Bobby Lee – Syndication Server

Bellator 268 salaries: Vadim Nemkov, Corey Anderson among five six-figure paydays

Five fighters pocketed more than $100,000 at Bellator 268 in Phoenix, according to documents obtained by MMA Junkie.

Bellator 268 featured two light heavyweight grand prix matchups, and the fighters involved were four of the five highest-paid athletes on the card.

Light heavyweight champion [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] and fellow grand prix finalist [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] led all paydays, as they pocketed six figures as a result of their wins Oct. 16 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Grand prix participants [autotag]Julius Anglickas[/autotag] and [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag], who lost in the semfinals, and former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag], also took home six figures.

On Monday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of Bellator 268 salaries from the Arizona Department of Gaming, which oversaw the event.

Check out a full list below.

Bobby Lee embracing tough Bellator 253 debut vs. Joey Davis: ‘Let’s go get some stitches’

Bobby Lee is ready to take the next step in his career with a featured matchup against unbeaten Joey Davis at Bellator 253.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Bobby Lee[/autotag] spoke to MMA Junkie on Tuesday ahead of his fight at Bellator 253.

Lee (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who meets Joey Davis (7-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) in a welterweight matchup, discusses his excitement entering his Bellator debut, fighting a highly decorated opponent, potentially dropping down to lightweight in the future, and much more.

Watch the full pre-fight interview with Lee above.

Bellator 253 takes place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

Bellator 253 predictions: Who’s picking Darrion Caldwell to end A.J. McKee’s perfect run?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 253 main card in Connecticut.

	Caldwell vs. McKee	Henderson vs. Jackson	Davis vs. Lee
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 141-87	McKee (78%)	Henderson (72%)	Davis (84%)
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 156-72	McKee	Jackson	Davis
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 153-75	Caldwell	Henderson	Davis
Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 152-76	McKee	Henderson	Davis
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 150-78	McKee	Henderson	Davis
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 148-80 2014 Champion	McKee	Henderson	Davis
Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 147-81 2019 Champion*	McKee	Henderson	Davis
Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 146-82	McKee	Henderson	Davis
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 143-85	McKee	Henderson	Davis
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 143-85 2017 Champion	McKee	Henderson	Davis
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 142-86 2018 Champion	McKee	Henderson	Davis
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 142-86	McKee	Henderson	Davis
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 140-88	McKee	Henderson	Davis
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 138-90	McKee	Henderson	Davis
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 86-142	Caldwell	Jackson	Lee

Bellator’s featherweight tournament continues this week with the first semifinal fight atop the bill.

Bellator 253 takes place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network/DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, former bantamweight champion [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) takes on the unbeaten [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] (16-0 MMA, 16-0 BMMA) in the first semifinal fight of Bellator’s 145-pound grand prix. McKee is a -233 favorite at BetMGM; the comeback on Caldwell is +190. McKee has a big 12-2 lead in the picks from our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.

In the co-feature, former UFC and WEC lightweight champ [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (28-9 MMA, 5-4 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) at welterweight. Jackson is a -182 favorite, but it’s Henderson with a heavy 12-2 lead from our staff members.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Joey Davis[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) is a 4-1 favorite at welterweight against [autotag]Bobby Lee[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who is making his promotional debut. Only one of our pickers is taking Lee in an upset.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, McKee (78 percent), Henderson (72 percent) and Davis (84 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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Bellator 253: Bobby Lee Pre-fight Interview

Bellator 253: Make your predictions for Darrion Caldwell vs. A.J. McKee

We want your predictions for Thursday’s Bellator 253 event in Connecticut.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Wednesday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 253 event staff predictions we release Wednesday ahead of the event. Bellator 253 takes place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network/DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Make your picks for the three main card fights below.

Bellator 239 adds promotional debut of former WSOF title challenger Josh Hill

Former WSOF title challenger Josh Hill is set to take on a former LFA title challenger at Bellator 239.

[autotag]Josh Hill[/autotag] has his Bellator debut in his sights.

A former WSOF title challenger, Hill (18-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will take on former LFA title challenger [autotag]Vinicius Zani[/autotag] (11-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) on the Bellator 239 prelims.

A promotion official informed MMA Junkie of booking and confirmed an additional preliminary card booking between [autotag]Bobby Lee[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Shamil Nikaev[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), as well.

In 2013, Hill was featured on “The Ultimate Fighter 18,” where he punched his ticket into the house with a win over Paddy Holohan. Eventually, he was eliminated when he lost a decision to Mike Wooten.

In WSOF, Hill challenged then-champion Marlon Moraes twice – once in December 2015 and another in July 2016. Hill lost both outings, the first by decision and the second by second-round knockout.

Hill has won four out of his last five fights, including a stoppage win over former TKO champion Jesse Arnett in May.

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As for Zani, the 32-year-old Brazilian has not competed since LFA 36 in March 2018, when he was finished in 59 seconds by Ricky Simon. The loss snapped a four-fight win streak.

With the additions, the Bellator 239 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Paramount, DAZN, 9 p.m. ET)

Ed Ruth vs. Yaroslav Amosov
Brandon Girtz vs. Myles Jury
Tyrell Fortune vs. Timothy Johnson
Javy Ayala vs. Valentin Moldavsky

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

Cris Lencioni vs. Salim Mukhidinov
Denise Kielholtz vs. Kristina Williams
Lucas Brennan vs. Jamese Taylor
Adil Benjilany vs. Kevin Croom
Chris Gonzalez vs. Aaron McKenzie
Christian Edwards vs. Marco Hutch
Teejay Britton vs. Gabriel Varga
Grant Neal vs. Claude Wilcox
Davion Franklin vs. J.W. Kiser
Steve Mowry vs. Rudy Schaffroth
Gaston Bolanos vs. Solo Hatley Jr.
Kyle Crutchmer vs. Scott Futrell
Shamil Nikaev vs. Bobby Lee
Mark Lemminger vs. Carlo Pedersoli Jr.
Shawn Bunch vs. Keith Lee
Josh Hill vs. Vinicius Zani
Bobby Lee vs. Shamil Nikaev

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