Tag: Bellator 277

With Jeremy Kennedy out, Adli Edwards steps in to face Aaron Pico at Bellator 277

Adli Edwards will get the big opportunity he was hoping for.

[autotag]Adli Edwards[/autotag] will get the big opportunity he was hoping for.

[autotag]Jeremy Kennedy[/autotag] has been forced out of Bellator 277 and Edwards (9-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will step in on short notice to face [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) on April 15 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

A person with knowledge of the new matchup told MMA Junkie of the booking Thursday, but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. TSN was first to report the news.

Training under former UFC lightweight Marcus Davis in North Carolina, Edwards is fresh off a first-round submission of Josh Harvey in this past week’s XMMA 4 event. The All-American wrestler has won seven in a row and recently told MMA Junkie he expected a win over Harvey to catapult him to the next stage.

Pico, who just signed a new Bellator deal, went the distance for the first time in his career when he scored a lopsided unanimous decision over Justin Gonzales at Bellator 271. Prior to that, the 25-year-old had four straight finishes over Daniel Carey, Chris Hatley, John de Jesus and Aiden Lee.

With the change, the Bellator 277 lineup now includes:

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

  • Champ A.J. McKee vs. Patricio Freire – for featherweight title
  • Champ Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson – for light heavyweight title; light heavyweight tournament final
  • Adli Edwards vs. Aaron Pico
  • Tim Johnson vs. Linton Vassell

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

  • Gaston Bolanos vs. Ali Jafri
  • Rakim Cleveland vs. Tyrell Fortune
  • Rafael Carvalho vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov
  • Kyle Crutchmer vs. Michael Lombardo
  • Calob Ramirez vs. Bobby Seronio III
  • Rhalan Gracie vs. Tyson Miller
  • Edwin De Los Santos vs. Alberto Mendez
  • Socrates Hernandez vs. Rogelio Luna
  • Laird Anderson vs. JT Donaldson
  • Alan Benson vs. Theo Haig

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Bellator 277: Ex-champ Rafael Carvalho steps in for Tony Johnson vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov

Next week’s Bellator return to its Northern California home base has a former champion as a late addition to the lineup.

Next week’s Bellator return to its Northern California home base has a former champion as a late addition to the lineup.

With [autotag]Tony Johnson[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) out with an injury, former middleweight champ [autotag]Rafael Carvalho[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 7-5 BMMA) will step in to take on [autotag]Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov[/autotag] (18-7-1 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) on the preliminary card at Bellator 277. Promotion officials announced the change Thursday.

Bellator 277 takes place April 15 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Carvalho has had a rough run since he lost the 185-pound title to Gegard Mousasi nearly four years ago. After that TKO title loss, he dropped a split decision to former UFC champ Lyoto Machida. He bounced back with a decision win over Chidi Njokuani in July 2019.

But since then he has three straight losses, including a pair at light heavyweight to current champ Vadim Nemkov and Alex Polizzi, then one against Lorenz Larkin in his return to 185 pounds.

Yagshimuradov is looking to snap a two-fight skid. After an eight-fight winning streak, Yagshimuradov came to Bellator in 2021 as ACA’s light heavyweight champion. But he was finished by Corey Anderson with a third-round TKO in the opening round of the light heavyweight tournament a year ago. This past October, he dropped a decision to Karl Albrektsson for the first skid of his career.

Johnson was set to attempt to get back in the win column after a decision loss to Dalton Rosta a year ago. Prior to that setback, he had a five-fight winning streak, including four straight after returning to MMA following an absence of more than four years. Now his hope for a bounce-back is on hold.

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

  • Champ A.J. McKee vs. Patricio Freire – for featherweight title
  • Champ Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson – for light heavyweight title; light heavyweight tournament final
  • Aaron Pico vs. TBA
  • Tim Johnson vs. Linton Vassell

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

  • Gaston Bolanos vs. Ali Jafri
  • Rakim Cleveland vs. Tyrell Fortune
  • Rafael Carvalho vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov
  • Kyle Crutchmer vs. Michael Lombardo
  • Calob Ramirez vs. Bobby Seronio III
  • Rhalan Gracie vs. Tyson Miller
  • Edwin De Los Santos vs. Alberto Mendez
  • Socrates Hernandez vs. Rogelio Luna
  • Laird Anderson vs. JT Donaldson
  • Alan Benson vs. Theo Haig

With Jeremy Kennedy out, Aaron Pico needs new opponent for Bellator 277

The first fight on Aaron Pico’s new Bellator deal won’t come without a hiccup.

The first fight on [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag]’s new Bellator deal won’t come without a hiccup.

[autotag]Jeremy Kennedy[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) is out of his fight against Pico (9-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) at next week’s Bellator 277 event. A person with knowledge of the bout told MMA Junkie on Thursday that Pico, who just signed a new deal, now is awaiting a new opponent.

Bellator 277 takes place April 15 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Pico will be hoping for a new opponent so he can try to extend his five-fight featherweight winning streak. Pico, 25, has been on a roll ever since a down 2019 in which he lost twice by knockout. Since then, he’s beaten Daniel Carey, Chris Hatley, John de Jesus, Aiden Lee and, most recently, Justin Gonzales by dominant unanimous decision this past November at Bellator 271.

Kennedy was hoping to keep the momentum going after one of the biggest victories of his career, a unanimous decision against Emmanuel Sanchez this past December at Bellator 272. Kennedy, a 29-year-old four-fight veteran of the UFC, has won four of his past five fights dating back to July 2019.

With the change, the Bellator 277 lineup now includes:

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

  • Champ A.J. McKee vs. Patricio Freire – for featherweight title
  • Champ Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson – for light heavyweight title; light heavyweight tournament final
  • Aaron Pico vs. TBA
  • Tim Johnson vs. Linton Vassell

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

  • Gaston Bolanos vs. Ali Jafri
  • Rakim Cleveland vs. Tyrell Fortune
  • Rafael Carvalho vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov
  • Kyle Crutchmer vs. Michael Lombardo
  • Calob Ramirez vs. Bobby Seronio III
  • Rhalan Gracie vs. Tyson Miller
  • Edwin De Los Santos vs. Alberto Mendez
  • Socrates Hernandez vs. Rogelio Luna
  • Laird Anderson vs. JT Donaldson
  • Alan Benson vs. Theo Haig

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MMA Junkie Radio #3249: Bellator 277 guest Corey Anderson, UFC 273 preview, more

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

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

On Episode 3,249, the guys welcomed in guest [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag], who challenges for the light heavyweight title in the 205-pound grand prix final next week at Bellator 277. Plus, they previewed Saturday’s UFC 273 with its two title fights and discussed the latest MMA news. Tune in!

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.

MMA Junkie Radio #3247: Bellator guests Tyrell Fortune and Bobby Seronio, Chael Sonnen news, more

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

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

On Episode 3,247, the fellas bring on guests [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] and [autotag]Bobbby Seronio[/autotag], who have fights coming up at Bellator 277. They also discuss Chael Sonnen’s legal issues, Kamaru Usman taking shots at Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal, UFC 273’s big lineup and more. Tune in!

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.

How Johny Hendricks inspired Bellator 277’s Kyle Crutchmer to transition to MMA

Being a key part of one of Johny Hendricks’ most important training camps made Kyle Crutchmer want to transition to MMA.

Being a key part of one of [autotag]Johny Hendricks[/autotag]’ most important training camps made [autotag]Kyle Crutchmer[/autotag] want to transition to MMA.

Hendricks sought out Oklahoma State University wrestling standout Crutchmer to help him prepare for his welterweight title fight against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167 in November 2013. Hendricks lost the bout by split decision in one of the most controversial results in UFC history.

But it was hitting the mats with such a high-level fighter ahead of a pivotal title fight that inspired Crutchmer to try his hand at MMA.

“When he was training for ‘GSP,’ he did most of his camp at Oklahoma State, so we were wrestling and doing a bunch of different things with him,” Crutchmer told MMA Junkie Radio. “I didn’t do very much MMA stuff, but I just kind of did stuff on the wall with him and helped him out with some of that. And after that I kind of was like, ‘Man, I want to do that.’ So that’s kind of what got me started in the right direction with this MMA stuff.”

Like Crutchmer, Hendricks wrestled at Oklahoma State and was one of the athletes Crutchmer looked up to. Crutchmer helped Hendricks prepare for St-Pierre’s wrestling style.

“I was actually the main guy,” Crutchmer said. “So I would come in at 2 o’clock. Practice normally started at 3, so I would do an hour before I actually started my practice just to help and give him what I could give him. I didn’t know much about MMA. I didn’t really have any jiu-jitsu or anything, but we did a lot of wall work because my go-to takedown in college was a double leg, and that’s what ‘GSP’ was kind of known for. So I gave him that feel as much as I can, and we wrestled a lot of live (sessions) together.

“He’s such an amazing person, and I got to see and be around a guy who was training for a world title fight before I even knew what I was going to do with my life. So he brought me under his wing that whole time, and it was amazing getting to train with someone like that, especially just from the wrestling standpoint of looking up to a guy like that when I was even growing up. So it was a lot of fun. But we were on his head. We came after him for sure.”

No. 9 ranked Bellator welterweight Crutchmer (8-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) will look to make it three straight when he takes on Michael Lombardo (12-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at Bellator 277, which takes place April 15 in San Jose, Calif.

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Aaron Pico set to return at Bellator 277 vs. ex-UFC fighter Jeremy Kennedy

Aaron Pico will meet Jeremy Kennedy at what is shaping up to be a stacked Bellator 277 card in San Jose.

[autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag]’s 2022 campaign is about to kick off.

Pico will take his five-fight winning streak into a featherweight matchup against [autotag]Jeremy Kennedy[/autotag] on April 15 at Bellator 277 from SAP Center in San Jose. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Junkie that both men have verbally agreed to the fight. MMA reporter Marcel Dorff was first to report the news on Twitter.

Pico (9-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA), 25, has been on a roll ever since a down 2019 in which he lost twice by knockout. Since then, he’s defeated Daniel Carey, Chris Hatley, John de Jesus, Aiden Lee, and most recently Justin Gonzales by dominant unanimous decision last November at Bellator 271.

Aside from the Gonzales fight, Pico’s other wins during his streak have been finishes, with two knockouts and two submissions. Pico’s turnaround has coincided with a move to Jackson Wink MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., after starting out with Team Bodyshop in his native Southern California.

Kennedy (17-3 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), meanwhile, is coming off one of the biggest victories of his career, a unanimous decision against Emmanuel Sanchez last December at Bellator 272. Kennedy, a 29-year-old four-fight veteran of the UFC, has won four of his past five fights dating back to July 2019.

With the addition, the updated Bellator 277 card includes:

  • Champ A.J. McKee vs. Patricio Freire – for featherweight title
  • Champ Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson – for light heavyweight title; grand prix final
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Tim Johnson
  • Jeremy Kennedy vs. Aaron Pico
  • Kyle Crutchmer vs. Michael Lombardo
  • Shane Keefe vs. Tyson Miller
  • Cass Bell vs. Gaston Bolanos
  • Theo Haig vs. Alan Benson
  • Edwin De Los Santos vs. Alberto Mendez
  • Bobby Seronio III vs. Calob Ramirez

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Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson light heavyweight grand prix final co-headlines Bellator 277

The Bellator light heavyweight grand prix will reach its conclusion this spring.

The Bellator light heavyweight grand prix will soon reach its conclusion.

[autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] is set to defend his 205-pound title when he faces [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] in the tournament final at Bellator 277 on April 15 from SAP Center in San Jose.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Junkie following a report from The Orange County Register on Wednesday. Nemkov (15-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) vs. (16-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) will serve as the Bellator 277 co-main event to the featherweight title rematch between champion A.J. McKee and Patricio Freire.

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Reigning champion Nemkov’s road to the final consisted of a unanimous decision win over former champ Phil Davis and a fourth-round submission of Julius Anglickas, extending his winning streak to nine.

Winner of seven of his past eight, Anderson is 3-0 since joining Bellator in 2020. Anderson picked up finishes over Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov and former Bellator dual champ Ryan Bader en route to a showdown with Nemkov in the final.

With the addition, the current Bellator 277 lineup includes:

  • A.J. McKee vs. Patricio Freire – for featherweight title
  • Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson – for light heavyweight title

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A.J. McKee vs. Patricio Freire title rematch headlines Bellator 277 on April 15

The rivalry between A.J. McKee and Patricio Freire will have a next chapter.

The rivalry between [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] and [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] will have a next chapter.

McKee, the Bellator featherweight champion, will put his title on the line in an immediate rematch against “Pitbull” that will headline Bellator 277 on April 15 at SAP Center in San Jose. A person with knowledge of the booking confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Wednesday following a report from The Orange County Register.

McKee (18-0 MMA, 18-0 BMMA) and Freire (32-5 MMA, 20-5 BMMA) fought in the Bellator 263 main event last July when McKee took Freire’s title in the featherweight grand prix final.

McKee wobbled then finished the Brazilian with a standing guillotine choke less than two minutes into the fight to become the new champion. Neither fighter has fought since that title bout.

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The 26-year-old McKee is undefeated in his professional MMA career. He holds notable wins over Freire, Darrion Caldwell, Derek Campos, and Pat Curran.

“Pitbull” entered the bout with McKee on a seven-fight winning streak in which he became both the Bellator featherweight and lightweight champion. He relinquished his 155-pound title this past fall, which gave way for his brother, Patricky, to win it in a vacant title bout against Peter Queally at Bellator 270.

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