone 155-pounder from Ireland on the promotion’s roster. Queally, 34, most recently competed in February when he was finished with strikes by Bryce Logan.

The promotion’s September event, Bellator 299, takes place Sept. 23 in Dublin, the city which Queally fights out of.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 297.

Top Bellator prospect Archie Colgan explains how ‘brotherhood’ with Justin Gaethje makes him better

Rising Bellator star Archie Colgan explains how training with Justin Gaethje has improved his career.

CHICAGO – For top Bellator prospect [autotag]Archie Colgan[/autotag], his relationship with UFC contender [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] extends beyond business.

Since his early days as a pro fighter, Colgan (7-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) has sparred and trained alongside Gaethje in Colorado. Although they are at much different points in their MMA journeys, the two have meshed and bettered one another through their physical abilities, but more prominently through their attitudes.

“I feel like just the camaraderie and the brotherhood between us is just like every practice is about the same,” Colgan told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a Bellator 297 pre-fight news conference Tuesday. “We push each other. When you spar with somebody who you care about but you want to compete against, that in itself just brings the best out of you.

“It’s sweet that we’re both training for a camp. I’m a little earlier than he is – well, a lot earlier than he is. But when you go in there and if I hit you one time, being that brotherhood, you want to get it back with safety obviously. We want to take care of each other. But there’s always competition. Our training sessions are always good.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpVZlZmpHXM/

Colgan, 27, will attempt to once again use what he and Gathje have drilled in the gym when he fights former Bellator title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez (20-8 MMA, 12-7 BMMA) at Bellator 297 on Friday.

The matchup, Colgan thinks, will be a good test for him to prove to himself and the promotion he’s ready to continue his progression toward contender status.

“I understand what the task is. I understand what he brings to the table. I’ve had eight, 10 weeks to think about it,” Colgan said. “To watch video and see who he is as a person and as a fighter, he’s a traditional Mexican-style, hard-nosed fighter. He’s going to fight until that whistle, the bell, the 10-second dinger, until that’s done, he’s going to fight. I understand what I’m getting myself into. I hope he does, too.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 297.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 10-16)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from April 10-16

Archie Colgan sets up long-term title aspirations after Bellator 293

Archie Colgan stayed unbeaten with his second straight first-round finish when he took out Justin Montalvo with a TKO at Bellator 293.

TEMECULA, Calif. – [autotag]Archie Colgan[/autotag] beat Justin Montalvo with a first-round TKO Friday on the main card at Bellator 293 at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif.

Take a look inside the fight with Colgan, who stayed unbeaten with his second straight first-round finish.

Bellator 293 post-event facts: Unbeaten fighters fall on upset-heavy card

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 293, which featured a number of upsets, including a loss by a 16-1 favorite.

Bellator closed its March schedule Saturday with Bellator 293, which took place at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif.

The main event saw the late career success of [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] (15-6-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) continue. He added to his case as a potential heavyweight contender to watch when he beat [autotag]Marcelo Golm[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) by third-round knockout.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 293.

Archie Colgan def. Justin Montalvo at Bellator 293: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Archie Colgan’s first-round TKO win over Justin Montalvo at Bellator 293.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Archie Colgan[/autotag]’s first-round TKO win over [autotag]Justin Montalvo[/autotag] at Bellator 293 at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif. (Photos by Lucas Noonan, Bellator)