Davion Franklin – Page 2 – Syndication Server

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

[vertical-gallery id=440371]

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Dec. 20-26)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken 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 Dec. 20-26.

Davion Franklin has heavyweight title aspirations – and wants Cheick Kongo and Jake Hager to get there

Davion Franklin might not be a Bellator household name, but he could get there soon with repeats of his Friday performance.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] might not be a household name in Bellator’s heavyweight division, but he could get there soon with repeats of his Friday performance.

Franklin (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) needed just 21 seconds at Bellator 264 to put away Everett Cummings (15-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), who came into the bout unbeaten and with five times more pro experience than Franklin. But Franklin barely broke a sweat to notch his third first-round stoppage in four pro fights, all under the Bellator banner.

Franklin landed a front push kick to Cummings’ right oblique just seconds into the fight. Cummings stumbled backward, and it appeared evident the kick hurt him. From there, Franklin took advantage and before long his punches gave him his fastest finish yet.

After the fight, Cummings looked to be in rough shape on the leg Franklin hit with the kick, which was shades of Jon Jones. And that makes sense, given Franklin trains with the former UFC light heavyweight champion at the Jackson Wink MMA gym in Albuquerque, N.M.

After Franklin’s win, he talked about that kick, his quick rise at heavyweight, his hope to one day be a Bellator champion, his in-cage callout of Cheick Kongo and another callout of Jake Hager. Check out the full video above from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

[vertical-gallery id=728017]

Bellator 264 post-event facts: Andrey Koreshkov sets new welterweight wins record

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 264, which took place Friday in Uncasville, Conn.

Bellator 264 took place this past Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

[autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] (48-7-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) defended his Bellator middleweight title in the main event when he picked up a third-round TKO of [autotag]John Salter[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 8-2 BMMA).

For more on the numbers, check below for 22 pre-event facts to come out of Bellator 264.

Bellator 264 video: Jon Jones teammate Davion Franklin takes out Everett Cummings in 21 seconds

It took Davion Franklin just 21 seconds to stay unbeaten and take out an opponent in a very familiar way.

It took [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] just 21 seconds to stay unbeaten and take out an opponent in a very familiar way.

Franklin (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) drilled [autotag]Everett Cummings[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) with a front kick to the right oblique and buckled his leg. A moment later, Franklin threw a right kick to the head and further stunned Cummings, and when he hit the canvas, it took Franklin just a few punches to get the stoppage.

After Cummings got back to his feet, he was limping thanks to the front kick. Then he had to take a stool. The kick was the same kind former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, a Franklin training partner in New Mexico, has used throughout his career.

Heavy hands, All Day!@DavionGoAllDay moves to 4️⃣-0️⃣ with this epic 21 second KO.#Bellator264 is LIVE now on @SHOsports. pic.twitter.com/wjiYru7MrD

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) August 14, 2021

“I was just thinking about putting him out – taking him out in the first round,” Franklin said in his post-fight interview. “That was my goal this whole time.”

Then Franklin made a major callout: Cheick Kongo, who headlines Bellator 265 next week against Serghei Karitonov.

“Cheick Kongo, step up,” Franklin said in reference to a Kongo social media post predicting Cummings would submit Franklin. “You’ll get done the same way – if not, worse.”

Franklin’s heavyweight win over Cummings was part of the Bellator 264 main card at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card aired on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Davion Franklin aims to put heavyweight division on notice with finish at Bellator 264

Davion Franklin hopes that with a dominant win over Everett Cummings, people start really knowing his name.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] hopes that with a dominant win over Everett Cummings at Bellator 264, people start really knowing his name.

“I’m expecting me to go out there and be dominant,” Franklin told MMA Junkie. “Get this finish in dominant fashion like I’ve done. I’m expecting to really put myself on the map, to let these other heavyweights know that this guy is here. I’m the guy that y’all should be watching. I’m not calling anybody out, but I do expect sometime soon I will be the guy that people are gonna be calling out.

Bellator 264 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out the full interview with Franklin in the video above.

[listicle id=665173]

Bellator 264 predictions: Is anyone picking John Salter over Gegard Mousasi?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 264 main card, which features middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi vs. John Salter.

	Mousasi vs. Salter	Homasi vs. Koreshkov	Magomedov vs. Stots	Cummings vs. Franklin	Bestaev vs. Gwerder
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 120-72	Mousasi (82%)	Koreshkov (85%)	Magomedov (76%)	Cummings (51%)	Bestaev (64%)
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 119-73	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Stots	Franklin	Bestaev
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 118-74	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Stots	Franklin	Bestaev
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 118-74 2018 Champion	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Magomedov	Franklin	Gwerder
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 115-77 2020 Champion	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Magomedov	Franklin	Gwerder
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 114-78 2014 Champion	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Magomedov	Franklin	Bestaev
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 114-78	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Magomedov	Cummings	Gwerder
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 113-79	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Magomedov	Cummings	Bestaev
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 112-80	Mousasi	Homasi	Magomedov	Cummings	Gwerder
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 112-80	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Magomedov	Cummings	Gwerder
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 112-80	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Stots	Cummings	Gwerder
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 110-82 2017 Champion	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Magomedov	Cummings	Gwerder
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 108-84	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Magomedov	Cummings	Gwerder
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 43-33	Mousasi	Koreshkov	Magomedov	Cummings	Gwerder

Bellator is back in Connecticut this week, and the middleweight title is on the line.

Bellator 264 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

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

In the main event, middleweight champion [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] (47-7-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) puts his title up against challenger [autotag]John Salter[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 8-1 BMMA). Mousasi is fighting for the first time since he recaptured the 185-pound title in October 2020 against Douglas Lima, and all 13 of our editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are picking him to defend the belt.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Sabah Homasi[/autotag] (15-9 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) takes on former welterweight champion [autotag]Andrey Koreshkov[/autotag] (23-4 MMA, 13-4 BMMA). Our staff members are picking the ex-champ by a wide margin at 12-1.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Magomed Magomedov[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) is a runaway pick in his bantamweight fight against [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 4-0 BMMA). Magomedov has a 10-3 lead in the picks.

Our most contentious fight is at heavyweight between [autotag]Everett Cummings[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA). The top five pickers in our standings all like Franklin. But the lower eight all are going with Cummings.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Khadzhi Bestaev[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Ty Gwerder[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) in a middleweight bout. Hawaii’s Gwerder has a sizable 9-4 edge in the picks from our staff members.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Mousasi (82 percent), Koreshkov (85 percent), Magomedov (76 percent), Cummings (51 percent) and Bestaev(64 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

Bellator 264 faceoff video highlights: Magomedov, Stots in each other’s face, touch foreheads

One final time before Bellator 264, Gegard Mousasi, John Salter and the rest of the card went face to face at the ceremonial weigh-ins.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Bellator makes its return Friday, and the promotion’s middleweight title will be on the line.

Bellator 264 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena with the main card airing on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie. Atop the card, 185-pound titleholder [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] (47-7-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) defends his championship against surging contender [autotag]John Salter[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 8-1 BMMA).

Also, former welterweight champion [autotag]Andrey Koreshkov[/autotag] (23-4 MMA, 13-4 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Sabah Homasi[/autotag] (15-9 MMA, 4-3 BMMA), and bantamweight contenders Magomed Magomedov (18-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) meet in a pivotal clash.

Following Thursday’s Bellator 264 official weigh-ins, the fighters came face to face for some traditional pre-fight staredowns.

Check out the faceoffs below, including Mousasi vs. Salter, Koreshkov vs. Homasi, and Magomedov vs. Stots.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 19-25)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken 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 July 19-25:

Bellator 254’s Davion Franklin insists no beef with opponent – even if it seemed like it

Big-time Jackson Wink MMA prospect Davion Franklin is ready to throw hands and continue working toward title aspirations.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] spoke with MMA Junkie on Tuesday ahead of his fight at Bellator 254.

Franklin (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) discussed what he learned from his last fight (just his second as a professional) and listening to Jackson Wink MMA coach Greg Jackson, not really having beef with opponent Anthony Garrett even if it looked that way on social media, continuing to work toward his title aspirations, and more.

Watch the full pre-fight interview with Magomedov above.

Bellator 254 takes place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

[vertical-gallery id=391998]