Tag: Gregory Babene

Bellator Champions Series video: Costello van Steenis puts Gregory Babene to sleep with Von Flue choke

Von Flue? Saint Preux? Whatever you call this choke, Costello van Steenis just secured it at Bellator Champions Series: Paris.

Add [autotag]Costello van Steenis[/autotag] to the list of fighters to successfully pull off a Von Flue choke in a major promotion.

In a middleweight bout on the Bellator Champions Series: Paris main card, Van Steenis (15-3) put [autotag]Gregory Babene[/autotag] (23-12) to sleep at 2:16 of Round 2. The event took place at Accor Arena.

Van Steenis, 31, is a training partner of former Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. He’s encountered mixed results in recent outings, having gone 3-2 in his most recent five. Friday’s win bounces him back from a unanimous decision defeat to Douglas Lima in May 2023.

Babene, 40, lost in Bellator for the first time. Prior to Friday, he was 5-0 in the promotion, with a 100 percent finishing rate in those fights.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator Champions Series: Paris results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator Champions Series: Paris.

Bellator 299 video: Gregory Babene submits Charlie Ward in wild one-minute fight

Gregory Babene vs. Charlie Ward didn’t last long, but it sure was one heck of a ride on the Bellator 299 preliminary card.

Well, [autotag]Gregory Babene[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Charlie Ward[/autotag] didn’t last long, but it sure was one heck of a ride on the Bellator 299 preliminary card.

The two middleweights went toe to toe from the very start until one went down Saturday at 3Arena in Dublin. Ward (10-7 MMA, 7-4 BMMA) came out aggressively pressing and throwing big shots on Babene (23-11 MMA, 5-0 BMMA), but in one of the sequences he got caught and wobbled. Instead of recovering, Ward doubled down and went after Babene, who knocked him down with a left hook.

From there, Babene began grappling with Ward, and after a few scrambles, Babene was able to tap him with a guillotine choke. The whole fight lasted 62 seconds.

You can watch the replay of the finish below:

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030791]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 299.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (June 26-July 2)

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 or officially announced by a promotion from June 26-July 2.

Bellator 299 adds four fights with European fan favorites to Dublin lineup

The lineup for Bellator’s fall return to Ireland continues to build with the addition of four new matchups.

The lineup for Bellator’s fall return to Ireland continues to build with the addition of four new matchups.

Dublin’s own [autotag]Peter Queally[/autotag] (13-8-1 MMA, 2-4 BMMA) will return to fight in front of his home fans in a welterweight bout against Italy’s [autotag]Daniele Miceli[/autotag] (10-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). Promotion officials announced the new booking Monday for Bellator 299, which takes place Sept. 23 at 3Arena in Dublin. The main card will air on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

In addition, Bellator officials announced the inclusion of featherweight fights between unbeaten Irishman [autotag]Ciaran Clarke[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Przemyslaw Gorny[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Darragh Kelly[/autotag] (4-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Jelle Zeegers[/autotag] (2-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), plus [autotag]Charlie Ward[/autotag] (10-6 MMA, 7-3 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Gregory Babene[/autotag] (22-11 MMA, 4-0 BMMA).

Queally will attempt to snap a three-fight skid. After a May 2021 win over Patricky Freire in Connecticut due to a doctors stoppage, the pair rematched later that year for the vacant lightweight title. But when they ran it back, Freire knocked out Queally in the second round and started his current skid ahead of losses to Benson Henderson and Bryce Logan.

Miceli got back in the win column this past November with a first-round submission win in France. After a loss in his lone Bellator fight in 2016, he has bounced around the European regional circuit.

Clarke is one of Bellator’s homegrown prospects. The 28-year-old Irishman is unbeaten in his pro career and has racked up three rear-naked choke wins in his first seven fights, all for Bellator. Gorny will make his Bellator debut on the strength of three straight wins, including two straight stoppages in 2022.

Kelly has three of his first four pro wins by stoppage, including a D’Arce choke finish of Andre Ferreira at a Clan Wars event earlier this month. Zeegers, from the Netherlands, will be making his Bellator debut.

The 42-year-old Ward will try to get back on track after back-to-back decision losses to Fabian Edwards and, most recently, Mike Shipman in February at Bellator 291. Prior to that, the longtime fighter had won seven of eight under the Bellator banner. France’s Babene is a perfect 4-0 for Bellator, including a first-round knockout of Shipman at Bellator 280 in 2022.

With the additions, the Bellator 299 lineup in Dublin now includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 4 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards – for middleweight title
  • Pedro Carvalho vs. Aaron Pico
  • Sara Collins vs. Sinead Kavanagh
  • Mads Burnell vs. Daniel Weichel

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie/YouTube, 11 a.m. ET)

  • Daniele Miceli vs. Peter Queally
  • Gregory Babene vs. Charlie Ward
  • Ciaran Clarke vs. Przemyslaw Gorny
  • Kenny Mokhonoana vs. Josh O’Connor
  • Luke Trainer vs. Laurynas Urbonavicius
  • Brian Moore vs. Otto Rodrigues
  • Darragh Kelly vs. Jelle Zeegers
  • Roman Debienne vs. Nicolo Solli
  • Mark Ewen vs. Noah Gugnon
  • Chiara Penco vs. Mackenzie Stiller

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

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (March 6-12)

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 March 6-12.