Tag: Cass Bell

Bellator 292 salaries: Five get six-figure paydays, including Benson Henderson in retirement fight

Check out the full list of fighter salaries from this past Friday’s Bellator 292 event in San Jose, Calif.

Twenty fighters competed this past Friday at Bellator 292 with the titleholders leading all disclosed payouts.

California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster released a full list of fighter payouts Thursday to MMA Junkie. The amounts reflect the disclosed payouts only and do not include any off-contract bonuses, sponsor payments or discretionary bonuses.

Three of five fighters who pocketed six-figure disclosed paydays tied for the top spot on the list with $150,000. Lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) submitted Benson Henderson (30-12 MMA, 7-7 BMMA) in the main event, which also was the opening round of Bellator’s lightweight grand prix.

Both Nurmagomedov and Henderson made a disclosed $150,000 flat purse for their fights, win or lose. The other $150,000 recipient was Alexander Shabliy (23-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), who made $75,000 to show and a $75,000 win bonus for his finish of Tofiq Musayev (20-5 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) in the tournament’s opening round.

In addition, Linton Vassell (24-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) made a flat $100,000 for his heavyweight knockout of Valentin Moldavsky (11-3 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) and Michael Page (21-2 MMA, 17-2 BMMA) made a flat $100,000 for his quick injury TKO of Goiti Yamauchi (28-6 MMA, 14-5 BMMA).

Scroll below to see what the 20 fighters on Bellator 292 were paid – disclosed amounts only.

Bellator 292 post-event facts: Michael Page takes sole possession of company knockout record

Check out the numbers to come out of Bellator 292, where Michael “Venom” Page broke a longstanding tie for most KO/TKO wins in history.

Bellator put on its third event of the year Friday with Bellator 292, which took place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

The lightweight grand prix got its start on the card with a pair of quarterfinal matchups. Reigning champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) made his first step in defending through the tournament when he quickly stopped former UFC and WEC champ [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (30-12 MMA, 7-7 BMMA) by first-round submission.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check out MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 292.

Bellator 292: Best photos from San Jose

Check out these photos from Bellator 292, which took place at Kia Forum in San Jose, Calif.

Check out these photos from Bellator 292, which took place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA)

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 9-15)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Jan. 9-15.

Defying the odds: The 10 biggest MMA betting upsets of 2022

Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2022, according to the oddsmakers, across Bellator, the UFC, PFL and more.

Who doesn’t love a good upset?

In 2022, MMA saw its fair share of underdogs who defied the odds in the UFC, Bellator and beyond. While everyone has an opinion of who should win and who should lose, the oddsmakers (and how the betting public responds) largely get the final say on what history reflects.

This year, with the help of MMA database Tapology, MMA Junkie has compiled the top 10 betting upsets of 2022. Fights that were eligible were those that multiple major online sportsbooks recognized, and that Tapology recorded prior to the close of the betting line.

Promotions eligible include UFC, Bellator, PFL, KSW, DWCS, Road to UFC, Eagle FC, and One Championship.

Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2022 below. Only major MMA promotions were included in the tally.

Bellator 289: Best photos from Connecticut

Check out these photos from the fights at Bellator 289 in Uncasville, Conn.

Check out these photos from the fights at Bellator 289, headlined by an interim bantamweight title and grand prix semifinal bout between Raufeon Stots and Danny Sabatello. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA)

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 17-23)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Oct. 17-23.

Four fights added to Bellator 289, including return of Dalton Rosta

Bellator 289 takes place Dec. 9 and is headlined by two title fights, including the Danny Sabatello vs. Raufeon Stots grudge match.

Bellator has added four new fights to its final event of 2022.

Scheduled for Dec. 9 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Bellator 289 already featured two bantamweight grand prix fights and a women’s flyweight title fight. Now, its undercard is filling up, too.

Most notably, a middleweight bout between rising contender [autotag]Dalton Rosta[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Anthony Adams[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will take place.

Rosta, 26, is undefeated as a professional. In his most recent outing, Rosta dominated blue-chip wrestling prospect Romero Cotton en route to a third-round knockout. Meanwhile, Adams upset former UFC fighter Khalid Murtazaliev via unanimous decision in his Bellator debut in September 2021 and has not competed since.

A promotion official recently notified MMA Junkie of the addition, as well as [autotag]Chris Gonzalez[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Shamil Nikaev[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at lightweight, [autotag]Cass Bell[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Jared Scoggins[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) at bantamweight, and [autotag]Kevin Boehm[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Kai Kamaka[/autotag] (9-5-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA).

The Boehm vs. Kamaka bout was first reported by BellatorZone.

With the additions, the Bellator 289 lineup includes:

  • Champion Raufeon Stots vs. Danny Sabatello – bantamweight grand prix semifinal for interim title
  • Champion Liz Carmouche vs. Juliana Velasquez – for women’s flyweight title
  • Magomed Magomedov vs. Patchy Mix – bantamweight grand prix semifinal
  • Anthony Adams vs. Dalton Rosta
  • Chris Gonzalez vs. Shamil Nikaev
  • Cody Law vs. Cris Lencioni
  • Cass Bell vs. Jared Scoggings
  • Mark Lemminger vs. Michael Lombardo
  • Kevin Boehm vs. Kai Kamaka
  • Theo Haig vs. Kareem Kline

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Bellator 256: Make your predictions for Ryan Bader vs. Lyoto Machida 2

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 256 event in Connecticut.

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 256 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 Wednesdday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 256 main card staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. Bellator 256 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Make your picks for the fights below.

Bellator 242 post-event facts: Aaron Pico’s presence felt in the record books

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 242, which took place Friday in Uncasville, Conn.

Bellator made its return from a 153-day hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic on Friday with Bellator 242, which took place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., with a main card that aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

A title eliminator in the bantamweight division served as the main event of the card as former longtime UFC contender [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) remained undefeated in his Bellator career when he outworked [autotag]Ricky Bandejas[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) to a unanimous decision.

Pettis’ performance closed out a seven-fight card that included a few notable feats. For more on the numbers, check below for 17 post-event facts to come out of Bellator 242.

* * * *

General

Betting favorites went 3-1 on the main card.

Betting favorites improved to 4-0 in Bellator main events this year.

Total fight time for the four-bout main card was 47:10.

Main card

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Pettis’ two-fight Bellator winning streak at bantamweight is the longest active streak in the division.

Pettis has earned 13 of his 20 career victories by decision. That includes 10 of his past 11 wins.

Bandejas has suffered two of his three Bellator losses by decision.

[autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) has earned two of his three Bellator victories by decision.

[autotag]Jordan Mein[/autotag] (31-13 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) was unsuccessful in his Bellator debut following a nine-fight UFC stint.

Mein fell to 2-3 since he returned from retirement in December 2016.

[autotag]Tywan Claxton[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) suffered the first decision loss of his career.

[autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] (6-3 MMA, 6-3 BMMA) improved to 6-2 since he dropped to the featherweight division in September 2017.

Pico earned the first submission victory of his career.

Pico’s six stoppage victories in Bellator featherweight competition are third most in divisional history behind A.J. McKee (11) and Patricio Freire (10).

Preliminary card

[autotag]Jake Smith[/autotag] (7-4 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) suffered the first knockout loss of his career.

[autotag]Cass Bell[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) had his five-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.

[autotag]Rudy Schaffroth[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 6-0.

Schaffroth suffered the first decision loss of his career.