Tag: Bellator 239

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 3-9)

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

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels for news to break through, 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 and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Feb. 3-9:

UFC on ESPN+ 25: Feb. 15, Rio Rancho, N.M.

Light heavyweight: With Gadzhimurad Antigulov out, Dequan Townsend (21-10 MMA, 0-2 UFC) steps in to fight Devin Clark (10-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) (610 KNML)

Bellator 239: Feb. 21, Thackerville, Okla.

Featherweight: Gaston Bolanos (5-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) vs. Solo Hatley Jr. (7-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) (MMA Junkie)

Catchweight (175lbs): Kyle Crutchmer (5-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) vs. Scott Futrell (11-9 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) (MMA Junkie)

On the next page: UFC on ESPN+ 26, UFC on ESPN+ 27, UFC on ESPN+28

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Bellator 239: Bolanos vs. Hatley Jr., Crutchmer vs. Futrell added to Oklahoma card

A pair of fights have been added to the preliminary card for Bellator’s return to Oklahoma later this month.

A pair of fights have been added to the preliminary card for Bellator’s return to Oklahoma later this month.

[autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Solo Hatley Jr.[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a featherweight bout at Bellator 239. In addition, [autotag]Kyle Crutchmer[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is set to meet [autotag]Scott Futrell[/autotag] (11-9 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in a 175-pound contract weight fight, a Bellator official told MMA Junkie on Wednesday.

Bellator 239 takes place Feb. 21 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

[lawrence-related id=486381,485888,485879]

Bolanos will be looking to get back on track after a submission loss to Daniel Carey at Bellator 226 this past September. That setback snapped a four-fight winning streak of knockouts, all under the Bellator banner.

Hatley has a pair of LFA fights on his resume, including a first-round TKO of TeeJay Britton. But after that, he suffered a 25-second knockout loss to Austin Lingo at LFA 72 this past August. Lingo will make his UFC debut this Saturday. In November, Hatley rebounded with a decision win under the Pyramid Fights banner and now gets the call for his Bellator debut.

Crutchmer, an Oklahoma native who was an All-American wrestling standout at Oklahoma State, made his promotional debut in Thackerville this past November with a decision win over short-notice opponent Robert Gidron at Bellator 233. Since turning pro after college, he has trained at American Kickboxing Academy with fellow former OSU standout Daniel Cormier as his wrestling coach.

The St. Louis-based Futrell will attempt to snap a three-fight skid that started with a first-round submission loss to Mike Shipman at Bellator 210 in what was his promotional debut. In 2019, he suffered second-round stoppage setbacks in a Shamrock Showdown event, and to Jason Jackson at LFA 64.

With the additions, the Bellator 239 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (Paramount, DAZN, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Ed Ruth vs. Yaroslav Amosov
  • Brandon Girtz vs. Myles Jury
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Timothy Johnson
  • Javy Ayala vs. Valentin Moldavsky

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

  • Steve Mowry vs. Rudy Schaffroth
  • Shamil Nikaev vs. Bobby Lee
  • Cris Lencioni vs. Salim Mukhidinov
  • Denise Kielholtz vs. Kristina Williams
  • Lucas Brennan vs. Jamese Taylor
  • Adil Benjilany vs. Kevin Croom
  • Chris Gonzalez vs. Aaron McKenzie
  • Christian Edwards vs. Marco Hutch
  • Mark Lemminger vs. Carlo Pedersoli Jr.
  • Shawn Bunch vs. Keith Lee
  • Teejay Britton vs. Gabriel Varga
  • Grant Neal vs. Claude Wilcox
  • Davion Franklin vs. J.W. Kiser
  • Gaston Bolanos vs. Solo Hatley Jr.
  • Kyle Crutchmer vs. Scott Futrell – 175-pound contract weight

[vertical-gallery id=403411]

Off Guard: Timothy Johnson comes to terms with UFC release over fighting style

Despite a 4-3 record in the UFC, Timothy Johnson admits his release from the promotion did not come as much of a surprise.

[autotag]Timothy Johnson[/autotag] was not re-signed by the UFC despite coming off of a win.

Johnson (12-6 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) compiled a 4-3 record inside the octagon, but admits his release from the UFC did not come as much of a surprise.

His fighting style just didn’t cut it, but Johnson said there’s no ill-will.

“Honestly, my contract ran out and there wasn’t a lot of interest from them really re-signing me,” Johnson told MMA Junkie. “I think a lot of that had to do with my fighting style. I’ll be the most honest person about myself. I’m not an entertaining fighter. I know that, and unfortunately our end game is put rear ends in the seats. And no matter what records are – you can even look at (PFL fighter) Jared Rosholt. His UFC record I think was 6-2 or something, and he got (released). It’s his fighting style. So I can’t have much hate for that.”

In his final bout with the promotion, Johnson scored a unanimous decision win over Marcelo Golm at UFC Fight Night 125. He used a clinch-heavy approach and tried to wear Golm out.

That strategy ultimately may have helped cost him his job, despite getting the win.

“I went into that fight trying to grind out a win so I can get a new contract, but actually it worked against me,” he said. “But I’m happy now where we’re at, and everything moves on.”

Johnson signed with Bellator, but has yet to pick up his first promotional win. He suffered back-to-back stoppage losses to Cheick Kongo and Vitaly Minikov.

He returns to action Feb. 21 at Bellator 239 when he takes on undefeated rising heavyweight star Tyrell Fortune.

It’s a familiar position for Johnson, who’s accustomed to taking on highly touted prospects like Shamil Abdurakhimov and Marcin Tybura, both of whom he defeated during his UFC tenure.

“My UFC career, I think I fought for three or four (opponents’) debuts,” Johnson said. “That was my nickname. If you want to be a gatekeeper, call yourself the ‘prospect killer,’ because I kind of beat a lot of prospects.”

Bellator 239 adds Steve Mowry vs. Rudy Schaffroth

Bellator’s return to Thackerville, Okla. just got a little bit bigger.

Bellator’s return to Thackerville, Okla. just got a little bit bigger.

Heavyweights [autotag]Steve Mowry[/autotag] and [autotag]Rudy Schafforth[/autotag] will square off Feb. 21 on Bellator 239’s preliminary card. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with a promotion official following an initial report from MMA Fighting.

Mowry (7-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) is coming off a Bellator 231 second-round submission victory over Gokhan Saricam in October. The Florida-based fighter has finished all seven of his professional fights inside the distance – five by submission.

Meanwhile, Schaffroth (6-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) suffered his first pro loss when he was brutalized and submitted by Tyrell Fortune at Bellator 225 in August.

The event takes place Feb. 21 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

[lawrence-related id=485130,482107]

With the additions, the Bellator 239 lineup includes:

  • Yaroslav Amosov vs. Ed Ruth
  • Brandon Girtz vs. Myles Jury
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Timothy Johnson
  • Cris Lencioni vs. Salim Mukhidinov
  • Denise Kielholtz vs. Kristina Williams
  • Javy Ayala vs. Valentin Moldavsky
  • Lucas Brennan vs. Jamese Taylor
  • Adil Benjilany vs. Kevin Croom
  • Chris Gonzalez vs. Aaron McKenzie
  • Christian Edwards vs. Marco Hutch
  • Carlo Pedersoli Jr. vs. Mark Lemminger
  • Teejay Britton vs. Gabriel Varga
  • Grant Neal vs. Claude Wilcox
  • Davion Franklin vs. J.W. Kiser
  • Steve Mowry vs. Rudy Schaffroth

[vertical-gallery id=391998]

Bellator 239 adds Gabriel Varga, Grant Neal, J.W. Kiser to growing lineup in Oklahoma

Bellator 239 has added Gabriel Varga vs. Teejay Britton, Grant Neal vs. Claude Wilcox, and J.W. Kiser vs. Davion Franklin to its lineup.

Three preliminary card bouts have been added to Belllator’s return to Oklahoma.

A featherweight matchup between [autotag]Gabriel Varga[/autotag] and [autotag]Teejay Britton[/autotag], a light heavyweight fight between [autotag]Grant Neal[/autotag] and [autotag]Claude Wilcox[/autotag], and a heavyweight bout between [autotag]J.W. Kiser[/autotag] and [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] have all been added to the Bellator 239 lineup.

The event takes place Feb. 21 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

A decorated kickboxing champion, Varga (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) looks to make it two-for-two against LFA veteran and Bellator debutant Britton (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

As for Neal (2-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), the highly-touted NCAA athlete’s football career was derailed due to later-dropped sexual assault accusations. He aims to continue his MMA success against Arkansas’ Wilcox (1-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).

A fan-favorite, Kiser (5-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) was unsuccessful in his promotional debut against Jake Hager at Bellator 214 in January 2019. However, the 41-year-old heavyweight has another opportunity to pick up a victory under the promotion’s banner against a wrestling-based fighter, Franklin (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

With the additions, the Bellator 239 lineup includes:

  • Yaroslav Amosov vs. Ed Ruth
  • Brandon Girtz vs. Myles Jury
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Timothy Johnson
  • Cris Lencioni vs. Salim Mukhidinov
  • Denise Kielholtz vs. Kristina Williams
  • Javy Ayala vs. Valentin Moldavsky
  • Lucas Brennan vs. Jamese Taylor
  • Adil Benjilany vs. Kevin Croom
  • Chris Gonzalez vs. Aaron McKenzie
  • Christian Edwards vs. Marco Hutch
  • Carlo Pedersoli Jr. vs. Mark Lemminger
  • Teejay Britton vs. Gabriel Varga
  • Grant Neal vs. Claude Wilcox
  • Davion Franklin vs. J.W. Kiser

[vertical-gallery id=391998]

Bellator 239 adds six fights to lineup: Javy Ayala, Christian Edwards, more

The Bellator 239 lineup is growing with the addition of six fights, including Javy Ayala vs. Valentin Moldavsky.

Bellator is bulking up its return to Thackerville, Okla.

The promotion recently added six fights to the Bellator 239 lineup, five of which were initially reported by Sherdog. Among the new additions, heavyweights [autotag]Javy Ayala[/autotag] and [autotag]Valentin Moldavsky[/autotag] collide in a main-card bout.

Surging up-and-comers [autotag]Lucas Brennan[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag], and [autotag]Christian Edwards[/autotag] all will look to keep their undefeated records alive, while rising prospect [autotag]Adil Benjilany[/autotag] hopes for a return to the win column.

Bellator also announced former UFC fighter [autotag]Carlo Pedersoli Jr.[/autotag] will make his promotional debut against highly touted prospect [autotag]Mark Lemminger[/autotag].

Bellator 239 takes place Friday, Feb. 21 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out the six recently-booked fights below:

  • Heavyweight: Javy Ayala (11-7 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) vs. Valentin Moldavsky (8-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA)
  • Featherweight: Lucas Brennan (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Jamese Taylor[/autotag] (0-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA)
  • Featherweight: Adil Benjilany (5-2 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Kevin Croom[/autotag] (20-12 MMA, 0-1 BMMA)
  • Lightweight: Chris Gonzalez (3-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Aaron McKenzie[/autotag] (7-1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA)
  • Light heavyweight: Christian Edwards (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Marco Hutch[/autotag] (3-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA)
  • Welterweight: Carlo Pedersoli Jr. (11-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. Mark Lemminger (10-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA

Bellator 239 is currently headlined by a welterweight bout between Ed Ruth and Yaroslav Amosov. Other fights include Brandon Girtz vs. Myles Jury, Tyrell Fortune vs. Timothy Johnson, Denise Kielholtz vs. Kristina Williams, and Cris Lencioni vs. Salim Mukhidinov.

[vertical-gallery id=391998]

Keith Lee, Kevin Lee’s brother, signs multi-fight Bellator deal, debut set

The younger brother of the UFC lightweight standout has signed with Bellator and will meet Shawn Bunch in his company debut.

Kevin Lee’s brother will soon get a taste of the bright lights.

The younger brother of the UFC lightweight contender, [autotag]Keith Lee[/autotag], has signed a multi-fight Bellator contract and is set to debut on Feb. 21 at Bellator 239 in Thackerville, Okla.

Lee will take on Bellator veteran [autotag]Shawn Bunch[/autotag] in a bantamweight contest.

Lee (5-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has been fighting professionally since 2017 after going 4-0 as an amateur. The 23-year-old is currently on a two-fight win streak, which followed a two-fight skid of split decision losses. Lee last fought in December where he submitted Leonardo Carvalho.

[lawrence-related id=480266,461853,316857]

Welcoming Lee to Bellator will be Bunch (9-4 MMA, 6-3 BMMA), who looks to bounce back from a submission loss to Leandro Higo in September. Prior to the loss, the NCAA Division I All-American and U.S. Olympic alternate wrestler was on a five-fight winning streak, which included a victory over former Bellator champ Joe Warren.

The Bellator 239 main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie. With the addition, the updated Bellator 239 card includes:

  • Yaroslav Amosov vs. Ed Ruth
  • Brandon Girtz vs. Myles Jury
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Timothy Johnson
  • Cris Lencioni vs. Salim Mukhidinov
  • Denise Kielholtz vs. Kristina Williams
  • Keith Lee vs. Shawn Bunch

[vertical-gallery id=391998]

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 13-19)

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

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels for news to break through, 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 and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Jan. 13-19:

Bellator 238: Jan. 24, Inglewood, Calif.

Welterweight: With Craig Plaskett out, David Pacheco (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) fights Miguel Jacob (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA)

Featherweight: With Tyler Beneke out, Jarrett Connor (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) fights Tony Bartovich (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA)

UFC on ESPN+ 24: Jan. 25, Raleigh, N.C.

Featherweight: With Josh Emmett and Nad Narimani out, Arnold Allen (15-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and Nik Lentz (30-10-2 MMA, 14-7-1 UFC) get matched up

UFC 247: Feb. 8, Houston

Bantamweight: Andre Ewell (15-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) vs. Jonathan Martinez (11-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) (BJPenn.com)

Next page: Bellator 239, UFC 248

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Bellator 239 adds Tyrell Fortune vs. Timothy Johnson, Denise Kielholtz vs. Kristina Williams

Two more fights are official for the growing Bellator 239 lineup.

Two bouts have been added to Bellator’s return to WinStar World Casino.

Heavyweights will collide when [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] meets [autotag]Timothy Johnson[/autotag] on the main card. Women’s flyweights [autotag]Denise Kielholtz[/autotag] and [autotag]Kristina Williams[/autotag] will square off on the prelims.

A Bellator official informed MMA Junkie of both bookings on Wednesday.

One of Bellator’s rising heavyweight stars, Fortune (8-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) looks to keep his undefeated record going against Johnson (12-6 MMA, 0-2 BMMA). The two were briefly linked for a matchup in 2019, but the pairing never came to fruition.

Johnson is seeking his first promotional victory since joining Bellator in mid-2018. He’s suffered back-to-back first-round knockout losses since his UFC departure.

As for Kielholtz (4-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA), the kickboxing star travels into enemy territory to face her most experienced opponent to date. Oklahoma’s Williams (3-2 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) looks to rebound following a TKO loss to Juliana Velasquez in July.

Bellator 239 takes place Friday, Feb. 21 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

With the addition, the updated Bellator 239 card includes:

  • Yaroslav Amosov vs. Ed Ruth
  • Brandon Girtz vs. Myles Jury
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Timothy Johnson
  • Cris Lencioni vs. Salim Mukhidinov
  • Denise Kielholtz vs. Kristina Williams

[vertical-gallery id=461284]

Cris Lencioni vs. Salim Mukhidinov booked for Bellator 239

Cris Lencioni returns to action to take on Salim Mukhidinov at Bellator 239.

A featherweight bout has been added to Bellator’s return to Thackerville, Okla.

At Bellator 239, [autotag]Cris Lencioni[/autotag] will take on Tajikistani fighter [autotag]Salim Mukhidinov[/autotag]. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with a promotion official after an initial report from My MMA News.

Lencioni (5-2 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) was most recently scheduled to compete at Bellator 232. However, when opponent Robin van Roosmalen missed the featherweight limit by over nine pounds, Lencioni elected to cancel the fight.

“I put some feelers out there and I didn’t really like what I was hearing,” Lencioni told MMA Junkie. “I’ve got to treat this professionally, not personally. Too many fighters are too emotional. This is a business. We’ve got to take this seriously. If someone doesn’t, it just belittles and degrades the sport.”

Lencioni has lost two of his most recent three fights. His most recent fight was a victory over Adil Benjilany at Bellator 221 in May.

Mukhidinov (7-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) made his promotional debut in Bellator 229 in October. Mukhidinov defeated Iraq’s Adel Altamimi by unanimous decision.

[lawrence-related id=467277,475402]

Bellator 239 takes place Friday, Feb. 21 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla., about 75 miles north of Dallas. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

With the addition, the updated Bellator 239 card is as follows:

  • Yaroslav Amosov vs. Ed Ruth
  • Brandon Girtz vs. Myles Jury
  • Cris Lencioni vs. Salim Mukhidinov

[vertical-gallery id=391998]