Tag: Ryan Bader

Renan Ferreira, Ryan Bader expect winner of PFL vs. Bellator champs fight to face Francis Ngannou

Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader think they are fighting for the chance to welcome Francis Ngannou back to MMA at PFL vs. Bellator: Champions.

The stakes going into the PFL vs. Bellator: Champions main event between [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] and [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] are about as big as it gets.

Not only do Ferreira (12-3) and Bader (31-7) get the opportunity to headline the inaugural event of the new era since PFL acquired the Bellator brand, but the Feb. 24 card at Kingdom Arena marks the first for the promotion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the biggest perk of all is that the winner could get a matchup with [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag].

Despite Ngannou (17-3) shining in the boxing world since his UFC departure, the former UFC heavyweight claims he will be returning to MMA competition in the future after his March 8 bout with Anthony Joshua. He signed with PFL to compete in MMA, and both Ferreira and Bader the winner between them will get awarded that fight.

“One hundred percent (I want to fight Ngannou),” Bader said at a Wednesday press conference in Hollywood, Fla. “That’s one of the fights – he’s got his boxing fight coming up, but I think it’s perfect timing. We get this done and the winner gets that opportunity. Francis is coming over, a former UFC champion, he just had an amazing fight with Tyson Fury and put everybody on notice. So to have the ability to go out there and prove to everybody, to go out there and get that win, that’s huge. I’m not looking past Renan, but get that done, 100 percent.”

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Ferreira echoed Bader’s sentiments.

“If everything goes as planned, yeah,” Ferreira said through an interpreter. “After Feb. 24, Francis is the name. And that being said, I’ll be able to go however he wants to do it. If he wants to do it in MMA, in boxing, we’ll be ready.”

For now, both athletes are focused on each other. The potential $2 million minimum payday said to be promised to the opponent for Ngannou in PFL is a big motivator, but an experienced veteran like Bader has seen and done it all at the highest level under the UFC and Bellator banners.

Bader said he won’t make the mistake of overlooking Ferreira, who at 6-foot-8, is nothing short of a powerhouse finisher. Ferreira doesn’t have the same level of resume as Bader, but he’s keen for the opportunities that could be ahead of him.

“I think he’s a great athlete,” Ferreira said. “His wrestling credentials speak for themselves. He mixes it quite well with his striking, too. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: It’s a great honour to face off with him.”

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

Video: PFL vs. Bellator press conference faceoffs

Check out the faceoffs from the first press conference ahead of the inaugural PFL vs. Bellator event in South Florida.

The first PFL vs. Bellator press conference took place Wednesday, and afterward the fighters in attendance came face to face for the first time.

The first PFL vs. Bellator event since the acquisition takes place Feb. 24 at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a main card that streams on ESPN+ and DAZN pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN+ and ESPNews. The entire card pits PFL fighters vs. Bellator fighters and is chalk full of current and former champions from each promotion.

In the main event, reigning PFL heavyweight champ [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag] takes on Bellator heavyweight champ [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag]. The co-main event pits PFL light heavyweight champ [autotag]Impa Kasanganay[/autotag] moving back down to middleweight to face Bellator 185-pound champ [autotag]Johnny Eblen[/autotag]. A showdown between current featherweight champions, [autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag] from the PFL and [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] of Bellator, is also on tap.

In addition to the fights between current champions, a host of matchups between former champs and title challengers are also slated.

You can watch all of the faceoffs from the first PFL vs. Bellator press conference at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla., in the video above.

Below is the complete PFL vs. Bellator lineup:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 3 p.m. ET)

  • Renan Ferreira vs. Ryan Bader
  • Impa Kasanganay vs. Johnny Eblen
  • Ray Cooper III vs. Jason Jackson
  • Jesus Pinedo vs. Patricio Freire
  • Bruno Cappelozza vs. Vadim Nemkov
  • Thiago Santos vs. Yoel Romero
  • Clay Collard vs. A.J. McKee

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, ESPNews, 12:30 p.m. ET)

  • Gabriel Braga vs. Aaron Pico
  • Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Chris Morris
  • Claressa Shields vs. Kelsey De Santis
  • Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Edukondal Rao
  • Malik Basahel vs. Vinicius Pereira

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

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 15-21)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights 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, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 15-21.

Video: Deontay Wilder? Renan Ferreira? Ryan Bader? Examining Francis Ngannou’s best option

With his name now instantly respected in the boxing world, Francis Ngannou is in the early stages of being a two-sport star.

With his name now instantly respected in the boxing world, [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] is in the early stages of being a two-sport star.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou dipped his toe into the boxing world’s waters in October against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia. And while Ngannou lost the fight by split decision, he landed the 10-round bout’s only knockdown, and scores of analysts and observers thought he did enough to pull off what would have been a monumental upset.

Had Fury taken Ngannou out to the proverbial woodshed in his boxing debut, the Cameroonian heavyweight might have decided to settle back into MMA in his new home with the PFL. There, the 2023 heavyweight season winner, [autotag]Renan Ferreira[/autotag], already has called Ngannou out. And with the PFL’s purchase of Bellator in November, Bellator heavyweight champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] is in the mix, too, and wants the Ngannou fight.

But Ngannou looked good in the boxing match. And he reportedly had a career-defining payday from it. Despite his loss, he was ranked No. 10 in the WBC’s heavyweight rankings. He now knows he can compete in a boxing ruleset, and he can be a draw.

So when a name like [autotag]Deontay Wilder[/autotag] starts to surface again, clearly people are paying attention.

But what’s best for him? Boxing? If so, whom? MMA? Ditto to that. Our “Spinning Back Clique” panelists Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura tackle that with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

Check out their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss the most recent entire episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube or in podcast form.

Linton Vassell reveals COVID caused Bellator 300 withdrawal, residual breathing issues

Bellator standout Linton Vassell may have missed his crack at a major promotional title all thanks to COVID.

Linton Vassell may have missed his crack at a major promotional title all thanks to COVID.

On Thursday, Vassell (24-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) revealed he withdrew from his Oct. 7 bout vs. heavyweight champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] at Bellator 300 due to a case of COVID-19.

As it turns out, Vassell said he’s still struggling with residual effects, like breathing problems during training.

“I know I been quite [sic], but I wanted to let everyone know that I ended up catching Covid on Thursday, the week before the fight, I was bed bound for 4 straight days,” Vassell wrote on Instagram. “I was still sick the day I actually pulled out, and still not fully recovered. It was a hard choice to make knowing I’ve trained so hard and waited so long for this moment to come, but I had to be smart and think of my health, I wouldn’t have be 100% come fight night, and even today I’m still finding it hard to do light training without getting out of breath. First things first I will get better, then we can make a new plan. I will be back real soon people I promise that, this is just a minor bump in the road. The journey still continues.”

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Vassell, 40, may not get another crack at Bader (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA), who was removed from the card all together. Bellator 300 may have been the final event in the promotion’s history with uncertainty looming about it’s scheduled Bellator 301 card.

Regardless, Vassell is on one of the best streaks of his career. Midway through 2019, he was on a three-fight skid but Vassell scratched and clawed his way to a five-fight winning streak. He most recently competed in March when he finished former title challenger Valentin Moldavsky in Round 1.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.

Linton Vassell withdraws from Bellator 300 title fight vs. Ryan Bader

An undisclosed illness has forced Linton Vassell to pull out of Bellator 300 just five days from the historic event.

Bellator 300 is down one of its title fights.

Just five days from the historic event, [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] has withdrawn from his heavyweight title fight against champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] because of an undisclosed illness. As a result, the bout has been scrapped altogether. Bellator 300, which takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, will proceed with a three-title-fight main card.

Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the news Monday. Bellator later made an announcement.

Bader (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) vs. Vassell (24-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) would have been a rematch of a November 2017 light heavyweight title fight in which Bader made his first successful title defense by second-round TKO at Bellator 186.

Bader vs. Vassell was one of four scheduled title fights at Bellator 300, along with Cris Cyborg vs. Cat Zingano at women’s featherweight; Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus at lightweight; and Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane at women’s flyweight.

With the cancellation, here is the updated Bellator 300 lineup:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus – for lightweight title; lightweight grand prix semifinal
  • Champ Cris Cyborg vs. Cat Zingano – for women’s featherweight title
  • Champ Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane – for women’s flyweight title

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6:30 p.m. ET)

  • Davion Franklin vs. Slim Trabelsi
  • Henry Corrales vs. Kai Kamaka
  • Leah McCourt vs. Sara McMann
  • Jena Bishop vs. Ilara Joanne
  • Alberto Garcia vs. Bobby Seronio III
  • Romero Cotton vs. Grant Neal
  • Sergio Cossio vs. Jesse Roberts
  • Mukhamed Berkhamov vs. Herman Terrado
  • Maciej Rozanski vs. Doveltdzhan Yagshimuradov
  • Dmytrii Hrytsenko vs. Justin Montalvo
  • Bryce Meredith vs. Miguel Peimbert
  • Jackie Cataline vs. Lorrany Santos
  • Josh Hokit vs. Spencer Smith

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Aug. 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 or officially announced by a promotion from Aug. 7-13.

Bellator 300: Historic event set for Oct. 7 in San Diego with 4 title fights

Bellator 300 finally has a date and location, as well as a historic main card with four title fights.

Bellator 300 finally has a date and location, as well as a historic main card.

The event is set for Oct. 7 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego and will feature four title fights. The promotion is saying Bellator 300 will have four main events, but atop the card will be heavyweight champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] against challenger [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag].

In addition, women’s featherweight champ [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] takes on challenger [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag], lightweight titleholder [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] meets former champ [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag], and in a long-discussed matchup, women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] will put her title on the line against her good friend, training partner and former champ, [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag].

Bellator officials announced the card Wednesday. The event date, location and lightweight title fight first were reported by BJPenn.com. The additional three title fights were announced on “The MMA Hour” ahead of a Bellator news release. The main card will air on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

“When I first joined Bellator, we set out to sign and develop the best available talent in the world and produce events for massive audiences,” Bellator president Scott Coker said in a press release. “Our first tentpole event was Bellator 131 in San Diego, and we couldn’t be more excited to return to that very same arena for this monumental Bellator 300 event.

“We wanted to give the fans and supporters an epic night of fights and there is no better way to do that than showcasing these four incredible champions all putting their belts on the line. I’m proud of the all the work we have done to grow this brand and its athletes since I came on board. I can’t wait for Bellator 300, which is going to be the biggest event in the history of Bellator MMA.”

Former two-division champ Bader (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) lost the light heavyweight title in 2020, but has held onto the heavyweight belt. After he was knocked out by Corey Anderson in the 205-pound tournament in 2021, he has three straight heavyweight title wins over Valentin Moldavsky, Cheick Kongo and Fedor Emelianenko.

The fight against Vassell will be a rematch of a Bader win at Bellator 186 in November 2017, which Bader won with a second-round TKO to defend his light heavyweight title. Now Vassell will try again, but a weight class up.

Vassell, who is all of four days older than Bader, lost his first fight at heavyweight in 2019, but has been on a tear since then with five straight wins and four stoppages in the division. In March, he knocked out Moldavsky in the first round.

Cyborg (26-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) re-signed with Bellator earlier this year after she tested the free agency market. Ultimately, she decided to stay put, but stayed at least a busy boxing. But now she’ll have a grudge match with Zingano. Cyborg is considered one of the best women’s fighters in history and has held titles for Bellator, the UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta.

Zingano (14-4 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) has been waiting for a shot at Cyborg since she signed with Bellator after a lengthy run in the UFC. She’s been perfect out of the gate and now will get her first shot at a title since she challenged Ronda Rousey at UFC 184 in 2015. Her resume already includes wins over Amanda Nunes and Miesha Tate, and a win over Cyborg would be a legacy-defining moment.

Nurmagomedov, a cousin over former UFC lightweight champion Khabib, won the title in November 2022 against then-champ Patricky Freire. In March, he submitted former UFC and WEC champ Benson Henderson for his first successful title defense in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Primus (12-3 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) was on the outside looking in when the tournament started, but stepped in as a late replacement alternate. Then he silenced the crowd in Paris with a unanimous decision over local French fan favorite Mansour Barnaoui at Bellator 296. He beat Michael Chandler for the title in 2017, and an upset of Nurmagomedov would give him the belt back and put him in a $1 million title defense in the final.

And finally, Carmouche (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) and Macfarlane (13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) get their dream matchup. Macfarlane has said she wants to win back the flyweight belt she used to hold, then retire. To do it, it’ll have to come against her good friend and longtime training partner.

Carmouche defended the title against DeAnna Bennett in the Bellator 294 main event in April in Honolulu. The next night, Macfarlane took a split decision from Kana Watanabe in front of her home fans to set up the fight between the two. Carmouche has been unstoppable since she signed with Bellator. Macfarlane has bounced back from the first two losses of her career with wins over Bruna Ellen and Watanabe.

There have been reports that Bellator may be on the cusp of being acquired from Paramount, and the strongest rumored bidder has been the PFL. Further speculation has been that Bellator 300 could be the promotion’s final event before a merger.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.

Scott Coker reveals next Bellator heavyweight title challenger for Ryan Bader

Following Bellator 293, promotion president Scott Coker revealed whom he is leaning toward fighting Ryan Bader next.

TEMECULA, Calif. – [autotag]Daniel James[/autotag] added a powerful knockout to his highlight reel Friday, but [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] is solidified as the next man up for a crack at gold.

Although James (15-6-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) knocked out Marcelo Golm with a three-punch combination in Friday’s Bellator 293 main event, the heavyweight title shot for Vassell has been hinted at in multiple recent Bellator broadcasts.

According to promotion president Scott Coker after Bellator 293, Vassell (24-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) will be the next challenger for champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA).

“The title shot is most likely going to go to Linton Vassell, because he’s been on a tear or two,” Coker said. ” But I think (James) is right up there. We definitely will invite him to come fight (at Bellator 297) in Chicago.”

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Vassell, 39, has won five in a row at heavyweight, with victories over the likes of Valentin Moldavsky, Tim Johnson, Tyrell Fortune, Ronny Markes, and Sergei Kharitonov during that stretch.

The upcoming heavyweight title fight between Bader and Vassell will be a rematch of their November 2017 matchup. Bader defeated Vassell by second-round TKO due to ground-and-pound.

As for James, the aforementioned Bellator 297 card in Chicago takes place June 16 at Wintrust Arena, and according to Coker, he’ll be a part of it. That notion James later affirmed.

“Yeah, my leg will be healed. I heal like a dog,” James said. “My leg will be healed fast, but you can’t have nothing in Chicago without me. People are already buying tickets. … Chicago, they’re waiting on me.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 293.

Coker: Ryan Bader vs. Linton Vassell title fight is two men better at heavyweight

It’s fair to say Bellator president Scott Coker is reasonably excited about the next heavyweight title fight he’s likely to promote.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – It’s fair to say Scott Coker is reasonably excited about the next heavyweight title fight he’s likely to promote.

[autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] (24-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) had some early issues in his rematch with Valentin Moldavsky (11-3 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) at Bellator 292 this past Friday in San Jose, Calif. But he worked his way out of trouble and rallied for a big knockout win to avenge a past loss.

The fight was a No. 1 contender fight for a title shot against champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag], which will be another rematch for Vassell. He lost a light heavyweight title shot to Bader in November 2017.

Bader has since lost the 205-pound title, but has looked nearly untouchable at heavyweight. And so, too, has Vassell – with five straight wins and five finishes since he entered the division with his loss to Moldavsky. Coker thinks both of them are where they should be now.

“I think both these guys are better at heavyweight than they are at light heavyweight, and for whatever reason, they perform at a higher level when they’re in the heavyweight division,” Coker told MMA Junkie at the post-fight news conference. “I’m looking forward to it because the Linton I saw (Friday) is not the Linton I’ve ever seen before. Moldavsky is no joke. He is a real solid heavyweight, has great skills all the way around, has had a great training camp, obviously trains with Fedor (Emelianenko) and that whole team, and it seemed like (Vassell) just dominated him and took it to him.”

Coker said the plan is for Vassell to challenge Bader for the heavyweight title. But like everything in MMA, nothing is set in stone. Still, he expects the matchup to happen, and maybe not too far in the future, either.

Bader is coming off a quick finish of Emelianenko to defend the heavyweight belt. Vassell’s time preference is late fall, but he’d no doubt answer the call for a title shot no matter when it is.

“We look forward to promoting that fight,” Coker said. “I think Bader should be the next opponent (for Vassell). We haven’t talked to Ryan yet, so there’s still some things to be discussed. But that’s my goal is to put that fight together as soon as possible.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 292.

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