Rakim Cleveland – Syndication Server

Bellator 293 post-event facts: Unbeaten fighters fall on upset-heavy card

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 293, which featured a number of upsets, including a loss by a 16-1 favorite.

Bellator closed its March schedule Saturday with Bellator 293, which took place at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif.

The main event saw the late career success of [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] (15-6-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) continue. He added to his case as a potential heavyweight contender to watch when he beat [autotag]Marcelo Golm[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) by third-round knockout.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 293.

Bellator 293 salaries: Cat Zingano, Daniel James lead the pack with six-figure disclosed paydays

Check out the disclosed pay for all 30 fighters on Bellator 293, according to the California State Athletic Commission.

Thirty fighters competed Friday at Bellator 293 with [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] leading all disclosed payouts.

California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster released a full list of fighter payouts Friday to MMA Junkie. The amounts reflect the disclosed payouts only and do not include any off-contract bonuses, sponsor payments, or discretionary bonuses.

The main event and co-main event winners were the only two fighters to pocket six-figure disclosed paydays as a result of their performances Friday. Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Zingano (14-4 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) earned $100,000 flat for her unanimous decision win over [autotag]Leah McCourt[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) in the co-main event. Then, main event winner James (15-6-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) earned to $50,000 show and a $50,000 win bonus for his victory over [autotag]Marcelo Golm[/autotag] (10-3 MMA, 1-3 BMMA).

Scroll below to see what the 30 fighters on Bellator 293 were paid – disclosed amounts only.

Bellator 277 salaries: A.J. McKee, Patricio Freire lead the pack of guaranteed purses

At Bellator 277, A.J. McKee, Patricio Freire, Vadim Nemkov, and Corey Anderson are set to lead disclosed fighter payouts.

SAN JOSE, Calif – Bellator 277 takes place Friday at SAP Center where three fighters are scheduled to take home six-figure paydays regardless of outcome.

At the 14-fight event, MMA Junkie acquired a list of disclosed salaries from California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster.

In the main event, champion [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] and former champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] square off in a title rematch. Both fighters had a disclosed payday of $250,000 flat. The co-main event is a grand prix final. Light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov (on an $80,000 to show/$80,000 to win basis) and Corey Anderson ($250,000 flat) will collide with the winner making an additional $1 million.

The total payout or show money is $1.378 million. Check out the full list of payouts below. The story will be updated with exact disclosed payouts at the conclusion of the event.

Steve Mowry out of Bellator 277; Tyrell Fortune now meets Rakim Cleveland

Tyrell Fortune now faces a short-notice replacement opponent at Bellator 277 after Steve Mowry withdrew.

One of two heavyweight fights on Bellator 277 has been tweaked.

[autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] now meets [autotag]Rakim Cleveland[/autotag] on the April 12 card at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., rather than originally scheduled opponent Steve Mowry, who withdrew for undisclosed reasons, a promotion official informed MMA Junkie on Wednesday.

A well traveled professional fighter, Cleveland (22-14-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) made his promotional debut against Mowry at Bellator 271 in November. Mowry defeated Cleveland via first-round submission. The defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak for Cleveland.

Fortune (11-2 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) looks to get back into the win column after a November split decision loss to Linton Vassell. The defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak.

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With the change, the Bellator 277 lineup includes:

Champion A.J. McKee vs. Patricio Freire – for featherweight title
Champion Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson – for light heavyweight title, grand prix final
Jeremy Kennedy vs. Aaron Pico
Rakim Cleveland vs. Tyrell Fortune
Tim Johnson vs. Linton Vassell
Kyle Crutchmer vs. Michael Lombardo
Shane Keefe vs. Tyson Miller
Gaston Bolanos vs. Cass Bell
Alan Benson vs. Theo Haig
Edwin De Los Santos vs. Alberto Mendez
Calob Ramirez vs. Bobby Seronio III
Socrates Hernandez vs. Rogelio Luna

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Bellator 271 post-event facts: Cris Cyborg leads Bellator champs in defenses

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 271, which took place Friday and saw Cris Cyborg defend her title in 92 seconds.

[autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] continued her reign of terror on Friday with another dominant title defense against [autotag]Sinead Kavanagh[/autotag] in the Bellator 271 main event.

Cyborg (25-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) recorded her third consecutive defense when she stopped Kavanagh (7-5 MMA, 4-5 BMMA) by knockout just 92 seconds into the headliner, which took place at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

For more on the numbers, check below for 35 post-event facts to come out of Bellator 271.

Bellator 271 predictions: Is anyone picking against all-time great Cris Cyborg?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 271 main card, featuring Cris Cyborg vs. Sinead Kavanagh.

	Cyborg vs. Kavanagh	Fortune vs. Vassell	Gonzales vs. Pico	Blencowe vs. Sorenson	Cleveland vs. Mowry
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 190-104	Cyborg (76%)	Fortune (73%)	Pico (76%)	Blencowe (58%)	Mowry (83%)
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 194-100	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Blencowe	Mowry
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 188-106	Cyborg	Fortune	Gonzales	Blencowe	Mowry
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 184-110 2014 Champion	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Blencowe	Mowry
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 182-112 2020 Champion	Cyborg	Fortune	Gonzales	Blencowe	Mowry
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 182-112	Cyborg	Fortune	Gonzales	Blencowe	Mowry
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 181-113	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Sorenson	Mowry
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 177-117	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Sorenson	Mowry
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 177-117 2018 Champion	Cyborg	Fortune	Gonzales	Sorenson	Mowry
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 172-122	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Sorenson	Mowry
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 171-123 2017 Champion	Cyborg	Fortune	Gonzales	Blencowe	Cleveland
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 169-125	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Blencowe	Mowry
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 169-125	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Blencowe	Mowry
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 110-68	Cyborg	Fortune	Pico	Blencowe	Mowry

Bellator has set up shop in South Florida this week, and the women’s featherweight title is on the line at the top of the bill.

Bellator 271 takes place Friday at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. 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, women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (24-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) puts her title up against challenger [autotag]Sinead Kavanagh[/autotag] (7-4 MMA, 4-4 BMMA). Cyborg is a massive -5000 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Kavanagh is +1200. Given those odds, it’s not surprising that not a single one of our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers is picking against Cyborg.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 11-1 BMMA) is a -205 favorite in his heavyweight bout against former title challenger [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] (21-8 MMA, 9-5 BMMA). Fortune is our other unanimous pick on the main card at 13-0.

Also on the main card, the undefeated [autotag]Justin Gonzales[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] (8-3, 8-3 BMMA) at featherweight. Pico is a big favorite at -370, but he has just a small lead in our staff picks at 8-5.

Former women’s featherweight title challenger [autotag]Arlene Blencowe[/autotag] (14-8 MMA, 7-4 BMMA) is a big -370 favorite against [autotag]Pam Sorenson[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA). Blencowe has a big 9-4 lead in our picks.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Steve Mowry[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) puts his unbeaten record up against [autotag]Rakim Cleveland[/autotag] (22-13-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). Mowry is a huge 8-1 favorite, and he’s a near unanimous pick from our staff members at 12-1.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Cyborg (76 percent), Fortune (73 percent), Pico (76 percent), Blencowe (58 percent) and Mowry (83 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 18-24)

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 Oct. 18-24.

Heavyweights Steve Mowry, Rakim Cleveland set for Bellator 271 showdown

Bellator’s return to Florida is shaping up.

A heavyweight fight is the latest addition to Bellator 271.

Rising big man [autotag]Steve Mowry[/autotag] is set to return against promotional newcomer [autotag]Rakim Cleveland[/autotag] on the main card of the Nov. 12 event in Hollywood, Fla., promotion officials recently informed MMA Junkie.

Mowry (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) has a 100 percent finishing rate through nine professional fights, including five submissions and four TKOs. Thus far in Bellator, the 6-foot-8 heavyweight has defeated Ben Moa, Darion Abbey, Gokhan Saricam, Shawn Teed and Shaun Asher.

Cleveland (22-13-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has signed a multifight deal with Bellator, according to promotion officials. The PFL alum is coming off three straight wins, including a viral head kick knockout (and celebratory dance) against Kelvin Fital in August.

With the addition, the Bellator 271 lineup includes:

Champion Cris Cyborg vs. Sinead Kavanagh – for women’s featherweight title
Justin Gonzales vs. Aaron Pico
Rakim Cleveland vs. Steve Mowry
Arlene Blencowe vs. Pam Sorenson

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Video: Rakim Cleveland punts a head, shakes a tail feather for a title

Rakim Cleveland may have had a rough run of things a couple or three years back, but that all was in the rearview mirror Saturday.

[autotag]Rakim Cleveland[/autotag] may have had a rough run of things a couple or three years back, but that all was in the rearview mirror Saturday.

Cleveland (22-13-1) launched a left kick to the head against Kelvin Fitial (15-10-2) and sent him straight to the canvas, out cold, in their vacant heavyweight title fight for B2 Fighting Series in Kentucky.

After Cleveland landed the perfectly placed kick, he knew there was no need for any follow-ups. Instead, he turned around and in Blues Brothers style, he shook his tail feather to start the celebration of his new belt.

Check out the vicious head kick below, courtesy of the Dream Sports Management Instagram account.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CS3ElXrDphL

In 2018, Cleveland picked up a win at PFL 2 on the heels of two knockout wins over former UFC fighter Houston Alexander. But then things took a turn for him. He lost four straight under the PFL banner in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, including three by submission.

But now Cleveland has three straight wins on the regional circuit – and a title to show for it, too. His fight with Fitial came after a fight against former UFC heavyweight Yorgan De Castro fell through at CES MMA 63.