Tag: Bellator 295

Sumiko Inaba content with slow build to title after Bellator 295 win: ‘I love the pace that I’m going at’

“I want to just keep moving up the rankings and taking on tougher opponents and proving myself as a martial artist,” Sumiko Inaba said.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Sumiko Inaba[/autotag] is happy to eventually climb her way to a title shot after Bellator 295.

The undefeated Hawaii native picked up arguably her biggest win yet when she defeated Veta Arteaga by unanimous decision at Saturday’s Bellator 295 event at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena.

As she climbs up the flyweight ranks, Inaba (6-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) was happy to prove she belongs with a win over top-10 Arteaga.

“That was huge to get over that,” Inaba told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “Especially here in Hawaii, you know. I feel the energy of my crowd, and I’m excited. I’m excited for what’s to come. I want to just keep moving up the rankings and taking on tougher opponents and proving myself as a martial artist.”

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With lima-Lei Macfarlane defeating Kana Watanabe, Bellator president Scott Coker wants to see her next in line for champion Liz Carmouche. As for Inaba, she’s not worried about the pecking order.

“I love the pace that I’m going at,” Inaba said. “Whatever Bellator has for me. They’ve only ever been amazing to me and all the opportunities that I get. I got to fight twice in my home. I can’t be more than grateful for that.

“I know they have a great plan set out for me, and I just take it one fight at a time. Just make my way up that ladder, and one day I’ll fight for that title definitely.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Mads Burnell aggressively calls out Daniel Weichel after Bellator 295 win: ‘Answer me, motherf*cker’

Back in the win column after Bellator 295, Mads Burnell wasted no time making his next callout.

HONOLULU – Back in the win column, [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] wasted no time in making his next callout.

Burnell (17-5 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) defeated Justin Gonzales by unanimous decision in Saturday’s Bellator 295 event at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.

Following his win, Burnell proceeded to call out fellow top-10 ranked featherweight [autotag]Daniel Weichel[/autotag] (42-14 MMA, 11-6 BMMA), accusing him of ducking the fight.

“Daniel Weichel, stop f*cking running,” Burnell told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “I’ve been making f*cking memes about you all year, sh*t like that, saying I’ll make you Wiener schnitzel quicker than you could say auf Wiedersehen and you’ve been quiet like a f*cking church mouse. Answer me, motherf*cker.”

Burnell rebounded after suffering back-to-back losses to Adam Borics and Pedro Carvalho. The 29-year-old Xtreme Couture fighter acknowledges that his back could have been against the wall but wants to fight the toughest competition regardless.

“I asked to fight Justin, because I know he’s a great fighter,” Burnell said. “He has a great record, and I was like, ‘I know I’m one of the best featherweights, I can hang with everybody.’ I do it at my gym with Xtreme Couture. I f*cking stand and bang with middleweights, and all the motherf*ckers there can vouch for me.

“I got it on video and everything. I know I can hang with the best of the best of them. So I just told myself when that little b*tch on my shoulder starts to get nervous, I told myself, ‘Hey, this is what you want.’ You asked for this.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Yancy Medeiros breaks down first finish since 2017 at Bellator 295, explains fighting Charlie Leary at catchweight

Yancy Medeiros said he “came in for the kill” heading into his fight with Charlie Leary at Bellator 295.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Yancy Medeiros[/autotag] scored his first finish in more than four years at Bellator 295.

Medeiros (16-8 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) submitted Charlie Leary (17-14-1 MMA, 3-5 BMMA) at the 4:39 mark of Round 1 in front of his home fans at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. The finish marked Medeiros’ first since stopping Alex Oliveira by third-round TKO in one of the best fights of 2017 at UFC 218.

“First off, that guy Charlie just came back from the dead after he dropped,” Medeiros told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “He’s tough man. That guy’s really tough. When I dropped him the first time, that was the thing. Brah, I never feel this feeling for so long.

“So I just came in for the kill, and then he ended up getting back up. I was like, ‘Hey, calm down. You hurt him again. Take him down, bro. Tap him out. That’s where the win’s going to be.’ And that’s where it was.”

Medeiros fought Leary in a 165-pound catchweight bout, which he revealed was his request.

“It was actually 165 for me,” Medeiros said. “I honestly had an injury, and I was going through some things. I was like call him up and asked him a month out if we could do it at catchweight so I could get to the fight, address this injury. He was willing to, and I really appreciate that from my opponent.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Spinning Back Clique: Nate Diaz street fight, Sergei Pavlovich’s record, Patchy Mix’s grand prix win, more

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” live stream covering the biggest topics in MMA, including some big UFC announcements.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura and “Gorgeous” George Garcia will join host Mike Bohn live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

  • [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] is on a tear, and setting UFC records. In the main event of UFC Fight Night 222, the hard-hitting Russian made quick work of Curtis Blaydes, recording his sixth-straight first-round knockout. Pavlovich wants to wait for the winner of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, as he feels he has done enough work to warrant a title shot. Is he right? How do we like his chances against Jones or Miocic?
  • At Bellator 295 in Honolulu, [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] created the highlight of the weekend in a Knockout of the Year candidate victory over Raufeon Stots to win the bantamweight grand prix. He’s now $1 million richer and is interim champ, setting up a unifier with the winner of [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag], who fight on June 16 at Bellator 297. Is Mix the best bantamweight in the world? If not, where does he stack up?
  • The UFC dropped a tidal wave of fight announcements on us over the past week, including [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] at UFC 288 next week in Newark, N.J. The promotion pulled off booking this fight on 16 days’ notice for a PPV that needed it, and it’ll be 5 rounds, with both men claiming the UFC has promised them the next title shot after [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag]. Are you surprised Burns accepted it given he just fought and/or surprised Muhammad took it because he just finished Ramadan?
  • Among the numerous fight announcements for UFC 290, which takes place July 8 in Las Vegas and marks the 11th annual International Fight Week, was a “middleweight title eliminator” between [autotag]Robert Whittaker [/autotag]and [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]. It’s increasingly rare that UFC outright labels fights as No. 1 contender bouts, but Dana White said in his announcement that the winner of this will face [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] later this year, likely in Sydney, Australia. Was this the right booking for the division?
  • [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] found himself in the headlines on Friday night, and it wasn’t for the best of reasons. First, he attended a Misfits Boxing event in New Orleans where his teammate Chris Avila was competing, and was caught on camera ringside throwing a water bottle at reality star Chase DeMoor that started a scuffle.
    A few hours later, footage surfaced of Diaz on the streets of New Orleans in what appeared to be a multi-person altercation. Diaz choked one man out cold, with his head slamming against the concrete. There are still many unknowns about what happened, but we do know what we saw on video, and that’s Diaz – a superstar professional fighter – choking out a non-pro in a very dangerous situation. Will Diaz face serious repercussions for his actions?

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

5 biggest takeaways from busy UFC, Bellator and boxing weekend: Would Sergei Pavlovich beat Jon Jones?

Recap the most notable storylines to come out of a busy combat weekend that included UFC, two Bellator cards and a major boxing event.

What mattered most from a stacked weekend of combat sports that included Bellator 294 and Bellator 295 in Hawaii, UFC Fight Night 222 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas a big-time boxing match in “Sin City”? Here are a few post-fight musings …

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Scott Coker eyes Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane title fight for late 2023: ‘We have to do that fight’

Bellator president Scott Coker says Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is next.

HONOLULU – We’re just hours away from [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag]’s latest title defense, and it looks like there’s already another one on the horizon.

Bellator president [autotag]Scott Coker[/autotag] says former champion [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] is next in line following the pair of events this weekend in Hawaii; Bellator 294 on Friday and Bellator 295 on Saturday.

Carmouche (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) successfully defended her women’s flyweight belt against DeAnna Bennett, submitting her with an arm triangle in the fourth round of their Bellator 294 main event. In the co-main event of Bellator 295, Macfarlane (13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) edged Japan’s Kana Watanabe in a split decision.

Coker says the next step is a championship bout between the two teammates.

“The first step for her is to fight Liz Carmouche,” Coker told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the Bellator 295 post-fight news conference. “That’s the top priority. By winning this fight against Watanabe, who’s extremely competitive and skilled, a lot of folks thought it could go either way. It was a tight fight, but given the decision, it puts her on the sights of Liz, and we have to do that fight.

“Do we do it here? I don’t know because the Blaisdell is being closed for remodeling. We’ll talk to Stan Sheriff (Center) and see what’s available, but that fight we can put anywhere. That’s a bigtime fight and those two girls have had great runs in their Mixed Martial Arts career, and we would love to promote that fight at the end of the year.”

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Macfarlane, a Hawaii native, is always looking to fight on her home island, if possible. But due to the circumstances relating to the availability of the arena, that may not be in the cards. Coker believes that shouldn’t be an issue and the two parties will work things out.

“We’re a fight company that needs to continue to put fights, so if we can’t get into Stan Sheriff, and we can’t come here, what are you going to do? Wait another two years while it remodels?,” Coker said. “It’s something that we’ll have dialogue. We have a good relationship with these athletes, and we’ll have a conversation and do our best to accommodate her.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

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Ilima-Lei Macfarlane makes one final pitch for flyweight grand prix after Bellator 295 win

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane thought she was ready for a title fight, and that’s it, but apparently she’ll take more if Bellator would oblige.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] thought she knew exactly how she wanted to end her career. She wanted a flyweight title fight against her friend and former training partner, Liz Carmouche, and that’s what she called for inside the cage after her hard-fought unanimous decision win over Kana Watanabe on Saturday at Bellator 295.

Then Macfarlane (13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) was asked about a possible Bellator flyweight grand prix during her post-fight news conference and with some time to think things through, her mind changed.

“Yeah, Uncle Scott, we want to do a frickin’ grand prix,” Macfarlane told MMA Junkie and other reporters, addressing Bellator president Scott Coker. “Now that you guys are done with the bantamweight (grand prix) – congrats, Patchy – let’s do it. We haven’t done a women’s grand prix in any division, and I think it just makes sense that the flyweight division is the way to go. I’ve been calling for one since 2019, I think. Yeah, I think that would be super cool.”

Macfarlane, who was the inaugural Bellator flyweight champ with four title defenses to her credit, entered fight week already talking about retirement, specifically hoping that fight could take place in Hawaii before the year ends.

As it turns out, that timeline is flexible if it means partaking in a grand prix.

“I would be down. A million dollars is pretty sweet,” said Macfarlane, who won her second fight in a row. “To be honest, I have been thinking about retirement more seriously, because I do want to start a family soon. But a million dollars does sound pretty cool, so I can put baby making on hold for that. …

“I should’ve called that out on the mic, but I was staring at Liz. So, let’s do a grand prix.”

It’s more likely that Macfarlane will get her original wish of a title fight with Carmouche, which is what Coker said he expects to happen. Macfarlane said she feels good physically coming out of her win over Watanabe.

So if that is the case, she’d like that to happen sooner than later.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Bellator 295 post-event facts: Patchy Mix’s knee knockout caps off epic grand prix run

Patchy Mix is firmly in the Bellator record books after a perfect knee made him $1 million richer at Bellator 295.

Bellator 295 took place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and marked the second night of the promotion’s weekend doubleheader in Hawaii.

The final fight of a loaded week proved to be the most memorable, because [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) scored one of the greatest knockout highlights in company history when he flattened [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) with a picture-perfect knee to the jaw knockout just 80 seconds into their main event. The nasty finish not only won him the interim bantamweight title, but he is the last man standing in the bantamweight grand prix, winning $1 million after completing the eight-man field.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 295.

Aaron Pico calls for interim Bellator title fight against Jeremy Kennedy: ‘We shouldn’t hold up the division’

Solely focused on what’s next, Aaron Pico wants to avenge a loss to Jeremy Kennedy – and for Bellator to put gold on the line.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] has an idea.

Saturday at Bellator 295, Pico (11-4 MMA, 11-4 BMMA) defeated James Gonzalez (10-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) by unanimous decision at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena and immediately set his sights on his next move.

“I’m ready to fight for a world championship,” Pico told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “‘Pitbull’ is going down and from what I heard he’s staying down. I think Jeremy Kennedy and I should fight for an interim title. I think it makes sense. We shouldn’t hold up the division. When ‘Pitbull’ is ready to come up, I’ll be more than happy to welcome him to the division.”

Pico, 26, has slowly risen to top contender status since his professional debut under the Bellator banner in 2017. He experienced losses early, but since January 2020 has only lost once – a TKO defeat due to injury against Jeremy Kennedy in October. Pico dislocated his shoulder early in the fight, and the bout was stopped in between Rounds 1 and 2 when his corner could not put it back into place.

With champion Patricio Freire set to challenge Sergio Pettis for the bantamweight title June 16 at Bellator 297 in Chicago, Pico thinks it’s the perfect time for an interim title implementation in a rematch against Kennedy (19-3 MMA, 4-1 BMMA). It would be Pico’s first five-round bout.

“I’m going to fight for a world championship,” Pico said. “Whatever I need to do, I’m going to fight. I’m No. 3. I’m No. 3 in the rankings right now. I’ve taken risks fighting guys who are not ranked. That’s a big risk, but that’s not my fault. There are guys in the top 10 who have turned down fights with me, and there’s nothing I can do. I think that I need to fight somebody above me. But I think that what makes the most sense is fighting for that title.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Patchy Mix hopes for Patricio Freire in Bellator title unification: ‘I want to fight the pound-for-pound No. 1’

Following his Bellator 295 win, Patchy Mix discussed his big knockout over Raufeon Stots and what’s next.

HONOLULU – “Buy my mom a house, take care of my family, be smart, and stay level.”

If he wasn’t a millionaire before Bellator 295, [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] is one now – and the plans have already begun as to where his money will be going.

In the main event Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena, Mix (18-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) knocked out Raufeon Stots (19-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) with a massive knee in Round 1 to win the Bellator bantamweight grand prix and $1 million prize.

“He was so naive to think I’m just a grappler,” Mix told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “I’m a dog in the gym. I fight people, and no one outworks me. No one out-bullies me or beats me up. I know I don’t have a lot of knockouts because I’m very good on the ground. But don’t think I can’t put your lights out because (when) I shoot it, I try to strangle you. It’s just the easiest way to win.”

In addition to the tournament clinch and big payday, Mix took home the interim Bellator bantamweight championship. A title unification is expected to take place later this year, per promotion president Scott Coker. However, it’s not set who Mix will fight in that bout.

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Bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis (22-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) withdrew from the grand prix due to injury but has since recovered. He’s currently matched up with Bellator featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (35-5 MMA, 23-5 BMMA), who will make his bantamweight debut to challenge for the title June 16 at Bellator 297.

While Mix is willing and ready to take on all comers, he’s crossing his fingers that Freire is the one he meets.

“Sh*t, I don’t know if Pettis really wants to fight me,” Mix said. “I knew he was picking Rauf to win. I don’t know how he could pick that. But I don’t think Pettis really wants to fight me. I think ‘Pitbull’ takes it. You can’t pick against him. I want to fight the pound-for-pound No. 1. Let ‘Pitbull’ take it. I’m hoping he wins, and I can fight the best. I don’t know if they’re worried about me. They’re probably just worried about the task at hand.

“Regardless enough, I believe I’m the best bantamweight in the world. I train with the top guys in the world, some of the best in the world. I believe I am the best 135 pounder in the world today. I’m just getting better. I’m just improving now. I’m just going into my prime now.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.