Tag: Johnny Eblen

Gegard Mousasi defends middleweight title at Bellator 282 in June vs. unbeaten Johnny Eblen

After a dominant win earlier this month to stay unbeaten, Johnny Eblen said he was ready for a shot at the middleweight title.

After a dominant win earlier this month to stay unbeaten, [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] said he was ready for a shot at the middleweight title.

And that’s just what he’ll get. Eblen (11-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) will get his first shot at a Bellator belt later this summer when he takes on middleweight champion [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] (49-7-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA).

MMA Junkie confirmed the booking for Bellator 282 on June 24 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., with a person with knowledge of the matchup. It first was reported by Twitter user Santiago MMA. The event subsequently was made official by the promotion.

In addition, Bellator’s bantamweight grand prix will continue with a pair of quarterfinal fights. Magomed Magomedov will take on the winner of Enrique Barzola and Josh Hill, who fight in Honolulu in April. And Leandro Higo will meet the winner of Jornel Lugo vs. Danny Sabatello. Plus, Alejandra Lara will take on Ilara Joanne in a women’s flyweight bout on the prelims.

Eblen dominated John Salter in their middleweight fight at Bellator 276 in St. Charles, Mo., a little more than two weeks ago. Salter was in the top spot in Bellator’s official rankings behind champ Mousasi, who beat him in a title fight in 2021. Eblen sat at No. 3 before the fight, then became the top contender after his win.

“I’m a man who likes to work, so whatever gets me the next fight, I’m down to do it,” Eblen told MMA Junkie. “Obviously, I would love to fight for the title. If that doesn’t happen, so be it. But I am the No. 1 contender now, and the guy hasn’t fought me yet. So let’s do it maybe.

“If I fight three more times and get a little bit more experience, I’ll probably be more prepared for that fight. But the thing is, I think I’m ready now. I think I match up well with Mousasi. I think I’m just a younger version of him, pretty much.”

The 36-year-old Mousasi is coming off a quick TKO win over one of Eblen’s American Top Team teammates, Austin Vanderford, in the Bellator 275 main event in February.

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Johnny Eblen will wait if he has to, but wants Gegard Mousasi’s title

Johnny Eblen stayed unbeaten this past Saturday in what was his toughest test yet – and now he thinks a title shot could be next.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] stayed unbeaten this past Saturday in what was his toughest test yet – and now he thinks a title shot could be next.

Eblen (11-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) dominated John Salter (18-6 MMA, 8-3 BMMA) in their middleweight fight at Bellator 276 at Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. Salter was in the top spot in Bellator’s official rankings behind champ Gegard Mousasi, who beat him in a title fight in 2021. Eblen sat at No. 3, so logic says he’ll now move into the top contender spot.

Eblen called for a title fight against Mousasi in the wake of his win.

“I’m a man who likes to work, so whatever gets me the next fight, I’m down to do it,” Eblen told MMA Junkie. “Obviously, I would love to fight for the title. If that doesn’t happen, so be it. But I am the No. 1 contender now, and the guy hasn’t fought me yet. So let’s do it maybe.

“If I fight three more times and get a little bit more experience, I’ll probably be more prepared for that fight. But the thing is, I think I’m ready now. I think I match up well with Mousasi. I think I’m just a younger version of him, pretty much. I expect to do better than him, honestly, in my career. He said he only has two fights left in his career and then he’s dipping (out). I want to be one of those fights, and I want to be sure of it. I don’t want anything weird to happen.”

The 36-year-old Mousasi is coming off a quick TKO win over one of Eblen’s American Top Team teammates, Austin Vanderford, in the Bellator 275 main event in February.

Bellator president Scott Coker would not commit to a title shot for Eblen after Bellator 276, but acknowledged Mousasi might have more than the two fights left that he’s talked about.

“I think his stock went way up (Saturday),” Coker said of Eblen. “We do have a couple other guys we’ve been talking with Gegard, but I think Johnny’s name is right up in the mix today after his win over Salter.

“Gegard says that (he only wants two more fights), and then he tells me, ‘I want to fight three more times before the end of the year.’ He’s got a lot of watches to buy, so I think we’ll be fine.”

Check out the full post-fight interview with Eblen in the video above.

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Johnny Eblen revels in new nickname ahead of possible top contender fight at Bellator 276

Johnny Eblen is bringing an official new nickname to fight week: “The Human Cheat Code.”

ST. LOUIS – [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] is bringing an official new nickname to fight week: “The Human Cheat Code.”

Eblen got the nickname from American Top Team coach Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal, and it stuck during an in-cage interview after his most recent fight. Now Eblen (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) is making it official for his Bellator 276 fight against John Salter (18-5 MMA, 8-2 BMMA), which could put him in line for a middleweight title shot with a win.

Eblen spoke to MMA Junkie and other media members at Thursday’s Bellator 276 media day in St. Louis. Eblen talked about his new nickname, his fight against Salter and the stakes, fighting not far from where he wrestled collegiately at the University of Missouri and more.

Check out the portions of Eblen’s interview in the video above.

Bellator 276 takes place Saturday at Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Cat Zingano to meet Pam Sorenson at Bellator 276; Cris Cyborg says Zingano turned down title fight

Cat Zingano could’ve had a title fight, but she’ll instead meet Pam Sorenson on the Bellator 276 prelims.

Bellator’s plan was to have Cat Zingano challenge women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg for the title, but that’s not happening.

Zingano instead will face Pam Sorenson on March 12 at Bellator 276, which takes place at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., just outside of St. Louis. MMA Fighting first reported the booking, which a promotion official later confirmed to MMA Junkie on Tuesday.

Zingano, 39, has gone 2-0 so far since signing with Bellator in October 2019. After a unanimous decision win over Gabrielle Holloway in her promotional debut, Zingano submitted Olivia Parker by first-round armbar in April 2021.

The victory seemingly set up a title-fight showdown with Cyborg, who indicated on Twitter that Zingano declined the opportunity.

“She turned down a World Title Fight to compete on the prelims?!” Cyborg tweeted and later deleted (screenshot below).

It’s unclear if that’s exactly how things turned out, but Bellator president Scott Coker said on Jan. 29 that the promotion wanted to boon Cyborg vs. Zingano “as soon as possible.” He seemed to indicate that the hold-up was on Zingano’s end.

“I think timing is going to be an issue on that fight, when Cat is ready to fight her,” Coker said after Bellator 273. “We would like that fight to happen as soon as possible.”

“That is our plan, but we have to have both fighters agree to that plan. We’re talking to the managers, Cat’s manager, find out when she’ll be ready to, No. 1, fight, and will she be willing to fight Cyborg?”

That won’t be the case, and Zingano (11-4 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) will instead fight 35-year-old Soreno (9-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), who has split her first two Bellator outings. She won a split decision over Roberta Samad in August before she lost a unanimous decision to Arlene Blencowe this past November at Bellator 271.

While Zingano vs. Sorenson is scheduled for the prelims, a middleweight bout between [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) and [autotag]John Salter[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 18-5 BMMA) is the most recent addition to the main card. Eblen is considered one of the fastest-rising fighters in the division, while Salter looks to bounce back from a title shot loss against Gegard Mousasi.

Other additions to the card include a lightweight battle between [autotag]Derek Anderson[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 8-4 BMMA) and [autotag]Goiti Yamauchi[/autotag] (26-5 MMA, 12-4 BMMA).

Notable prospects middleweight [autotag]Romero Cotton[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA), women’s flyweight [autotag]Diana Avsaragova[/autotag] (4-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA), featherweight [autotag]Cody Law[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA), and welterweight [autotag]Roman Faraldo[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) have also been matched up with non-rostered opponents.

The lineup for Bellator 276 currently includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Adam Borics vs. Mads Burnell
  • Phil Davis vs. Julius Anglickas
  • Johnny Eblen vs. John Salter
  • Jay Jay Wilson vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6 p.m. ET )

  • Pam Sorenson vs. Cat Zingano
  • Jose Augusto vs. Alex Polizzi
  • Derek Anderson vs. Goiti Yamauchi
  • Romero Cotton vs. Lance Wright
  • Diana Avsaragova vs. Ashley Deen
  • Cody Law vs. Johnny Soto
  • Roman Faraldo vs. Kelvin Rayford
  • Jordan Howard vs. Trevor Ward
  • Dan Busch vs. Josh Augustine

Bellator 272 pre-event facts: Kyoji Horiguchi returns with historic resume

Check out all the facts and figures behind Bellator 272, which takes place Friday with Sergio Pettis vs. Kyoji Horiguchi in the main event.

Bellator closes out its 2021 event schedule on Friday with Bellator 272, which takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and has a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

A highly anticipated bantamweight title fight headlines the card. Champion [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) will attempt to make his first defense against former titleholder [autotag]Kyoji Horiguchi[/autotag] (29-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), who will attempt to regain the belt he was forced to vacate in November 2019 due to a knee injury.

For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 20 pre-event facts about Bellator 272.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Nov. 1-7)

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 Nov. 1-7.

Bellator 272 adds Jay Jay Wilson’s lightweight debut vs. Alfie Davis, three other fights

Four fights have been added to Bellator 272.

[autotag]Jay Jay Wilson[/autotag] has his next test scheduled and it’s at a new weight class.

Recent struggles on the scales have forced Wilson (8-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), a top featherweight contender, up a division to lightweight where he’ll face [autotag]Alfie Davis[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) at Bellator 272. The event takes place Friday, Dec. 3 at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

In addition, a welterweight battle between former Oklahoma State University wrestling standout [autotag]Kyle Crutchmer[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) and former UFC fighter [autotag]Oliver Enkamp[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) has been added to the card.

A promotion official informed MMA Junkie of the two bookings Monday and confirmed two previously-announced bouts: [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Collin Huckbody[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), and [autotag]Dan Moret[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Ricardo Seixas[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), the latter of which was first reported by TSN.

Wilson, 24, missed weight for the third time in four fights when he came in 4.4 pounds heavy for his scheduled Bellator 265 bout vs. Adam Borics in August. As a result, the fight was canceled and Wilson announced shortly thereafter his move to 155 pounds.

Despite his struggles on the scales, Wilson hasn’t struggled to succeed inside the cage. Undefeated as a professional, Wilson has wins over Pedro Carvalho and Tywan Claxton among others.

As for Davis, the United Kingdom-based fighter is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Alexander Shabliy at Bellator 259 in May. The defeat snapped a four-fight winning streak.

With the additions, the Bellator 272 lineup includes:

  • Champ Sergio Pettis vs. Kyoji Horiguchi – for featherweight title
  • Jeremy Kennedy vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
  • Johnny Eblen vs. Collin Huckbody
  • Josh Hill vs. Jared Scoggins
  • John de Jesus vs. Keoni Diggs
  • Killys Mota vs. Mike Hamel
  • Levan Chokheli vs. Vinicius de Jesus
  • Tommy Espinosa vs. Jornel Lugo
  • Bobby King vs. Alexander Shabliy
  • Dan Moret vs. Ricardo Seixas
  • Alfie Davis vs. Jay Jay Wilson
  • Kyle Crutchmer vs. Oliver Enkamp

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Bellator 262 faceoff video highlights: Juliana Velasquez, Denise Kielholtz take long look

Neither woman wanted to back down ahead of their flyweight title fight.

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

Bellator 262 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena with the main card airing on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie. Atop the bill is 125-pound champion [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] making her first title defense against [autotag]Denise Kielholtz[/autotag].

The co-main event features two friends fighting each other as heavyweights [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] and [autotag]Matt Mitrione[/autotag] will meet inside the cage.

Following Thursday’s official Bellator 262 weigh-ins, the athletes came face to face for some traditional pre-fight staredowns.

Check out the faceoffs below, including Velasquez vs. Kielholtz, Fortune vs. Mitrione, the return of [autotag]Diana Asvaragova[/autotag], and more.

Bellator 258 post-event facts: Michael Page is the new Bellator knockout king

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 258, including Michael Page’s takeover of the company KO record.

Bellator saw its first title change of the year happen on Friday in the Bellator 258 headliner.

[autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) claimed the bantamweight title from [autotag]Juan Archuleta [/autotag](25-3 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) in their main event clash, taking a unanimous decision at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

For more on the numbers, check below for 20 post-event facts to come out of Bellator 258.

Henry Corrales vs. Keith Lee among three additions to Bellator 258

Three fights have been added to Bellator’s first 2021 event.

The bantamweight theme continues for Bellator 258.

Like the first three additions to the May 7 card, the fourth is also a fight between two of the promotion’s 135-pound notables. [autotag]Henry Corrales[/autotag] and [autotag]Keith Lee[/autotag] are set to square off at the event, which takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

[autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Daniel Madrid[/autotag] (18-6 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at middleweight, and [autotag]Weber Almeida[/autotag] (4-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Johnny Soto[/autotag] (3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at featherweight, also have been added to the preliminary card.

Bellator officials confirmed the bookings to MMA Junkie on Tuesday. All three fights first were reported by Sherdog.

Corrales (18-5 MMA, 6-5 BMMA) drops to bantamweight for the first time in his Bellator career. The move down a weight class comes after a split decision win over Brandon Girtz at Bellator 250 in October. Corrales is 1-2 in his most recent three appearances.

Lee (7-4 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) most recently competed at Bellator 253 in November when his four-fight winning streak was snapped by Raufeon Shots via unanimous decision. The loss was Lee’s first in Bellator. He holds promotional wins over Vinicius Zani and Shawn Bunch.

With the addition, the Bellator 258 lineup includes:

  • Champion Juan Archuleta vs. Sergio Pettis – for bantamweight title
  • James Gallagher vs. Patchy Mix
  • Josh Hill vs. Raufeon Stots
  • Henry Corrales vs. Keith Lee
  • Johnny Eblen vs. Daniel Madrid
  • Weber Almeida vs. Johnny Soto

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