Tag: Bellator 270

Bellator 273 pre-event facts: Can Benson Henderson snap career-worst skid?

Former UFC and WEC champ Benson Henderson enters Saturday’s Bellator 273 on the worst losing skid of his career.

Bellator kicks off its 2022 schedule on Saturday with Bellator 273, which takes place at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., with a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

A heavyweight championship unification fight is featured in the main event. Reigning divisional kingpin [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (28-7 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) will face interim titleholder [autotag]Valentin Moldavsky[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) atop the card.

For more on the numbers, check below for 20 pre-event facts about Bellator 273.

Spinning Back Clique: On Kamaru Usman’s welterweight GOAT status after UFC 268, more

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week, we look back on the UFC 268 and Bellator 270 headliners, look ahead to this weekend’s action, and talk a little Jon Jones.

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and “Gorgeous” George Garcia discuss these topics with host John Morgan.

  • At UFC 268, [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] defended the welterweight title for the fifth time with a unanimous decision win over Colby Covington, and UFC president Dana White said he believes “The Nigerian Nightmare” has supplanted Georges St-Pierre as the welterweight GOAT. Is he right? If not, what is Usman lacking to earn that recognition?
  • Meanwhile, [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] also scored the first defense of her second UFC title reign with a hard-fought decision win over former titleholder Zhang Weili. Namajunas said she thinks Carla Esparza is probably the next logical challenger, but White wasn’t committed to booking that rematch. So put yourself in the matchmaker’s room and book the next fight for Namajunas. Is there another fight that makes more sense?
  • This past weekend also saw [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] claim the Bellator lightweight belt that was vacated by his brother, Patricio Freire. The two Brazilians have been longtime stalwarts of the Bellator roster, so we’ll ask this: Are the “Pitbull” brothers the best sibling duo to ever compete in MMA?
  • This weekend is a Bellator-UFC weekend, with Bellator 271 on Friday night in South Florida and UFC Fight Night 197 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez is a stellar UFC main event, and Cris Cyborg, one of the greatest to ever do it, is in action against Sinead Kavanagh for Bellator. Outside of those headliners, what fight do you think is appointment viewing?
  • To close it out, let’s have a little fun: [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] says the garage won’t be enough for him moving forward, and he’s going to take a look around at some options for training as he prepares for his UFC heavyweight debut. Let’s say Jon calls you up and says, “Where should I go to train?” What would you tell him?

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.

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MMA Junkie Radio #3207: UFC 268 recap, Bellator 270 results, more

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,207, the guys recapped a busy weekend that included a blockbuster UFC 268 event, as well as Bellator 270 in Ireland, discussing the fallout from both cards and what should come next for the weekend’s featured combatants.

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

Conor McGregor encourages James Gallagher after Bellator 270 loss: ‘You need that experience’

Conor McGregor gives James Gallagher words of encouragement following his loss at Bellator 270.

Win or lose, [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] has [autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag]’s back.

McGregor, the former two-division UFC champion, offered Gallagher (11-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) some words of encouragement moments after his defeat Friday at Bellator 270 in Dublin. Gallagher was submitted by Patchy Mix in the third round of their the co-main event clash. It was an evenly contested bout all the way to the finish.

After fight was over, McGregor immediately got on Twitter Voice to congratulate Gallagher on his performance and to tell him not to put too much stock in the result.

“Jimmy boy, that was some f*cking show, mate,” McGregor said. “What a crowd. That was like me and Brandao that crowd. That kid is only 23, 24 years of age, and he’s selling out a stadium like that. Guillotine and what? Fresh as a daisy.

“Let that right hook go. Bomb that right hook, f*ck that right kick, f*ck that right kick. Dig down on his body kick, take his ribs … and bang that right hook. ‘Oh, he got caught with a guilly.’ So what? Who gives a f*ck? Not a scratch on that kid. Not a scratch.

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“You need that experience. That experience is worth more than any amount of money you’re going to make in your entire career. And trust me, bro, don’t let that crowd reaction … I’m looking at, ‘Free from desire. Free from desire.’ What a show. What a f*cking show. You’re an animal, bro. You need that experience, you need to jump for that guilly, you have your head pop out, you need to be against the fence. You need that experience. You’re only a bambino. You’re a bambino on the way. … Yup, the ‘Strabanimal’!”

McGregor, 33, and Gallagher, 25, were long-time teammates who trained at SBG Ireland. Gallagher recently moved to the U.S. where he’s now training under James Kraus at Glory MMA & Fitness.

The loss to Mix marks Gallagher’s second professional defeat. He was on a four-fight wining streak prior to the defeat.

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Bellator 270 results: Patchy Mix submits James Gallagher in battle of guillotines

Patchy Mix picked up the biggest win of his career in front of a raucous Dublin crowd that favored James Gallagher.

Bellator commentator John McCarthy summed up [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] vs. [autotag]James Gallagher[/autotag] best: It was a “battle of the guillotine attacks.” And in the end, Mix won out.

Mix overcame his opponent and a deafening home crowd that favored Gallagher to submit the SBG Ireland product 39 seconds into the third round of their Bellator 270 co-main event Friday at 3Arena in Dublin.

The tone was set in the early going of Round 1 when Gallegher got deep on a double leg but found himself in trouble thanks to a standing guillotine counter from Mix. Gallagher, who likely wanted to slam his opponent, showed patience in getting his neck free before taking the action to the mat. The action slowed down on the mat until some separation by Mix, and Gallagher sunk in a guillotine attempt of his own. Mix quickly got free, though, and was in top position with roughly three minutes remaining. The action stalled again, and with 90 seconds remaining, they got back to their feet, with Gallagher finding some striking success. Gallagher secured one last takedown in the final 15 seconds, but Mix reversed the position to end the close round in top position.

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Gallagher opened with a kick-heavy attack in Round 2 and landed a groin shot in the first 30 seconds. After Mix recovered during a short break, both men showed a willingness to stand and trade until Mix closed the distance with a clinch. Gallagher again went for a guillotine, which appeared tight briefly, but Mix freed his head with three minutes remaining and found himself in top position near the fence. Mix held control but didn’t do much more than land soft punches to the body as Gallagher couldn’t figure a way out. In the final 30 seconds, Mix advanced to a crucifix position and landed some punches to close the round.

Perhaps feeling like he was down two rounds, Gallagher wasted no time pushing the action on the feet. When he shot in for a takedown, Mix stuffed it and immediately went for another guillotine. This time he jumped it, and it appeared tight. The position immediately got worse for Gallagher, who had no choice but to tap out once Mix rolled over on top of him.

The victory brings some closure to a rivalry that developed after two prior cancellations between the rising 145-pound contenders. Mix, who missed weight by two pounds for the bout, won his second straight while snapping Gallagher’s winning streak at four.

  • Patchy Mix def. James Gallagher via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 0:39
  • Pedro Carvalho def. Daniel Weichel via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Ilias Bulaid def. Georges Sasu via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
  • Ciaran Clarke def. Jordan Barton via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:11
  • Daniele Scatizzi def. Brian Hooi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Lee Chadwick def. Arunas Andriuskevicus via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Gokhan Saricam def. Charlie Milner via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:15
  • Nicolo Solli def. Bobby Pallett via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Danni Neilan def. Audrey Kerouche via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:58
  • Yusuf Nazokatov def. Stephen Costello via submission (heel hook) – Round 2, 2:24

Bellator 270 results: Pedro Carvalho outlasts Daniel Weichel to win hard-fought decision

Pedro Carvalho had to dig deep to get back in the win column at Bellator 270.

[autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] sure had to dig deep to get back in the win column.

The former Bellator title challenger earned a unanimous decision against veteran [autotag]Daniel Weichel[/autotag] in their featherweight contest that took place on the main card of Bellator 270. Carvalho (11-5 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) defeated Weichel (41-12 MMA, 10-4 BMMA) 29-28 across all three judges’ scorecards.

Bellator 270 went down on Friday at the 3Arena in Dublin. The main card streamed on Showtime following prelims on YouTube.

It was a fun fight where both fighters tested each other.

In the first round, Weichel got the best of Carvalho. He was able to press the action, pin and control Carvalho against the cage. He also got a takedown and eventually secured the back mount. Carvalho escaped and eventually got to his feet, but he was dropped by a right hand shortly after. Carvalho did a good job at surviving and even reversed the position to end the round on top.

In Round 2, things looked to be rough for Carvalho. He was dropped once again and controlled on the ground for a good amount of the round. However, halfway through the round, Carvalho wobbled Weichel and had him in survival mode. Carvalho pressured Weichel and kept connecting flush until the bell.

Carvalho, the SBG Ireland product, kept the momentum going in the third. He pressured Weichel and connected often. Weichel seemed hurt but also fatigued from the high pace. Carvalho definitely got the better of the exchanges. Weichel hung in there and looked to grapple but was unable to get meaningful offense going.

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With the victory in hand, Carvalho snapped a two-fight losing streak. The Portuguese fighter was coming off defeats to then-champion Patricio Pitbull and prospect Jay Jay Wilson.

Meanwhile, Weichel is now 2-2 in his past four outings. “Drake” had a split decision win over Keoni Diggs in his previous performance back in June at Bellator 261.

Official Bellator 270 results include:

  • Peter Queally vs. Patricky Freire – for vacant lightweight title
  • James Gallagher vs. Patchy Mix
  • Pedro Carvalho def. Daniel Weichel via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Ilias Bulaid def. Georges Sasu via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
  • Ciaran Clarke def. Jordan Barton via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:11
  • Daniele Scatizzi def. Brian Hooi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Lee Chadwick def. Arunas Andriuskevicus via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Gokhan Saricam def. Charlie Milner via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:15
  • Nicolo Solli def. Bobby Pallett via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Danni Neilan def. Audrey Kerouche via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:58
  • Yusuf Nazokatov def. Stephen Costello via submission (heel hook) – Round 2, 2:24

Bellator 270 live and official results

Bellator 270 takes place Friday, and you can join us for a live video stream and official results beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET (10:30 a.m. PT).

Bellator 270 takes place Friday, and you can join us for a live video stream and official results beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET (10:30 a.m. PT).

The event takes place at 3Arena in Dublin. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

In the main event, Peter Queally (13-5-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) takes on Patricky Freire (23-10 MMA, 14-8 BMMA) for the vacant lightweight title. Patricky’s brother Patricio recently vacated the belt to focus on featherweight, which opened the door for his brother to get a title shot. In the co-feature, James Gallagher (11-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) takes on Patchy Mix (14-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) in a bantamweight fight.

Official Bellator 270 results include:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 5 p.m. ET)

  • Peter Queally vs. Patricky Freire – for vacant lightweight title
  • James Gallagher vs. Patchy Mix
  • Pedro Carvalho vs. Daniel Weichel
  • Ilias Bulaid vs. Georges Sasu

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 1:30 p.m. ET)

  • Jordan Barton vs. Ciaran Clarke
  • Brian Hooi vs. Daniele Scatizzi
  • Arunas Andriuskevicus vs. Lee Chadwick
  • Charlie Milner vs. Gokhan Saricam
  • Bobby Pallett vs. Nicolo Solli
  • Audrey Kerouche vs. Danni Neilan
  • Darragh Kelly vs. Junior Morgan
  • Stephen Costello vs. Yusuf Nazokatov

Bellator 270 weigh-in results: One miss on main card, but Queally-Freire title fight set

Check out the results from the official Bellator 270 fighter weigh-ins in Dublin.

The weigh-ins are in the books for Bellator 270, and one key fighter was off the mark.

In the main event, Peter Queally (13-5-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) takes on Patricky Freire (23-10 MMA, 14-8 BMMA) for the vacant lightweight title. The belt was vacated by Freire’s brother Patricio earlier this year.

Queally and Freire both weighed in early in the official weigh-ins window. Queally was 155 pounds on the nose. Freire came in under the limit at 153.6 to make the headliner official.

In the co-main event, James Gallagher (11-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) meets [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) at bantamweight. But Mix missed the non-title limit and came in at 137.6 pounds. The fight is expected to go on, but Mix will surrender a portion of his fight purse. Gallagher was 136 and on target.

The weigh-ins took place at the Bellator host hotel in Dublin. The nearby 3Arena hosts Friday’s event, which has a main card on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

The full Bellator 270 weigh-in results included:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 5 p.m. ET)

  • Peter Queally (155) vs. Patricky Freire (153.6) – for vacant lightweight title
  • James Gallagher (136) vs. Patchy Mix (137.8)*
  • Pedro Carvalho (145.8) vs. Daniel Weichel (145.6)
  • Ilias Bulaid (145.8) vs. Georges Sasu (144.6)

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 2 p.m. ET)

  • Jordan Barton (143) vs. Ciaran Clarke (145.6)
  • Brian Hooi (156) vs. Daniele Scatizzi (155)
  • Arunas Andriuskevicus (205.4) vs. Lee Chadwick (205.6)
  • Charlie Milner (263.2) vs. Gokhan Saricam (236.4)
  • Bobby Pallett (170.6) vs. Nicolo Solli (170.8)
  • Audrey Kerouche (114.8) vs. Danni Neilan (115.6)
  • Darragh Kelly (155.4) vs. Junior Morgan (156)
  • Stephen Costello (171) vs. Yusuf Nazokatov (170.8)

*Mix missed the bantamweight limit and will be fined a portion of his fight purse.

With Norbert Novenyi Jr. out, Fabian Edwards steps in to face Charlie Ward at Bellator 270

Charlie Ward will get an opportunity to move up the rankings when he faces short-notice replacement Fabian Edwards.

[autotag]Charlie Ward[/autotag] will get an opportunity to move up the rankings when he faces short-notice replacement [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag].

[autotag]Norbert Novenyi Jr.[/autotag] has been forced out of Bellator 270, and Ward (9-4 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) now takes on Edwards (9-0 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) on Nov. 5 at Dublin’s 3Arena, promotion officials announced Tuesday.

Novenyi took to Instagram to share that a torn ACL has forced him out of the bout.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUsf5R4K8QX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

“Probably not the most ideal birthday post but unfortunately I will have to pull out from my fight against charlie ward as I have torn my ACL during a wrestling exchange. I tried to carry on and push through it however it hasn’t gotten better. It’s heartbreaking as I have not had a fight in over a year now and I really felt like I was in the best shape I have ever been in. This means that I might be out for up to 9-12 months before I can get back to training properly. Fighting is my job, my passion and all I have. Haven’t seen my dad and that side of the family in almost over 2 years now, and probably see my family in England once every 2 months. I spend every single day at the gym working my butt off and not being able to do what I love is very upsetting. Regardless, I’ll get through this and will be back on my way to becoming a champion.
Ya boy,
Norbs.”

Since joining the Bellator roster in 2017, SBG Ireland’s Ward has won six of his past seven, with five of those wins coming by finish. He was last seen in action in October 2020 when he picked up a unanimous decision over Andy Manzolo at Bellator Europe 9.

Meanwhile, Edwards will look to snap his first-career losing skid. After kicking off his professional MMA career at 9-0, Edwards has dropped back-to-back bouts to Costello van Steenis and most recently Austin Vanderford at Bellator 259 in May.

The Bellator 270 lineup currently includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 5 p.m. ET)

  • James Gallagher vs. Patchy Mix
  • Patricky Freire vs. Peter Queally
  • Fabian Edwards vs. Charlie Ward
  • Daniel Wiechel vs. Pedro Carvalho

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 1:30 p.m. ET)

  • Jordan Barton vs. Ciaran Clarke
  • Ilias Bulaid vs. Georges Sasu
  • Ashley Reece vs. Luca Poclit
  • Brian Hooi vs. Daniele Scatizzi
  • Lee Chadwick vs. Arunas Andriuskevicus
  • Gokhan Saricam vs. Rob Beech
  • Nicolo Solli vs. Bobby Pallett
  • Audrey Kerouche vs. Danni Neilan
  • Darragh Kelly vs. Junior Morgan
  • Stephen Costello vs. Yusuf Nazokatov
  • Constantin Blanita vs. Scott Pedersen

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Patricio Freire vacates lightweight title, opens door for Patricky ‘to have his shot’ at Bellator 270

Patricky Freire’s Bellator 270 rematch with Peter Queally will now be for the vacant lightweight title.

The stakes for [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag]’s fight at Bellator 270 just got bigger thanks to his younger brother.

On Wednesday, Bellator president Scott Coker announced on “The MMA Hour” that Patricio Freire has vacated his lightweight championship. As a result, Patricky (23-10 MMA, 14-8 BMMA) and Peter Queally (13-5-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) now will fight for the vacant 155-pound title in the main event of Bellator 270 on Nov. 5 at the 3Arena in Dublin.

Patricio’s vacating of the lightweight belt comes more than two years after he claimed it from Michael Chandler with a 61-second TKO in May 2019 at Bellator 221 to become a simultaneous two-division champion. Patricio never defended the title because of his participation in the promotion’s featherweight grand prix, which was extended well beyond its timetable because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The 16-man tournament concluded with Patricio losing his 145-pound title to A.J. McKee in the final on July 31 at Bellator 263, which snapped an overall seven-fight winning streak for “Pitbull.”

In a tweet after the announcement, Patricio said “it’s time for the (lightweight) division to move on” and for his brother, Patricky, “to have his shot.” He indicated that he remains focused on a rematch with McKee.

The rematch between Patricky and Queally (13-5-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) had been previously booked as the co-main event to Bellator Dublin, with James Gallagher vs. Patchy Mix headlining. Those bouts will now be swapped.

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