Tag: Bellator 249

Bellator free fight: Cris Cyborg submits Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 249

Relive Cris Cyborg’s first title defense as a Bellator champion, as she submitted Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 249 in Uncasville.

[autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] was already one of the greatest female fighters in MMA history before her switch to Bellator, but since moving across from the UFC to Scott Coker’s promotion, she has continued to add to her growing legacy.

Cyborg dethroned long-reigning champion Julia Budd to claim the Bellator women’s featherweight title at the start of the year at Bellator 238 to become the only fighter to hold championships in four major promotions. Then, against [autotag]Arlene Blencowe[/autotag] at Bellator 249, Cyborg (23-2 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) made the first successful defense of her Bellator featherweight title, and notched the first submission victory of her career in the process.

It looked like Cyborg was well on her way to victory when she let fly with a furious salvo of strikes against the former WIBA world boxing champion in the first round. But, despite holding the upper hand in the striking exchanges, the fight was ultimately decided on the mat.

When Cyborg surprised Blencowe (13-8 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) with a takedown attempt and took the action to the canvas in Round 1, her attempt to go for a rear-naked choke was well defended by Blencowe. But, when the Brazilian repeated the trick in Round 2, she secured the submission finish she wanted.

It took a barrage of ground and pound to open up the opportunity, but when it did, Cyborg locked up the choke, applied the pressure, and claimed her maiden submission victory to cement her position as Bellator’s premier female featherweight fighter.

“I’ve really been working hard because I had (my) first submission in MMA,” Cyborg said after the win. “I never did that before since the beginning of my career. It is a dream come true, and I am so happy.”

Recap Cyborg’s finish of Blencowe via the video above.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3096 with guest Joseph Benavidez, plus Bellator and UFC wrap-ups (noon ET)

Check out the latest edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here and will be live on SportsCastr beginning at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

On Episode 3,096, the guys will talk to guest [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] and look back at Bellator 249 and Cyborg’s title defense on CBS Sports Network, as well as UFC on ESPN+ 38 and Brian Ortega’s big return. Plus, they’ll talk about Chris Weidman, Cynthia Calvillo, the World Series, boxing, and more.

Scott Coker: Dillon Danis is a gamer, but won’t get Bellator booking until healthy

Scott Coker isn’t thinking about who’s next for Dillon Danis until he’s cleared to fight.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Scott Coker isn’t thinking about who’s next for [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] until he’s cleared to fight.

Danis (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) underwent reconstructive knee surgery in March and has been sidelined ever since. He was scheduled to fight Jan. 25 at Bellator 238, but withdrew from the card after injuring his knee while helping Conor McGregor prepare for his UFC 246 fight against Donald Cerrone.

Despite being only 2-0, Danis continuously gets called out, most recently at Bellator 249, where welterweights Aviv Gozali and Kemran Lachinov, who both picked up wins, proceeded to call his name.

Speaking at the post-fight news conference, Bellator president Coker said he didn’t have much of an update on Danis’ health, but knows that once the controversial jiu-jitsu ace returns, he won’t be short on names who want to get a crack at him.

“I’m not even thinking about opponents for Dillon because I’m not sure if he’s healthy enough to fight yet because he had surgery,” Coker said. “I believe and he was recovering and doing rehab and then going through the whole COVID thing, and I’m sure it was very difficult to rehab during this time. So once we have a conversation and he gives us a date that he can fight, we’ll put the fight together and then we’ll decide who he fights.

“Listen, he’s a gamer. He’s going to come out and he’s going to want to show what he can do, as well. And keep in mind, a lot of people give him slack, but he only has how many fights? Just a handful of fights. He doesn’t have a big record. He’s not a seasoned veteran or even a journeyman at this point. He’s basically starting his MMA career. But if he gets you on the ground with anybody, I think he’s dangerous.”

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Patricky Freire issues statement on Bellator 249 removal: ‘I really wanted to fight’

Patricky Freire says labyrinthitis was the culprit behind his late removal from the Bellator 249 co-main event.

[autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] has provided his first public comments since he was removed from Thursday’s Bellator 249 co-main event just hours before he was set to step in the cage.

Freire (23-9 MMA, 14-7 BMMA), who was scheduled to fight Jaleel Willis (13-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a lightweight bout, was not medically cleared by the sanctioning body that oversaw the event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Commission head Mike Mazzulli said the issue was not COVID-19- or weight cut-related, but “Pitbull” was not deemed fit enough to compete.

Freire revealed the culprit behind the situation was labyrinthitis, which is an inner-ear disorder that can cause dizziness, nausea and loss of hearing. Freire said he had an episode before his fight, and it was decided it wouldn’t be safe for him to step in the cage with Willis.

Freire said in a statement on Friday that he’s doing his best to cope (via Instagram):

View this post on Instagram

Hi guys, it's tough to say everything that's going through my mind right now. I really wanted to fight last night. You know how I love to fight and to go through something like this is inexplicable. I had a labyrinthitis crisis near the time to go to the arena. My team saw I was bad and the fight was cancelled. I apologize to @bellatormma and @jwillismma. I'm sure it would've been a great fight. Some times things go out of our control, but God knows all things. I'll be back soon. 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 Fala galera, é difícil falar tudo que tá passando pela minha cabeça agora. Eu queria muito lutar ontem. Vocês sabem como amo lutar e passar por uma situação assim é inexplicável. Tive uma crise de labirintite perto da hora de ir pra arena. Minha equipe viu que eu estava mal e a luta foi cancelada. Peço desculpas ao @bellatormma e @jwillismma. Tenho certeza que seria uma ótima luta. Às vezes as coisas fogem do controle, mas Deus sabe de todas as coisas. Em breve estarei de volta.

A post shared by patrickypitbull (@patrickypitbull) on

Hi guys, it’s tough to say everything that’s going through my mind right now.

I really wanted to fight last night. You know how I love to fight and to go through something like this is inexplicable.

I had a labyrinthitis crisis near the time to go to the arena. My team saw I was bad and the fight was cancelled.

I apologize to @bellatormma and @jwillismma. I’m sure it would’ve been a great fight.

Some times things go out of our control, but God knows all things. I’ll be back soon.

Despite his inability to compete, MMA Junkie’s Nolan King reported that Freire and Willis were both compensated for Bellator 249. It’s unknown what the future holds, but if Freire can get healthy, Bellator president Scott Coker didn’t rule out rescheduling the bout.

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Confident weight issue behind him, Bellator 249’s Leandro Higo sends message to James Gallagher

Leandro Higo says he’s sick of chasing James Gallagher.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Leandro Higo[/autotag] entered Bellator 249 on a mission to show he’s turned a career corner.

Thursday, he submitted Ricky Bandejas via rear-naked choke in Round 2 to top off a dominant performance. After the fight, Higo (20-5 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) discussed what he’s calling a successful start to his “alter ego.”

“I told you in the (pre-fight) interview this week – alter ego,” Higo said. “I’m happy for this good performance tonight. … I came in as a prospect. I fought the best. I had a big promise when I came in – that was to become a world champion. This division is on fire. Put me in the fire against anybody.”

If there was a blemish on Higo’s performance Thursday, it was his weight miss on the scales Wednesday. Higo came in three pounds over the bantamweight limit, which he attributes to his travel delays in getting to the fight.

“There were a couple of complications in the weight cut, which has to have perfection,” Higo said. “I was in the airport for about three days. So to come here and go into quarantine, there were some mistakes that were made that won’t be made again. That’s what happened. There were some obstacles that I had to overcome. It wasn’t ideal. For a big weight cut, I need an ideal situation. It’s not going to happen again. We’ll correct these mistakes and be ready for the next one.”

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Higo doesn’t think a title shot is out of the question, but if he fights again before he gets one, there’s a name that interests him. The rivalry between his team, Pitbull Brothers, and Team SBG Ireland was building prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. With fights back and travel bans slowly being eased, Higo is interested in a fight against SBG Dublin’s [autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag].

“I’ve been chasing this mother(expletive) ever since he’s coming into Bellator. If he’s really good at jiu-jitsu, you’ve seen my jiu-jitsu skills in my last two fights. Let’s go, James Gallagher.”

Bellator 249 took place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card aired on CBS Sports Network after prelims on CBSsports.com.

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