Tag: Tim Wilde

Marc Diakiese makes promotional debut vs. Tim Wilde at Bellator London

Marc Diakiese has his first assignment after years in the UFC, and it’ll be in his back yard.

[autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag] has his first assignment after years in the UFC, and it’ll be in his back yard.

The London-based fighter was expected to fight once this year either for Bellator or the PFL, which purchased Bellator in 2023, and then enter the 2025 PFL lightweight season on a quest for a $1 million title. Friday, Bellator announced he’s got a booking for the fall.

Diakiese (17-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will take on [autotag]Tim Wilde[/autotag] (17-5-1, 5-2-1 BMMA) at the Bellator Champions Series: London event set for Sept. 14 at OVO Arena Wembley.

Diakiese went 8-7 as a UFC lightweight over a stretch of about seven years. He won his first three fights in the promotion and moved to a 12-0 record, but then hit a slump of three straight losses and five setbacks in seven fights.

He left the UFC with a win this past November – a split call over Kaue Fernandes in Sao Paulo. Diakiese fought in England five times in the UFC and went 4-1 in front of his home fans.

Wilde had a six-fight unbeaten streak snapped with a first-round knockout loss to Manoel Sousa in March. Prior to that, he was on a 5-0-1 run in Bellator after a 2019 setback to former champion Brent Primus in a main event.

Bellator Champions Series: Belfast video: Manoel Sousa sleeps Tim Wilde with ‘left hook from hell’

Tim Wilde wasn’t having a bad first round until Manoel Sousa connected with one punch at Bellator Champions Series: Belfast.

[autotag]Tim Wilde[/autotag] wasn’t having a bad first round, but then [autotag]Manoel Sousa[/autotag] connected with one punch at Bellator Champions Series: Belfast.

That was all Sousa needed to shut the lights out on Wilde, who dropped like a sack of potatoes when a hard left hook landed flush across his chin. And with that, Sousa was victorious by first-round knockout just 48 seconds into their main-card opener Friday at SSE Arena.

Check out the devastating finish below (via X):

[lawrence-related id=2726823,2726557,2726570,2726312]

 

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event page for Bellator Champions Series: Belfast.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 12-18)

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 Feb. 12-18.

Bellator 301 video: Tim Wilde one-punch KOs Mike Hamel, celebrates, forced to land second blow

Referee Rob Madrigal needed to see Mike Hamel get cracked one more time by Tim Wilde before he stopped the fight at Bellator 301.

[autotag]Tim Wilde[/autotag] could’ve had a one-punch, walkoff knockout had referee Rob Madrigal not needed to see one more blow to a finished [autotag]Mike Hamel[/autotag].

On Friday at Bellator 301 in Chicago, Wilde (17-4-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) finished Hamel (11-6 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) with punches at 2:47 of Round 3 during their lightweight bout at Wintrust Arena.

Wilde stunned Hamel with a head kick in the sequence prior to the finish. As Hamel tried to regain his bearings, Wilde crushed him with a straight right. With Hamel visibly out of it, down on all fours and facing the wrong way, Madrigal took a closer look, but it wasn’t enough. Wilde, who celebrated with his hands up, reentered fight mode and put an exclamation point on the finish with a big left hand that forced Madrigal to step in.

With the victory, Wilde extended his unbeaten streak to six. In defeat, Hamel has a four-fight winning streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 301 results include:

  • Tim Wilde def. Mike Hamel via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:47
  • Yves Landu def. Isao Kobayashi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 11-17)

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 the promotions from Sept. 11-17.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (March 6-12)

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 6-12.

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		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui
(58%)		 edwards2022
Edwards
(73%)		 rogers2022
Rogers
(76%)		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
(84%)
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
179-93
trophy copy 2018 Champion		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
172-100		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
170-102		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
169-103		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
169-103
trophy copy 2014 Champion		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
166-106		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
165-107		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
159-113
trophy copy 2017 Champion		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Nolan King
@mma_kings
159-113		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
152-120		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
Gonzales
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
133-138		 barnaoui2022
Barnaoui		 edwards2022
Edwards		 rogers2022
Rogers		 gonzales2022
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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Bellator 281: Best photos from London

Check out these photos from Bellator 281 which took place at SSE Arena in London.

Check out these photos from Bellator 281 which took place at SEE Arena in London. (Photos courtesy of Bellator MMA)

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

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 Feb. 7-13.

Bellator 267 post-event facts: ‘MVP’ climbs Bellator’s all-time wins list

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 267, which took place Friday in London.

Bellator returned overseas to London on Friday with Bellator 267, which took place at The SSE Wembley and aired on Showtime.

One of the most anticipated rematches in company history took place in the main event. It didn’t deliver as many had expected, but in the end [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 16-1 BMMA) avenged his sole career defeat against former champion [autotag]Douglas Lima[/autotag] (32-10 MMA< 14-6 BMMA) with a split decision win in the matchup of welterweight contenders.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 25 post-vent facts to come out of Bellator 267.