Saul Rogers – Syndication Server

Bellator 296 results: Bad referee stoppage leads to Saul Rogers’ submission win overturned after review

Moments after a controversial stoppage, Saul Rogers got his submission win overturned to a no contest at Bellator 296.

Despite getting his hand raised, [autotag]Saul Rogers[/autotag] did not leave Bellator 296 with a win.

Originally awarded a first-round submission victory over [autotag]Davy Gallon[/autotag], Rogers (15-5 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) the result was overturned to a no contest by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation and French Mixed Martial Arts Federation just minutes after the fight ended Friday at Accor Arena in Paris.

Rogers put Gallon (21-8-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) in a D’Arce choke about two minutes into their lightweight bout. The submission was tight, but Gallon was doing the proper defense. Referee Jacob Montalvo, who didn’t have a good view of Gallon’s face, thought Gallon was put to sleep and stopped the fight. Gallon immediately protested and showed the referee he was defending the move.

Regardless, Rogers was awarded the win and got his hand raised in the middle of the cage. Minutes later, Bellator commentator John McCarthy informed on the broadcast that Roger’s win was now a no contest.

Bellator announced that the decision to overturn was made after “an instant replay review.” It’s unclear how this ruling will affect the pay or either fighter.

Below, you can watch a replay of the controversial stoppage:

Did you agree with the stoppage? 🤔

The referee stops the fight in favour of @Saul_Rogers.#Bellator296 @MonsterEnergy Prelims ▶️ https://t.co/NxwCKFPRok pic.twitter.com/NTtGsITsk1

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) May 12, 2023

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 296.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 9-15)

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 Jan. 9-15.

Bellator 287 predictions: Three unanimous nods and one blowout in Milan

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 287 main card in Milan, Italy.

	Piccolotti vs. Barnaoui	Edwards vs. Ward	Rogers vs. Wilde	Fisher vs. Gonzales
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 167-100	Barnaoui (58%)	Edwards (73%)	Rogers (76%)	Gonzales (84%)
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 179-93 2018 Champion	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 172-100	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 170-102	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 169-103	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 169-103 2014 Champion	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 166-106	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Simon Samano @SJSamano 165-107	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Brian Garcia @thegoze 159-113 2017 Champion	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Nolan King @mma_kings 159-113	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 152-120	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 133-138	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales

Bellator is back in Italy this week with a lightweight matchup at the top of the lineup.

Bellator 287 takes place Saturday at Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan, Italy. 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, [autotag]Adam Piccolotti[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 9-4 BMMA) takes on promotional newcomer [autotag]Mansour Barnaoui[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at lightweight. Barnaoui is a slight betting favorite around -150, and our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have him as a near-unanimous pick at 10-1.

In the co-main event [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) is one of our three unanimous picks on the main card in his middleweight fight against [autotag]Charlie Ward[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 7-1 BMMA). Edwards is the brother of new UFC welterweight champ Leon Edwards; Ward is a teammate of Conor McGregor. Edwards is as much as a 6-1 favorite and an 11-0 pick from our staff members.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Saul Rogers[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) is a 4-1 favorite in his lightweight bout against [autotag]Tim Wilde[/autotag] (14-4-1 MMA, 2-1-1 BMMA). Rogers is our second unanimous pick on the main card.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Justin Gonzales[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) is nearly a 3-1 favorite in his featherweight bout against [autotag]Andrew Fisher[/autotag] (19-8-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA). Gonzales is our third 11-0 pick

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Barnaoui (58 percent), Edwards (73 percent), Rogers (76 percent) and Gonzales (84 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 287.

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past two weeks (April 18-May 1)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past two weeks.

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 18-May 1.

Bellator 266 salaries: Yoel Romero leads disclosed payouts despite promotional debut loss

Yoel Romero lost his Bellator debut – but was still compensated the highest amount of anyone on the card.

Bellator 266 is in the books and although [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] was the victorious half of the main event, he didn’t receive the highest disclosed payout according to the event’s commissioning body.

While Davis (23-6 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) pocketed a $100,000 flat salary for his three-round split decision, his opponent [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) earned $150,000 in defeat. The fight was Romero’s promotional debut with Bellator and his first bout since his UFC departure in 2020.

MMA Junkie acquired a full list of Bellator 266 payouts Wednesday from California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster. The amounts include win and show purses, but do not account for any discretionary bonuses.

Bellator 266 took place Saturday at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card aired on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out the full list of Bellator 266 payouts below:

Bellator 266 lineup finalized with the addition of four more prelims

The lineup for Bellator return to its Northern California home base is set with the addition of four new fights on the preliminary card.

The lineup for next week’s Bellator return to its Northern California home base is set with the addition of four new fights on the preliminary card.

[autotag]Rhalan Gracie[/autotag] (0-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will return to MMA for the first time since 2007 when he takes on [autotag]Shane Keefe[/autotag] (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at welterweight.

Plus, [autotag]Eddie Abasolo[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Art Hernandez[/autotag] (4-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a 160-pound contract weight fight; [autotag]Edwin De Los Santos[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Jon Adams[/autotag] (0-1-1 MMA, 0-1-1 BMMA) at flyweight; and [autotag]Jesse Delgado[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) fights [autotag]Joshua Dillon[/autotag] (1-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a 130-pound contract weight bout.

Bellator 266 takes place Sept. 18 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. The card will be Bellator’s first in San Jose in more than two years.

In the main event, [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) finally will make his Bellator debut when he takes on former light heavyweight champion [autotag]Phil Davis[/autotag] (22-6 MMA, 9-3 BMMA).

Romero signed with Bellator in December 2020 after a seven-year run with the UFC. He was booked to make his promotional debut against Anthony Johnson to open the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix in May, but was forced to withdraw because of concerns over his eye following a pre-fight medical exam.

Romero, 44, hasn’t fought since March 2020 when he dropped a unanimous decision to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 248, which marked his third consecutive loss. His other two defeats in the skid came against Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa. Romero hasn’t won since a February 2018 knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 221.

Davis is coming off an April unanimous decision loss to champion Vadim Nemkov in the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix, which snapped a three-fight winning streak.

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The Bellator 266 lineup includes:

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

Phil Davis vs. Yoel Romero
[autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mark Lemminger[/autotag]
[autotag]DeAnna Bennett[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag]
[autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Saul Rogers[/autotag]
[autotag]Christian Edwards[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ben Parrish[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 7 p.m. ET)

[autotag]Grant Neal[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alex Polizzi[/autotag]
[autotag]Anthony Adams[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khalid Murtazaliev[/autotag]
[autotag]Albert Gonzales[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Abraham Vaesau[/autotag]
[autotag]Socrates Hernandez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pedro Juarez[/autotag]
[autotag]Erin Hunter[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Bobby Seronio III[/autotag]
Rhalan Gracie vs. Shane Keefe
Eddie Abasolo vs. Art Hernandez
Jon Adams vs. Edwin De Los Santos
Jesse Delgado vs. Joshua Dillon

With Adam Piccolotti out, Georgi Karakhanyan steps in to face Saul Rogers at Bellator 266

Georgi Karakhanyan will look to take out another top European prospect when he steps in on short notice to face Saul Rogers.

[autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] will look to take out another top European prospect in his ascent up the lightweight ladder.

[autotag]Adam Piccolotti[/autotag] has been forced out of Bellator 266 and Karakhanyan (31-11-1 MMA, 9-9 BMMA) will step in on short notice to face [autotag]Saul Rogers[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 2-2 BMMA).

A person with knowledge of the booking confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Tuesday after an initial post by Karakhanyan on social media. The person asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Bellator 266 takes place Sept. 18 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Since moving back up to 155 pounds, Karakhanyan has won three of his past four and back-to-back fights for the first time since 2016. He’s coming off a first-round submission of Kiefer Crosbie at Bellator 263 in July.

Season 22 “Ultimate Fighter” finalist Rogers has split his past four appearances. After submitting Arbi Mezhidov in the first round at Bellator 248, Rogers was submitted by Mads Burnell at Bellator 257 in April.

With the change, the current Bellator 266 lineup includes:

Phil Davis vs. Yoel Romero
Neiman Gracie vs. Mark Lemminger
DeAnna Bennett vs. Alejandra Lara
Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Saul Rogers
Grant Neal vs. Alex Polizzi
Christian Edwards vs. Ben Parrish
Pedro Juarez vs. Socrates Hernandez
Erin Hunter vs. Bobby Seronio III
Khalid Murtazaliev vs. Travis Davis
Abraham Vaesau vs. Albert Gonzales

Bellator 257: Make your predictions for Vadim Nemkov vs. Phil Davis

We want your predictions for Bellator 257, featuring champ Vadim Nemkov vs. Phil Davis in a title fight and light heavyweight tourney bout.

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 257 event in Connecticut.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Wednesdday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 257 main card staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. Bellator 257 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Make your picks for the fights below.

Top 10 Bellator dark horses to watch in 2021

MMA Junkie fight analyst Dan Tom takes a look at his top 10 Bellator dark horses to watch in 2021.

Despite being held to just 18 events in 2020 due to the global pandemic, Bellator was able to keep the proverbial ball rolling in regards to fostering new names and cultivating homegrown talent.

Sure, it’s been easy to get excited about big-name signings like Yoel Romero or Anthony Johnson, but I think the promotion carries a quiet value with the offerings that are often found on their undercards. So, with that in mind, I decided to steer away from mainstream names or past grand prix competitors in order to focus on the dark horses whom I see either making their marks or (in some cases) taking a stab at a title in 2021.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 dark horses that I think you need to be familiar with this year.

Full fight card and broadcast details confirmed for Bellator 248 and Bellator Europe 10

The full 12-bout lineup for the dual-card Bellator 248/Bellator Europe 10 event in Paris, France has been confirmed.

The bout lineup and broadcast details for Bellator’s historic dual-card event in Paris, France has been confirmed, with the event split into two cards, Bellator 248 and Bellator Europe 10, to accommodate the promotion’s various broadcast partners.

The event at the Accor Arena will begin at 11:30 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network and DAZN with Bellator 248, which features a four-fight card, headlined by the 175-pound contract weight bout between England’s [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 13-1 BMMA) and Scotland’s debuting former Cage Warriors welterweight champion [autotag]Ross Houston[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

The action then moves on to the Bellator Europe 10 portion of the event, with the six-bout preliminary card set to be aired on MMA Junkie via the Bellator YouTube channel and DAZN from 1:45 p.m. ET.

The two-fight Bellator Europe 10 main card, featuring [autotag]Arbi Mezhidov[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Saul Rogers[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), then the heavyweight headliner between France’s [autotag]Cheick Kongo[/autotag] (30-10-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) and American [autotag]Timothy Johnson[/autotag] (14-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA), will go live from 5 p.m. ET, on MMA Junkie via the Bellator YouTube channel.

The event also marks a notable moment for the promotion in the U.K., with Bellator officials confirming that the Bellator 248 card and the Bellator Europe 10 prelims will be shown live on BBC iPlayer, marking the first time a major MMA organization has been broadcast live by the British public service broadcaster.

Full Bellator 248/Bellator Europe 10 fight card includes:

BELLATOR EUROPE 10 MAIN CARD (5:00 p.m. ET, MMA Junkie/Bellator YouTube channel)

Cheick Kongo vs. Timothy Johnson
Arbi Mezhidov vs. Saul Rogers

BELLATOR EUROPE 10 PRELIMINARY CARD (1:45 p.m. ET, MMA Junkie/Bellator YouTube channel/DAZN)

Davy Gallon vs. Brian Hooi
Terry Brazier vs. Yves Landu
Ilias Bulaid vs. Ivan Naccari
Fabacary Diatta vs. Dominique Wooding
Ciaran Clarke vs. Jean N’Doye
William Gomis vs. Dylan Logan

BELLATOR 248 FIGHT CARD (11:30 a.m. ET, CBS Sports Network/DAZN)

Michael Page vs. Ross Houston
Emmanuel Dawa vs. Oliver Enkamp
Alan Omer vs. Ryan Scope
Darko Banovic vs. Mads Burnell