Ava Knight – Syndication Server

Emilee King credits teammate Taylor Turner for big win over Ava Knight at Bellator 238

Emilee King explains how teammate Taylor Turner’s past experience facing a boxer helped her in win over Ava Knight.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – [autotag]Emilee King[/autotag] took out a boxing champion and had an example to look back at in preparation.

King (4-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) upset WBC boxing champ Ava Knight (1-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) in her promotional debut. King submitted Knight in a little more than two minutes at Bellator 238 this past Saturday.

It wasn’t the first time a former boxing champion crossed over to the Bellator cage. Former WBO featherweight champ Heather Hardy had a rude awakening in her second MMA bout when she was battered and stopped by Kristina Williams at Bellator 185.

Hardy also took on King’s teammate, [autotag]Taylor Turner[/autotag], this past June and suffered a second-round TKO loss at Bellator 222.

With Taylor in King’s corner, King had the kind of pointers she needed against a boxing champion, herself.

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“We absolutely did read into (Turner’s win over Hardy),” King said after her win. “I relied heavily on coach Taylor, not only for my strength and conditioning, and as like a mentor, but she relived some of her experiences with that Heather Hardy fight with me and that was a huge asset to me during this fight camp – so very thankful.”

Once the fight hit the canvas, it was right in King’s world. After a couple submission attempts, she was able to transition to a rear-naked choke and made quick work of Knight.

“My whole goal was just to get to the ground, and I knew once I hit the ground, I was fine,” King said. “I’m not sure exactly what takedown I hit. We’ve worked several throughout the game plan. It might have been a guard pull, to be honest. But I knew I threw one side kick, and that was kind of the game plan – of setting up the takedowns with the kicks. And after that, it was just hunt for the submissions, so one after the other.”

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Scott Coker on Cris Cyborg’s title win and what’s next, Sergio Pettis’ debut, more after Bellator 238

Bellator president Scott Coker offers his thoughts on the winners and losers from Bellator 238.

Bellator 238 took place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., where [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] made history.

In defeating Julia Budd by fourth-round TKO in the night’s main event, Cyborg became the first fighter to win major championships in four separate promotions – Strikeforce, Invicta FC, the UFC, and now Bellator.

The event also included [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] moving on to the featherweight grand prix quarterfinals with a submission win over previously undefeated Adam Borics.

As is customary, Bellator president Scott Coker spoke with reporters afterward and offered his reaction to those outcomes and more. You can read below or watch the video above.

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On Cris Cyborg’s championship win over Julia Budd

“It was electric in there, and I think that Cyborg came in, and she looked super explosive, like really good. Julia looked great, too, but as the rounds went on, Cyborg started dominating the fight and instilled her will on Julia. That’s the way I saw it, but in that first round anything could’ve happened, someone could’ve gotten caught, and you know, get a finish.

“It was a great fight. It was really intense in there, and I’m proud of both ladies. Julia Budd is a great fighter. She’s someone who’s had the belt for a long time, and I think everybody can now see why. She’s gotten so much respect among her peers and fans.”

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On a potential rematch between Cris Cyborg and Julia Budd

Cris Cyborg and Julia Budd at Bellator 238. (Dave Mandel, MMA Junkie)

“That really depends on what happens in the next year. I think Julia, I haven’t talked to Julia, but I’m just assuming from knowing her that she’s going to want to come back and get busy. So if she gets on a tear and Cyborg keeps winning then maybe we’ll get it on again, but in this sport you never know.”

On Cris Cyborg wanting a women’s featherweight grand prix

“I think we have eight girls that are solid, but I’ll tell you what: After that performance, she’s going to be a tough fight for anybody in the weight class, so they better bring it, because she’s a beast, explosive, and she looked like she didn’t miss a beat in my opinion. That’s why I call her the greatest fighter of all time today in the female division, and I think you saw it with your own eyes today.”

On Sergio Pettis’ successful Bellator debut

Sergio Pettis submits Alfred Khashakyan at Bellator 238. (Dave Mandel, MMA Junkie)

“I think he looked great. I think he’s right in that mix, because with (Kyoji) Horiguchi being out and DC (Darrion Caldwell) being in the (featherweight) tournament, we’re going to host a 135-pound championship (fight) at some point. But we’re going to wait and see how these guys perform over the course of two, three, four months, because we will be doing 30 (events) this year in 2020.

“So well have a lot of opportunity for these guys to get some more fights under their belt, and we’ll probably host a 135-pound championship fight in some time.”

On Darrion Caldwell’s quick submission win over Adam Borics

“Caldwell surprised me. Let’s be honest: We thought that may work out the other way, but in a fight anything can happen.

“I think that was one of the fights that could’ve maybe had a different outcome, but he went and did his thing. He wants to fight for that million dollars at the end of the year. The only thing I didn’t like was the backflip at the end off the cage. I think I’ve seen enough of that. I tell my guys, ‘Please, let’s just stop that.'”

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On boxing champion Ava Knight suffering her first MMA loss

“Ava Knight had something to prove tonight. She fought a girl that had some great ground skills and beat her, so back to the drawing board. I know she’ll bounce back, train hard, and this is not an easy sport, as you all may know.

“This is a difficult sport, so we wish her luck in training and maybe in three or four months we can have her back.”

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Bellator 238 post-event facts: Cris Cyborg achieves MMA’s first quadruple crown

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

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.

[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.

[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

[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.

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Bellator 238 predictions: Is anyone picking champ Julia Budd to beat Cris Cyborg?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 238 main card in California, featuring Julia Budd vs. Cris Cyborg.

	Budd vs. Cyborg	Borics vs. Caldwell	Archuleta vs. Corrales	Khashakyan vs. Pettis	Daniels vs. J. King	E. King vs. Knight
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 3-1	Cyborg (57%)	Borics (55%)	Archuleta (79%)	Pettis (82%)	Daniels (62%)	Knight (71%)
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 4-0 2017 Champion	Cyborg	Borics	Archuleta	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 4-0	Cyborg	Borics	Archuleta	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 3-1 2019 Champion*	Cyborg	Borics	Archuleta	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 3-1	Cyborg	Caldwell	Archuleta	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 3-1	Cyborg	Borics	Archuleta	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 3-1	Cyborg	Borics	Archuleta	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 3-1	Cyborg	Caldwell	Archuleta	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 3-1 2014 Champion	Cyborg	Caldwell	Archuleta	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 3-1	Cyborg	Borics	Archuleta	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 3-1	Cyborg	Caldwell	Corrales	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 3-1	Cyborg	Borics	Archuleta	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 2-2 2018 Champion	Cyborg	Borics	Archuleta	Khashakyan	Daniels	Knight
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 2-2	Cyborg	Caldwell	Corrales	Pettis	Daniels	Knight
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 2-2	Budd	Caldwell	Archuleta	Pettis	Daniels	Knight

Bellator’s first event of the new year goes down Saturday, and a dominant champion puts her title on the line against a legend.

Bellator 238 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) defends her belt against [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), a former UFC and Strikeforce champ who is making her Bellator debut. Cyborg, regarded by many as the greatest women’s fighter in history, is a 4-1 favorite from the oddsmakers, and she’s nearly a unanimous pick from our 14 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers. Only one picker is taking Budd to retain her title in an upset.

In the co-main event, [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag] (14-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) in a quarterfinal fight in Bellator’s ongoing featherweight tournament. The fight nearly is a pick’em from the oddsmakers, and it’s close with our pickers, as well. Borics has just an 8-6 lead.

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In another featherweight fight, [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (23-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) is more than a 2-1 favorite against [autotag]Henry Corrales[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 5-4 BMMA). Both fighters are looking to rebound from losses in the tournament’s opening round. Archuleta has a big 12-2 advantage from our staff members.

Former UFC fighter [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) makes his Bellator debut at bantamweight against [autotag]Alfred Khashakyan[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). He’s nearly a 3-1 favorite, and all but one of our pickers is taking him to get off on the right foot in the promotion.

We have two unanimous picks on the main card. [autotag]Raymond Daniels[/autotag] (1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) has the support of all 14 of our pickers in his welterweight bout against [autotag]Jason King[/autotag] (8-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

And to open the main card, boxing standout [autotag]Ava Knight[/autotag] (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is a unanimous pick against [autotag]Emilee King[/autotag] (3-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in their women’s strawweight fight, which is Knight’s second pro MMA bout.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Cyborg (57 percent), Borics (55 percent), Archuleta (79 percent), Pettis (82 percent), Daniels (62 percent) and Knight (71 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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Ava Knight admits love-hate with grappling, hopes to showcase heavy hands at Bellator 238

Boxer-turned-MMA prospect Ava Knight prefers to stay in her comfort zone.

LOS ANGELES – [autotag]Ava Knight[/autotag] freely admits she’s more comfortable inside the boxing ring than the Bellator cage, but she says the skills she brings from boxing will stand her in good stead in her MMA adventure.

Knight (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), a former IBF flyweight boxing champion, will make the second appearance of her professional MMA career at Bellator 238 from The Forum against [autotag]Emilee King[/autotag], and “The Lady of Boxing” says she plans on making sure she isn’t dragged too far out of her comfort zone on Saturday night.

“The biggest lesson is I don’t ever want to be on the ground again,” Knight told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “Not that I ever felt like I was in a place where I want to tap out or anything. But at the same time, I just want to be where I’m comfortable.”

To some, Knight’s admission that she doesn’t want to be on the mat could be taken as weakness, but she doesn’t see it that way. Instead, she used her desire to keep the fight standing to underpin her work in the gym as she prepared for her latest test.

“I practice not being somewhere I would hope that everything that I trained for is going to work, just like everyone else does,” she explained. “That worst-case scenario … my camp is based around what happens if that does happen. But at the same time, where I am comfortable is where I should be fighting my fight.

“All of my camps here on out are all going to be grappling. It’s the only thing I don’t know how to do, and it’s the only thing I should learn. But at the end of the day, it’s always (a good idea to) keep your strengths strong. At the end of the day, that’s what I want. That’s what I want to do, but we’re always going to be ready for whatever someone has to throw at me.”

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Knight, who has a 19-2-5 record as a pro boxer, won her professional MMA debut at Bellator 228 via third-round TKO, and has stayed busy since. She returned to her original sport of boxing and picked up a unanimous decision victory to extend her current unbeaten streak to nine in a row inside the squared circle. Now she’s set to return to the cage in a bid to kick off another undefeated streak with victory against King (3-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

“I looked her up, and she just looks like a really happy girl that’s an athlete and really wants a fight,” Knight said. “I think she’s coming off three wins – I didn’t watch the videos. Whatever she has coming, my coaches have prepared me for it. I don’t like to psych myself out. I’m doing me, and I’m going to do that the best that I can, and she’s going to the best that she’s got to take me out, and I’m just going to be there.”

Unsurprisingly, Knight’s preferred route to victory involves her hands: “Of course! I punch hard, that’s what I want to do. I want to stick to that.” But she’s working hard on building up the newer aspects of the game, and said that she has a love-hate relationship with grappling that she hopes will help her progress in her second sport.

“I’m really happy with MMA, and I actually really like it,” she said. “And I really like what comes with it, and that’s just the respect in the sport, respect for women in the sport. Boxing is still a little behind. We’re doing a whole lot better, but we’re still way behind. So I’m really happy to keep progressing in this sport.

“I’m having fun grappling. I hate doing it, but I’m actually having fun learning something new. So it’s a good thing for me, and I’m happy to do MMA, at least for the next year, and just focus on that.”

As for the fight itself, Knight admits she’ll step into the cage with an experience disadvantage, but said she’s ready to do what she does best and find a home for her educated hands as she bids to capture her second straight victory as a mixed martial artist.

“Obviously she’ll be better at MMA than I am, but at the same time I’m here to win,” Knight said. “I don’t care how it happens. I could submit her – people don’t know what I’ve been doing – but at the same time I’m thinking I want to knock her out, I want to get a name for myself, I want to be a girl in this sport with heavy hands. And I’m proud to hold that title if I can get it.”

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Bellator 238: Ava Knight full media day interview

Ava Knight spoke to MMA Junkie ahead of Saturday’s Bellator 238 event in Inglewood, Calif.

Bellator 238: Make your predictions for Julia Budd vs. Cris Cyborg

We want your predictions for Saturday’s Bellator 238 event in Inglewood, Calif.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 238 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. Bellator 238 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Make your picks for all five main card fights inside.

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Former boxing champion Ava Knight returns at Bellator 238

Former WBC boxing champion Ava Knight returns at Bellator 238, where she’ll meet Emilee Gettys.

[autotag]Ava Knight[/autotag] has her next MMA fight booked.

The former IBF flyweight boxing champion will take on [autotag]Emilee Gettys[/autotag] on the main card of Bellator 238 on Jan. 25 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., MMA Junkie has learned. The bout will be contested at strawweight and is the final addition to the Bellator 238 main card.

The bout at Bellator 238 marks Knight’s second professional MMA fight. Knight (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) made her debut in September, stopping Shannon Goughary in the third round at Bellator 228. She enters MMA with a decorated boxing background, having held WBC and IBF titles. The 31-year-old fighter holds a 19-2-5 boxing record in boxing.

Knight’s opponent, Gettys (3-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), will be making her debut with the promotion. The 26-year-old Tennessee native is on a three-fight win streak, which helped her bounce back from a 0-3 start to her professional MMA career.

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With the addition, the Bellator 238 card now includes:

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

Champ Julia Budd vs. Cris Cyborg – for women’s featherweight title
Adam Borics vs. Darrion Caldwell – featherweight tournament quarterfinal
Alfred Khashakyan vs. Sergio Pettis
Dillon Danis vs. Kegan Gennrich
Juan Archuleta vs. Henry Corrales
Ava Knight vs. Emilee Gettys King

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 7 p.m. ET)

Aaron Pico vs. Daniel Carey
Mario Navarro vs. Jay Jay Wilson
Khonry Gracie vs. Hector Saldana
David Pacheco vs. Craig Plaskett
Brandon Bender vs. Joshua Jones
Dominic Clark vs. Ricardo Seixas Filho
Tyler Beneke vs. Jarrett Connor
AJ Agazarm vs. Adel Altamimi
Curtis Millender vs. Moses Murrietta
Chris Avila vs. Anthony Taylor

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