Bellator parts ways with 18 fighters: Daniel Straus, Tywan Claxton, Liam McGeary included

Bellator MMA has parted ways with over a dozen fighters, including more than a handful of notable names.

Eighteen fighters are no longer on the Bellator roster.

Among those who have parted ways includes former featherweight champion Daniel Straus, former light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary, boxer-turned-MMA-fighter Heather Hardy, and former UFC fighter Bec Rawlings. The list also includes two fighters who never got to compete after signing with the promotion because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s unclear whether each fighter was released, left on their own accord, or elected not to re-sign with the promotion. However, a Bellator official recently informed MMA Junkie that the promotion is moving on without the 18 fighters listed below.

Bellator 245 fills out, including Ed Ruth, Rafael Carvalho, Tyrell Fortune

The first half of Bellator’s back-to-back Connecticut shows in September has had its lineup filled out.

Bellator 245 fills out, including Ed Ruth, Rafael Carvalho, Tyrell Fortune

The first half of Bellator’s back-to-back Connecticut shows in September has had its lineup filled out.

Bellator 245, which will be headlined by a light heavyweight rematch between Phil Davis and Lyoto Machida with Cat Zingano vs. Gabrielle Holloway in the co-main event, has five new bouts ticketed for the lineup, the promotion announced Friday.

Bellator 245 takes place Friday, Sept. 11, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie. The next night, the same venue hosts Bellator 246.

On the main card, [autotag]Ed Ruth[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Taylor Johnson[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at middleweight, and [autotag]Raymond Daniels[/autotag] (2-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Peter Stanonik[/autotag] (5-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a welterweight bout.

Additionally, the preliminary card gets a light heavyweight bout between former middleweight champion [autotag]Rafael Carvalho[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 7-3 BMMA) and LFA light heavyweight champ [autotag]Alex Polizzi[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Jack May[/autotag] (11-6 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at heavyweight, and [autotag]Keith Lee[/autotag] (6-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Dominic Mazzotta[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) in a 140-pound contract-weight fight.

Ruth will be looking to rebound from a decision loss to Yaroslav Amosov in February, which snapped a two-fight winning streak. Johnson suffered the first loss of his pro career a little more than a year ago in a Dana White’s Contender Series fight against Andre Muniz. Prior to that, he had four straight first-round knockout wins under the LFA banner.

Kickboxing standout Daniels returned to MMA in 2019 after a lengthy layoff from the sport. He took out Wilker Barros in the first round in his Bellator MMA debut after years on the Bellator Kickboxing circuit. Then earlier this year, he stopped Jason King in the first round with a TKO. Stanonik has a kickboxing and muay Thai background, as well, but his most recent MMA fight was a June 2018 loss to Jake Heffernan at LFA 43.

With the additions, the Bellator 245 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Paramount, DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Phil Davis vs. Lyoto Machida
  • Gabrielle Holloway vs. Cat Zingano
  • Taylor Johnson vs. Ed Ruth
  • Raymond Daniels vs. Peter Stanonik

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie)

  • Rafael Carvalho vs. Alex Polizzi
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Jack May
  • Keith Lee vs. Dominic Mazzotta – 140-pound contract weight