Tag: Bellator 280

Bellator 280 weigh-in results: Ryan Bader vs. Cheick Kongo title fight rematch official

Check out the results from the official Bellator 280 fighter weigh-ins in Paris.

Official weigh-ins for Bellator 280 took place Thursday, and you can get all the results here.

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

Among those who weighed in are heavyweight champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (29-7 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) and challenger [autotag]Cheick Kongo[/autotag] (31-11-2 MMA, 13-3 BMMA), who meet in the main event.

The full Bellator 280 weigh-in results include:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 4 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Ryan Bader (232.8) vs. Cheick Kongo – for heavyweight title (241.4)
  • Alex Polizzi (202.8) vs. Yoel Romero (204.6)
  • Benjamin Brander (154.6) vs. Davy Gallon (155)
  • Lorenz Larkin (185.6) vs. Kyle Stewart (185.6)
  • Gregory Babene (185.6) vs. Mike Shipman (185.8)

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 12:30 p.m. ET)

  • Pedro Carvalho (145) vs. Piotr Niedzielski (145.2)
  • Thibault Gouti (170.8) vs. Lewis Long (170.8)
  • Jordan Barton (145.2) vs. Fabacary Diatta (145)
  • Soren Bak (159) vs. Charlie Leary (160)
  • Gavin Hughes (155.2) vs. Yves Landu (155.6)
  • Lucie Bertaud (125.2) vs. Katarzyna Sadura (125.2)
  • Matthieu Letho (185.8) vs. Youcef Ouabbas (185.2)
  • Bourama Camara (170.4) vs. Victor Verchere (169.2)

After signing new four-fight Bellator deal, Ryan Bader looks to ride out career at heavyweight

“I just signed a new four-fight deal with Bellator, and I’m looking to stay at heavyweight.”

[autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag]’s light heavyweight days likely are officially behind him.

Bader (29-7 MMA, 7-2 BMMA), Bellator’s former 205-pound champion and current heavyweight champion, wants to remain at heavyweight for the rest of his career.

On the heels of a new contract, Bader defends his title in a rematch against Cheick Kongo (31-11-2 MMA, 13-3 BMMA) in Friday’s Bellator 280 main event at Accor Arena in Paris. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

“I just signed a new four-fight deal with Bellator, and I’m looking to stay at heavyweight,” Bader said during a virtual Bellator 280 news conference Wednesday. “Obviously this is a career, so financials is a motivation, but competing and still trying to be the best and pushing myself is also there. I’m not out there, ‘OK, I’m just gonna be a mediocre guy and take these fights and make money and what not.’ If I’m gonna do it, I’m still gonna try and be the best at it, and so that’s where my mind frame is right now.”

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Bader’s opponent, Kongo, will look to become the oldest first-time champion in a major MMA promotion. At 38, Bader is still performing at a high level coming off a five-round title win over Valentin Moldavsky in January, but he isn’t looking to prolong his career as much as Kongo’s.

“I don’t think I’m gonna be at 46 years old fighting,” Bader said. “I have other stuff I want to do, but when we talked about this contract, I don’t see myself going down to light heavyweight anymore. That was one thing. I don’t know if I want to put myself through that, that weight cut, and I just didn’t feel great. So for me right now, it’s all right, we’re gonna finish out this deal here and kind of see where we go from there.”

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Yoel Romero would love to fight Gegard Mousasi – but only if it’s for Bellator middleweight title

“At this moment, at 205, it doesn’t interest me very much. I would love to face him at 185.”

[autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] likes the idea of fighting Bellator middleweight champion [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] in Mousasi’s weight class.

Romero (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), who moved up to light heavyweight when he signed with Bellator, has reciprocated Mousasi’s interest in a fight but is more concerned with becoming champion.

Both Mousasi (49-7-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) and Bellator president Scott Coker expressed interest in that fight, and Romero is happy to oblige.

“Mousasi is a great fight,” Romero said through an interpreter at a virtual Bellator 280 news conference Wednesday. “Every MMA fan wants to see us fight due to the trajectory in our careers. At this moment, at 205, it doesn’t interest me very much. I would love to face him at 185.”

Romero fell short multiple times in his quest of winning UFC gold, which is why he would want a fight with Mousasi to be for the title.

“It has nothing to do with anything personal against Mousasi. It has everything to do with what he has,” Romero said. “If he jumps to 205, he’s not gonna have what I desire, so it’s in the interest of all the fans and myself. So I believe the fight would be better for 185.”

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Romero will look to notch his first promotional win when he faces Alex Polizzi (10-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) in Friday’s Bellator 280 co-main event at Accor Arena in Paris.

He aims to rebound from his debut loss to Phil Davis last September at Bellator 266, where he voiced frustration because he thought the fight was a five-round main event, not three.

“The fight with Phil Davis left a bad taste in my mouth,” Romero said. “Even though I was well prepared for that fight, I wasn’t able to show it due to the confusion of the rounds of the fight. But this is not the case.”

He continued, “Because when you know you could have given more than what you gave due to the confusion of strategy, that just leaves a bad taste in your mouth, but now we know what it is, and it is what it is, and we’re ready.”

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Cheick Kongo: No bad blood with Ryan Bader ahead of Bellator 280 title rematch

It took almost three years for Cheick Kongo to get his rematch with Ryan Bader, but the animosity has faded with time.

It took almost three years for [autotag]Cheick Kongo[/autotag] to get his rematch with [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag], but his frustration eventually faded with time.

Kongo (31-11-2 MMA, 13-3 BMMA) rematches Bader (29-7 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) for the heavyweight championship in Friday’s Bellator 280 main event at Accor Arena in Paris. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Kongo’s first meeting with Bader in September 2019 ended in a no contest, when he was accidentally poked in the eye in Round 1 and rendered unable to continue. At the time, Kongo was unhappy with the comments Bader made as indicated that he never actually poked him in the eye. But a few years later, Kongo now says there’s no bad blood between them, and it was merely disappointment that he wasn’t awarded an immediate rematch.

“It’s been a while,” Kongo said during a virtual Bellator 280 news conference Wednesday. “I didn’t have anything against him, but I was quite frustrated to not be able to explain and be here. I didn’t have the ability to express myself. … It was a big deception to be shut off.”

He continued, “I still have a bitter taste, but I’m good. Finally we make it. I didn’t have to use that long road.”

Cheick Kongo at Bellator 226 after being poked in the eye by Ryan Bader.

Kongo explains that it was Bader’s initial reaction and denial to poking him in the eye that irked him.

“It’s always been a competition,” Kongo said. “I let the trash talking and the bad blood on the side. … He didn’t do very well in the first one, and he was claiming, ‘Oh, I didn’t do anything, blah, blah, blah and recently he used to assume ‘I probably did it, but if I did, it was an accident. It wasn’t on purpose.'”

Kongo has since dropped a split decision to Timothy Johnson, followed by a submission win over Sergei Kharitonov at Bellator 265, which earned him a second crack at Bader. If he beats Bader, the 46-year-old Frenchman will have the opportunity to become the oldest first-time champion in a major MMA organization.

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Yoel Romero meets Alex Polizzi at Bellator 280 following Melvin Manhoef withdrawal

“The Soldier of God” has a new foe for Bellator’s return to Paris.

[autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] has a new opponent for Bellator 280.

With [autotag]Melvin Manhoef[/autotag] out, Romero (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) now meets rising light heavyweight [autotag]Alex Polizzi[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) in a three-round co-main event.

The card takes place May 6 at AccorHotels Arena in Paris with the main card streaming on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

A Bellator official Saturday confirmed the change to MMA Junkie following an initial report from Dutch outlet Redactie Telesport. The report cited an injury for Manhoef, which it says he sustained in a recent apprehension of three alleged attempted burglars.

The bout was expected to be Manhoef’s final one for Bellator, promotion president Scott Coker told MMA Junkie in an interview prior to its cancellation.

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Romero, 45, signed with Bellator in 2021 and debuted in September of that year against fellow former UFC fighter Phil Davis. The matchup served as the Bellator 266 main event, in which Davis defeated Romero via unanimous decision. After the fight, Romero voiced frustration because he thought the fight was a five-round main event, rather than three. Bellator has since made all main events five rounds, regardless of title status.

Polizzi, 30, enters his short-notice Bellator 280 opportunity on a three-fight winning streak. A former LFA champion, Polizzi has defeated the likes of former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho and fellow contender Grant Neal among others since he signed with the promotion in 2020. He most recently competed at Bellator 276 in March when he defeated Jose Augusto via submission to cap off an exciting, back-and-forth brawl.

With the change, the Bellator 280 lineup includes:

  • Ryan Bader vs. Cheick Kongo – for heavyweight championship
  • Alex Polizzi vs. Yoel Romero
  • Lorenz Larkin vs. Kyle Stewart
  • Davion Franklin vs. TBA
  • Soren Bak vs. Charlie Leary
  • Gavin Hughes vs. Yves Landu
  • Pedro Carvalho vs. Piotr Niedzielski
  • Gregory Babene vs. Mike Shipman
  • Thibault Gouti vs. Lewis Long
  • Fabacary Diatta def. Jordan Barton
  • Joel Kouadja vs. Nicolo Solli
  • Lucie Bertaud vs. Katarzyna Sadura
  • Bourama Camara vs. Victor Verchere
  • Mathieu Ducios vs. Youcef Ouabbas

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Report: Bellator’s Melvin Manhoef chases down three burglars, smashes car window with his bare hand

A trio of burglars tried to rob Melvin Manhoef, and they made a grave mistake doing so.

A group of burglars attempted to rob [autotag]Melvin Manhoef[/autotag], but they chose the wrong man to mess with.

The Bellator light heavyweight reportedly chased down three burglars who tried to break into his house in Landsmeer, Netherlands, on Monday afternoon. He eventually drove them off the road and smashed into their car window using his bare hands.

Manhoef told Dutch news outlet Vechtsport Info that he took the three men out of the car and pinned them down until the police showed up.

The three men were allegedly seen hanging around Manhoef’s house while he was in Paris, France and had previously attempted to gain entry into his home. It happened a second time, but on the second attempt, Manhoef was there to track them down.

Manhoef, a former Bellator middleweight title challenger and decorated kickboxer, is scheduled to return to action for the first time since his stoppage loss to Corey Anderson in November 2020, when he faces Yoel Romero at Bellator 280 on May 6 at AccorHotels Arena in Paris.

It’s unknown if the incident will impact Manhoef’s plan to compete in the bout.

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Unbeaten heavyweight Davion Franklin meets Daniel James at Bellator 280

Unbeaten Bellator prospect Davion Franklin gets his next test at Bellator 280 in Paris.

Heavyweight prospect [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] will get his next test on the same card at which gold in his weight class will be on the line.

Franklin is set to return to action at Bellator 280 on May 6 when he takes on [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag]. MMA Junkie verified the booking with a person close to the situation, who requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to officially announce.

Bellator 280 takes place at Accor Arena in Paris and airs on Showtime. The event is headlined by a rematch between heavyweight champ Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo.

Franklin (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) has been flawless thus far in his young career. The 27-year-old has finished four of his five career wins thus far, including three first-round knockout victories.

James (13-6-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will attempt to derail the prospect in what will be his first Bellator appearance since his MMA debut in March 2014. The 40-year-old has spent the majority of his career fighting in the Russia-based ACA organization, and is coming off a string of three consecutive first-round knockout wins.

The latest Bellator 280 lineup includes:

  • Ryan Bader vs. Cheick Kongo – for heavyweight championship
  • Melvin Manhoef vs. Yoel Romero
  • Lorenz Larkin vs. Khalid Murtazaliev
  • Soren Bak vs. Saul Rogers
  • Gavin Hughes vs. Yves Landu
  • Khasan Askhabov vs. Pedro Carvalho
  • Gregory Babene vs. Mike Shipman
  • Thibault Gouti vs. Lewis Long
  • Fabacary Diatta def. Jordan Barton
  • Joel Kouadja vs. Nicolo Solli
  • Lucie Bertaud vs. Katarzyna Sadura
  • Davion Franklin vs. Daniel James

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