Tywan Claxton – Syndication Server

Bellator parts ways with 18 fighters: Daniel Straus, Tywan Claxton, Liam McGeary included

Bellator MMA has parted ways with over a dozen fighters, including more than a handful of notable names.

Eighteen fighters are no longer on the Bellator roster.

Among those who have parted ways includes former featherweight champion Daniel Straus, former light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary, boxer-turned-MMA-fighter Heather Hardy, and former UFC fighter Bec Rawlings. The list also includes two fighters who never got to compete after signing with the promotion because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s unclear whether each fighter was released, left on their own accord, or elected not to re-sign with the promotion. However, a Bellator official recently informed MMA Junkie that the promotion is moving on without the 18 fighters listed below.

Bellator 260 post-event facts: Yaroslav Amosov is Bellator’s 10th unbeaten champ

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 260, which took place Friday in Uncasville, Conn.

The promotion’s second title change of the year unfolded Friday in the Bellator 260 headliner at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

[autotag]Yaroslav Amosov[/autotag] (26-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) became the new king of the welterweight division when he shut down [autotag]Douglas Lima[/autotag] (32-9 MMA, 14-5 BMMA) for five rounds to claim the gold by unanimous decision and join the short list of fighters to get their hands on a belt without ever experiencing a loss.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 30 post-event facts to come out of Bellator 260.

Bellator 242 post-event facts: Aaron Pico’s presence felt in the record books

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 242, which took place Friday in Uncasville, Conn.

Bellator made its return from a 153-day hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic on Friday with Bellator 242, which took place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., with a main card that aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

A title eliminator in the bantamweight division served as the main event of the card as former longtime UFC contender [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) remained undefeated in his Bellator career when he outworked [autotag]Ricky Bandejas[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) to a unanimous decision.

Pettis’ performance closed out a seven-fight card that included a few notable feats. For more on the numbers, check below for 17 post-event facts to come out of Bellator 242.

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General

Betting favorites went 3-1 on the main card.

Betting favorites improved to 4-0 in Bellator main events this year.

Total fight time for the four-bout main card was 47:10.

Main card

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Pettis’ two-fight Bellator winning streak at bantamweight is the longest active streak in the division.

Pettis has earned 13 of his 20 career victories by decision. That includes 10 of his past 11 wins.

Bandejas has suffered two of his three Bellator losses by decision.

[autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) has earned two of his three Bellator victories by decision.

[autotag]Jordan Mein[/autotag] (31-13 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) was unsuccessful in his Bellator debut following a nine-fight UFC stint.

Mein fell to 2-3 since he returned from retirement in December 2016.

[autotag]Tywan Claxton[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) suffered the first decision loss of his career.

[autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] (6-3 MMA, 6-3 BMMA) improved to 6-2 since he dropped to the featherweight division in September 2017.

Pico earned the first submission victory of his career.

Pico’s six stoppage victories in Bellator featherweight competition are third most in divisional history behind A.J. McKee (11) and Patricio Freire (10).

Preliminary card

[autotag]Jake Smith[/autotag] (7-4 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) suffered the first knockout loss of his career.

[autotag]Cass Bell[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) had his five-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.

[autotag]Rudy Schaffroth[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 6-0.

Schaffroth suffered the first decision loss of his career.

Bellator 242 predictions: Who gets the nod in bantamweight showcase?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 242 main card in Uncasville, Conn.

	Bandejas vs. Pettis	Jackson vs. Mein	Claxton vs. Wilson	Hatley Jr. vs. Pico
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 67-44	Pettis (63%)	Mein (66%)	Claxton (74%)	Pico (81%)
Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 81-30	Bandejas	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 80-31	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 79-32	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 76-35 2014 Champion	Pettis	Mein	Claxton	Pico
Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 75-36 2019 Champion*	Bandejas	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 75-36	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 73-38 2018 Champion	Bandejas	Mein	Claxton	Pico
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 73-38 2017 Champion	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 72-39	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 72-39	Pettis	Mein	Claxton	Pico
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 68-43	Pettis	Jackson	Wilson	Pico
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 67-44	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 67-44	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 45-66	Bandejas	Jackson	Claxton	Hatley

After a long pandemic-related layoff, Bellator returns this week to its regular home on the East Coast.

Bellator 242 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount following prelims on YouTube.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the bantamweight main event between [autotag]Ricky Bandejas[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) and [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (19-5 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), former UFC flyweight contender Pettis received the lion’s share of the backing from our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts. He also garnered 63 percent of the reader votes, too.

In the co-main event, [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) proved a popular pick with our panel, with 11 of our 14 members selecting him to get the win over [autotag]Jordan Mein[/autotag] (31-12 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). However, Mein was the clear choice of our readers, with 66 percent siding with the Canadian.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Tywan Claxton[/autotag] (6-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) received almost universal backing in his featherweight clash against [autotag]J.J. Wilson[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), with 13 of the 14 panelists picking him to claim the victory.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) was equally fancied, with the talented featherweight strongly backed to defeat [autotag]Solo Hatley Jr.[/autotag] (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA). However, Pico was even more popular with MMA Junkie’s readers, with a whopping 81 percent picking him to kick off Friday night’s main card with a win.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Pettis (63 percent), Mein (66 percent), Claxton (74 percent) and Pico (81 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above

Tywan Claxton eyes finish of Jay Jay Wilson at Bellator 242: ‘Real recognize real, and he ain’t real’

Tywan Claxton says he’s ready to show undefeated Jay Jay Wilson that he’s not at his level at Bellator 242.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Tywan Claxton[/autotag] is ready to show [autotag]Jay Jay Wilson[/autotag] that he’s not in his league.

Claxton (6-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) takes on Wilson (5-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) in the main card of Bellator 242 on Friday and admits he wasn’t too familiar with Wilson prior to their booking. But, after researching his name, he thinks Wilson basically ripped off his motto of the fight game.

“I looked him up, saw some of his interviews, he basically stole my blueprint,” Claxton told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “I’m the prospect that says, ‘I want to fight five times a year,’ (and) he comes out and says he wants to fight five times in a year. He thinks it’s gonna be a wrestling match and just that he wants to throw hands – all the same things that I said. He just kinda tried to run with my blueprint and real recognize real, and he ain’t real, so I’m going to go out there and show him that there’s levels.”

Wilson, like Claxton, is a proven finisher in the cage. He’s finished four of his five wins by submission and while Claxton won’t be taking that aspect of his game lightly, he thinks Wilson hasn’t faced the level of competition that he has.

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“He gets on anybody’s back, he’s a problem,” Claxton said. “His jiu-jitsu is very, very slick. I just haven’t seen enough to know what he’s capable of under pressure. He’s fighting guys that are 4-5, 0-1, 2-0 that’s fought 0-0’s and 1-0’s, I can’t make an assessment off of that. No one can really make an accurate assessment out of that, so I guess we’re going to figure it out July 24. That’s when I’ll make my own assessment, I’m on top of him trying to bash his face. We’ll see how slick his jiu-jitsu is then.”

Claxton is looking to build another impressive win streak following his first-round elimination in the Bellator featherweight grand prix. He bounced back from his loss to Emmanuel Sanchez with a decision win over Braydon Akeo at Bellator 235 in December, and said that he sees his bout with Wilson as an opportunity to not only register another win, but chalk up the fifth finish of his professional career.

“I’m going to stop him,” he stated. “If he makes it to the second round, he’ll be done in the second. I’ll finish him in the second, maybe ground and pound most likely because I have a feeling he’s going to be trying to pull guard a lot. He says he wants to stand and bang, but I don’t think he wants to stand and bang, but I do.”

Bellator 242 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount and DAZN following prelims on YouTube and DAZN.

Bellator 242’s Jay Jay Wilson plans to drag Tywan Claxton into deep waters

“I want to put pressure on him the whole entire time. He’s going to regret going in there with me.”

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Jay Jay Wilson[/autotag] acknowledges that he’s facing a step up in competition, but his confidence hasn’t wavered.

Wilson (5-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) faces [autotag]Tywan Claxton[/autotag] (6-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) Friday in the main card of Bellator 242. Both men have an array of finishes on their resumes, but Wilson expects Claxton’s fast start to cost him.

“To date, he’s the toughest fighter,” Wilson told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “He’s 6-1 right now, super tough opponent. He’s got some nice highlight-reel knockouts. He’s definitely one of the toughest opponents I’ve fought, but I found some holes (and) I’m ready to exploit them.

“I’m expecting him to be explosive. He’s gonna come out with some power. He’s an NCAA wrestler, so he’s gonna come out with some really good wrestling and explosive power, raw power, so I’m ready to take him into deep waters and see how he likes to swim.”

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Undefeated Wilson is also known for his fast starts, where four of his five finishes have come in the first round. But he is confident that he has the cardio to turn the tide, break Claxton and take control of the fight.

“First round is gonna be fireworks, because that’s where he likes to go and as soon as he starts to slow down, I’m gonna keep the pace on him,” Wilson said. “I want to put pressure on him the whole entire time. He’s going to regret going in there with me.”

Bellator 242 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount following prelims on YouTube.

Bellator 242: Tywan Claxton pre-fight interview

Bellator 242: Make your predictions for Ricky Bandejas vs. Sergio Pettis

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 242 event in Connecticut.

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 242 event in Uncasville, Conn.

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 Wednesday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 242 event staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. Bellator 242 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount following prelims on YouTube.

Make your picks for all four main card fights inside:

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Michael Page, Paul Daley star in Bellator’s ‘flying-knee finishes’ highlight reel

Bellator’s latest highlight reel features some of the best flying-knee finishes in the promotion’s recent history.

Flying-knee knockouts are among of the most spectacular sights in the sport. When they happen, they always draw gasps of amazement from the crowd and often leave the recipient lying unconscious on the canvas.

Bellator’s latest highlight reel celebrates some of the promotion’s best exponents of the art of the flying knee, with three British stars featuring prominently in the video.

Longtime knockout artist [autotag]Paul Daley[/autotag] and welterweight rival [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] have built their respective reputations on a host of knockout finishes, and both men star in this latest highlight reel, with Daley flying across the cage to deliver a stunning knockout of Brennan Ward at Bellator 170, while “MVP” unleashed a jumping knee of his own to end Richard Kiely’s night at Bellator Europe 4.

Also featured is a trio of rising Bellator stars, who each scored memorable flying-knee finishes. Featherweights [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag] and [autotag]Tywan Claxton[/autotag] both harbor hopes of a future run towards title contention at 145 pounds, while British middleweight [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] has his sights set on the division’s top men at 185.

Check out their high-flying highlights in the video above.

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Paul Daley and Michael ‘Venom’ Page star in Bellator’s flying-knee highlight reel

British Bellator knockout artists Paul “Semtex” Daley and Michael “Venom” Page take center stage in Bellator’s latest highlight reel as they showcase some of the best flying-knee finishes in recent promotional history.