Bellator 236 – Page 6 – Syndication Server

Bellator 236 ceremonial weigh-in highlights

Scott Coker wants Bellator’s Hawaii-Japan tour to expand to South Korea, China and Guam

Bellator president Scott Coker is planning to expand the promotion across Asia.

HONOLULU – Scott Coker says late December 2019 is only the start.

Over the next eight days, the promotion will be holding three shows – two in Hawaii and one in Japan. The mini-tour marks the second stint Bellator has promoted in Hawaii and the first in Japan.

“I would personally like to grow it,” Coker told MMA Junkie on Friday after the ceremonial weigh-ins for Bellator 236 in Honolulu. “What I mean by that is, this event here, I love the fact that we have the USO Fight Night: Tribute for the Troops, Saturday we have Ilima-Lei (Macfarlane), and then we’re on our way to Japan.”

The Bellator president indicated this won’t be the last Hawaii-Asia tour. In fact, Coker said he thinks the tour will grow. The goal? Hold six shows in five weeks through Hawaii and Asia.

“As you guys know, on the 29th, the fight (is) in Saitama Super Arena,” Coker said. “It’s our first entry into Asia. But I’d like to grow there. To me, I’d like to have a little tour. From here, we’re going to go to Guam. Work our way to Tokyo, (South) Korea, China, and then maybe like a six-fight tour in five weeks. That would be something we’d be looking forward to.”

All of the locations Coker listed would be new territories for the promotion. While its main competitor the UFC has been to Japan, South Korea, and China, it has never held a show in Guam.

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Bellator 235 (“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019″) takes place Friday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Bellator 236 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Bellator champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane: Kate Jackson has next best ground skills in division

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is taking Kate Jackson’s ground game seriously ahead of their title fight at Bellator 236.

HONOLULU – Bellator flyweight champion [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] doesn’t plan heavily for the specifics.

Usually more focused on self-improvement than targeted game-planning for a specific opponent, Macfarlane (10-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) recognizes the ground abilities of [autotag]Kate Jackson[/autotag]. The English flyweight has five finish victories to her name and loves dragging the fight to the ground.

“(My coaches) are confident wherever I want to take the fight,” Macfarlane said. “When it comes to grappling with Kate Jackson, I am super excited. I will say that she has the best ground game next to mine in the division, even though our styles are a little bit different.

“I’m a little bit more submission-based and she’s a little bit more traditional Brazilian jiu-jitsu, positional stuff – but yeah, I think it’ll be exciting. It’s two technical fighters, who are good everywhere.”

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Macfarlane and Jackson (11-3-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) will square off Saturday night in the main event of Bellator 236. The fight will mark the fourth time Macfarlane has put the title on the line since winning it in November 2017.

The event takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out MMA Junkie’s full pre-fight interview with Bellator women’s flyweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in the video above.

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Scott Coker wants eventual Bellator mini-tour of Asian markets after Hawaii shows

Scott Coker discusses Rory MacDonald’s Bellator exit for PFL

Bellator 236: Scott Coker announces Liz Carmouche free agent signing

A.J. McKee dishes on why he doesn’t like current landscape of MMA management

MMA is a business, and managers don’t fit in A.J. McKee’s business plans.

HONOLULU – [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] recognizes MMA is a business. And in the eyes of the 24-year-old fighter, managers don’t fit his business model.

At Bellator 236 on Saturday, McKee (15-0 MMA, 15-0 BMMA) takes on Derek Campos (20-9 MMA, 9-7 BMMA) in the card’s co-main event. The fight is one of four quarterfinal matchups of Bellator’s $1 million featherweight grand prix.

Ahead of the fight, McKee spoke with MMA Junkie and explained why he doesn’t like the current landscape in MMA management.

“I kind of reach out and do things on my own,” McKee said. “With mixed martial arts being such a new sport and managers not really being real managers as if it was the NFL or football, it’s just such an early on sport that it hasn’t really been established for real, real managers. Yeah, there’s a few companies out there that have reached out. (We’ve) talked.”

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McKee noted one issue in particular: the idea of managers taking a percentage of a fighter’s fight purse. Sponsors are one thing, but the fights themselves? No way, said McKee.

“One thing I’ve always been against is giving up a percentage of my fight purse. Why? Because that’s my hard-earned work money,” McKee said. “At the end of the day, there’s no retirement plans, no pensions.”

Bellator 236 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out MMA Junkie’s full pre-fight interview with A.J. McKee in the video above.

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Raufeon Stots says advice from Roufusport teammates has him mentally ready for Bellator 236

Bantamweight prospect Raufeon Stots talks to MMA Junkie ahead of his Bellator debut at Bellator 236 in Honolulu.

HONOLULU – Bantamweight [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] is all set for his debut on the big stage and says he has had plenty of seasoned pros to call upon for advice ahead of his bout with Cheyden Leialoha at Bellator 236 on Saturday.

Stots (12-1, 0-0 BMMA) takes on former Dana White’s Contender Series prospect Leialoha (7-1, 0-0 BMMA) looking to make his mark in a bantamweight division currently without a champion following Kyoji Horiguchi relinquishing Bellator’s 135-pound title due to injury.

And the 31-year-old revealed his Roufusport teammates, including seasoned UFC vets Anthony Pettis and Paul Felder, were on hand to give him some sage advice as he prepared for his big-show bow.

Check out MMA Junkie’s full media day interview with Stots in the video above.

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Bellator 236 predictions: Will anyone pick against Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in Hawaii?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 236 main card in Honolulu.

	Macfarlane vs. Jackson	Campos vs. McKee	Jackson vs. Kunimoto	Ellen vs. Velasquez	Leailoha vs. Stots	Dung vs. Zane
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2019: 210-125 (63%)	Macfarlane (xx%)	McKee (xx%)	Kunimoto (xx%)	Velasquez (xx%)	Stots (xx%)	Dung (xx%)
Simon Head @simonhead 2019: 127-66 (66%)	Macfarlane	McKee	Jackson	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
Nolan King @mma_kings 2019: 121-67 (64%)	Macfarlane	McKee	Jackson	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2019: 215-120 (64%)	Macfarlane	McKee	Jackson	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2019: 214-121 (64%)	Macfarlane	McKee	Jackson	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2019: 214-121 (64%) 2017 Champion	Macfarlane	McKee	Jackson	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2019: 212-123 (63%)	Macfarlane	McKee	Jackson	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2019: 210-125 (63%)	Macfarlane	McKee	Kunimoto	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2019: 207-128 (62%) 2014 Champion	Macfarlane	McKee	Jackson	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2019: 206-129 (61%)	Macfarlane	McKee	Jackson	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2019: 110-72 (60%)	Macfarlane	McKee	Jackson	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2019: 201-134 (60%)	Macfarlane	McKee	Kunimoto	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2019: 137-106 (56%)	Macfarlane	McKee	Kunimoto	Velasquez	Stots	Dung
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2019: 175-160 (52%)	Macfarlane	McKee	Jackson	Velasquez	Stots	Dung

Bellator is back in Hawaii for a doubleheader weekend for the second straight December.

Bellator 236 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie. Friday, the same venue hosts Bellator 235 (“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019”), an event exclusively for military members stationed in Honolulu.

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

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In the main event, women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA), a native of Hawaii who grew up in Honolulu, puts her title on the line against British challenger [autotag]Kate Jackson[/autotag] (11-3-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA). Macfarlane is a heavy favorite at the sports books with odds for her as high as 7-1. Not surprisingly, our 13 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are taking the champ unanimously.

The co-main event is another unanimous pick from our staff members – one of five 13-0 blowouts on the main card. [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 15-0 BMMA) is as much as an 8-1 favorite in his fight against [autotag]Derek Campos[/autotag] (20-9 MMA, 9-7 BMMA), which is a quarterfinal matchup in Bellator’s ongoing featherweight tournament.

[autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) will try to stay unbeaten when she takes on [autotag]Bruna Ellen[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) in a women’s flyweight bout. Velasquez is more than a 4-1 favorite and one of our five unanimous picks.

[autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) recently got a long-awaited call from a big-time promotion when Bellator brought him on board. Stots, who trains at Roufusport in Milwaukee, is a 7-1 favorite against local fighter [autotag]Cheyden Leialoha[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), and he’s a 13-0 pick from our staff members.

The other unanimous pick goes to [autotag]Nainoa Dung[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA), who opens the main card against [autotag]Zach Zane[/autotag] (13-9 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a lightweight fight. Dung, from Hawaii, made his Bellator debut a year ago in Honolulu and will try to repeat his success Saturday.

Our only contentious fight on the main card is between [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Kiichi Kunimoto[/autotag] (20-8-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). Jackson stepped up on short notice when Neiman Gracie fell off the card earlier this week with an injury. He’s more than a 2-1 favorite, and even though it’s not unanimous, Jackson still has a massive 11-2 lead in the picks.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Macfarlane (95%), McKee (88 percent), Jackson (60 percent), Velasquez (81 percent), Stots (70 percent) and Dung (57 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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Tag: Bellator 236