Tag: Karl Moore

Karl Moore ‘put his head down and got to working’ in order to feel like a winner entering Bellator 297

Ireland’s Karl Moore is happy Bellator believes in him enough to take his show on the road.

CHICAGO –  [autotag]Karl Moore[/autotag] is on an upswing and he’s enjoying every second of it.

Nearly 12 years a professional in MMA, Moore (11-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) finally has carved out his spot on the promotion ahead of his bout Friday at Bellator 297. The bout marks his first in the United States and Moore is happy to have proven to the promotion he’s a show worth taking on the road.

“I don’t know about every Irish guy, but for me, one of the best things about being in MMA, one of my main goals is to fight in a premiere organization, one of the biggest shows in the world, in a massive stadium,” Moore told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a news conference Tuesday. “I mean, I’m in Chicago. What is it, the second biggest city in America? In a class arena. It’s one of the MMA lifetime goals. For me, it’s like I’ve already won. I’m fighting in Chicago in the biggest organization in the world and I get paid to do it.”

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Moore, 31, takes on fellow Bellator-ranked light heavyweight Alex Polizzi (10-2 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) on the prelims at Wintrust Arena. With a victory, Moore will enter a four-fight winning streak. After years of battles on the regional scene trying to enter a big promotion, Moore recognizes that’s an accomplishment.

“The only change that I could’ve really pinpoint that’s made a massive difference is I’m never really taking time off,” Moore said. “I’m taking time off, but it’s not like in the past. I would have a fight and then maybe not train for a couple weeks. … I’ll always train. It’s not like I’m going through a training camp and going only 50 percent and have to bring it back up again. I’m always maintaining a high level and I’m just bumping up weeks before the fight. That’s the only thing that’s different? I’ve always been consistent. But these last, say, 12-14 months, I’ve really just put my head down and got to working.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 297.

Bellator 297 pre-event facts: Patricio ‘Pitbull’ can be first to achieve triple champ status

Check out all the facts and figures about Bellator 297, where Patricio Freire is on the cusp of an unprecedented MMA accomplishment.

The biggest Bellator event of the year so far goes down Friday with Bellator 297, which takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago with a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

A championship doubleheader is featured on the top of a loaded card. In the main card, [autotag]Vadim Nemkov[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) will attempt to make his third light heavyweight title defense when he takes on [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 2-1 BMMA). The co-headliner, meanwhile, sees the return of bantamweight titleholder [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (22-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), who attempts to defend against current featherweight and former lightweight champ [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (35-5 MMA, 22-5 BMMA) in a potentially historic affair.

For more on the numbers behind the two title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Bellator 297.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 3-9)

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 April 3-9.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (March 13-19)

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 13-19.

Bellator 291 post-event facts: Yaroslav Amosov’s incredible streak hits 27 fights

The longest active winning streak in MMA still belongs to Yaroslav Amosov after a dominant win to defend gold at Bellator 291.

Bellator returned to 3Arena in Dublin on Saturday with Bellator 291, and with 18 fights on the docket, it played out as one of the longest events in company history.

The card closed on a high note, however, when Ukraine welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov (27-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) retuned to competition with a dominant unanimous decision win over Logan Storley (14-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) to move to 2-0 in their head-to-head series.

Amosov is proving to be one of the best in the world at 170 pounds, and his flawless record is there to back up that notion. For more on the numbers behind his fight, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 291.

Karl Moore ‘happy to be back no matter who they gave me’ at Bellator 291

After a three-year layoff, Karl Moore returned in a big way this past September. Now he wants to keep the momentum going at Bellator 291.

DUBLIN – After a three-year layoff, [autotag]Karl Moore[/autotag] returned in a big way this past September.

Fighting in front of his home fans in Dublin, Moore was a heavy underdog in his light heavyweight bout against Karl Albrektsson. All he did was pull off a second-round rear-naked choke in his return.

Now Moore (10-2 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) will try to keep the momentum going against Maciej Rozanski (14-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) on Saturday at Bellator 291. Once again, he’ll get a chance to do it in front of his home fans in Ireland at Dublin’s 3Arena.

Check out Moore’s full pre-fight media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 291.

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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.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Nov. 7-13)

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 Nov. 7-13.

Bellator 285 preliminary stream and live results

Watch the preliminary stream and keep up with live and official results of Bellator 285 in Dublin, Ireland.

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Bellator 285 takes place Friday, and you can join MMA Junkie for the preliminary live stream and official results.

The event takes place at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

In the main event, [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (29-11 MMA, 6-6 BMMA) steps into the backyard of Ireland’s [autotag]Peter Queally[/autotag] (13-6-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) for a lightweight showdown.

The co-feature will see [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (14-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) take on [autotag]Melvin Manhoef[/autotag] (32-15-1 MMA, 4-4 BMMA) in a light heavyweight bout.

Official Bellator 285 results include:

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

  • Benson Henderson def. Peter Queally via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45)
  • Yoel Romero def. Melvin Manhoef via knockout (elbows) – Round 3, 3:34
  • [autotag]Leah McCourt[/autotag] def. [autotag]Dayana Silva[/autotag] via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
  • [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] def. [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag] via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-29, 29-28)
  • [autotag]Ciaran Clarke[/autotag] def. [autotag]Rafael Hudson[/autotag] via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:50
  • [autotag]Karl Moore[/autotag] def. [autotag]Karl Albrektsson[/autotag] via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:36

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 1 p.m. ET)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 285.

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Bellator 285: Best photos from Dublin

Check out these photos from the fights at Bellator 285 which took place at 3Arena in Dublin.

Check out these photos from the fights at Bellator 285 which took place at 3Arena in Dublin. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA)