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Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 229 and Bellator 300 double header.
What mattered most at Saturday’s doubleheader of UFC Fight Night 229 in Las Vegas and Bellator 300 in San Diego? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 300, which saw Usman Nurmagomedov, Cris Cyborg and Liz Carmouche exit as champs.
The landmark Bellator 300 event took place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, and all three champions who entered the event left with the belts around their waists.
[autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) retained his lightweight belt in the main event and advanced to the grand prix final, [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag]’s (27-2 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) continued her dominant legacy to retain women’s featherweight gold in the co-headliner, and women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag]’s (20-7 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) scored a stoppage in the main card opener.
For more on the numbers to come out of the event, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 300.
Cris Cyborg led the list of Bellator 300 fighters who earned six figures.
SAN DIEGO – Five of the six Bellator 300 main-card participants earned a disclosed payout of $150,000, with [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] earning twice that amount.
California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster released a full list of fighter purses Saturday to MMA Junkie. The amounts reflect the disclosed payouts only and do not include any off-contract bonuses, sponsor payments or discretionary bonuses.
Lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag], [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag], [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag], flyweight champ [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag], and [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] each took home $150,000, while women’s featherweight champ Cyborg earned $300,000. All six fighters earned a flat amount as opposed to being paid show money and win money.
Scroll below to see what the 32 fighters to compete at Bellator 300 were paid – disclosed amounts only.
It wasn’t the most pleasing to the eye, but it was still a dominant performance from Usman Nurmagomedov at Bellator 300.
SAN DIEGO – It wasn’t the most pleasing performance of Bellator lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag]’s career, but it still looked effortless.
And it was still a win.
Nurmagomedov won a five-round unanimous decision against former champ [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] on Saturday night at Bellator 300 from Pechanga Arena. The victory means Nurmagomedov remains undefeated and advances to the final of the $1 million lightweight grand prix.
Nurmagomedov will meet the winner of next month’s Bellator 301 fight between Patricky Freire and Alexander Shabliy.
A nasty elbow from @Usmannmgdv!#Bellator300 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/xtikX4BioN
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 8, 2023
Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) was simply better than Primus (12-4 MMA, 10-4 BMMA) all around for 25 minutes, both in the standup and on the mat. Primus did his best to mount attacks throughout the fight, but Nurmagomedov was too quick and evaded damage. All the while, Nurmagomedov was stiff with his punches, which showed on Primus’ bloodied face by the end.
The crowd inside the arena booed at various points because of the lack of excitement – not that it should matter to Nurmagomedov, who keeps his title and now has a shot at winning $1 million.
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Complete Bellator 300 results:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
Bellator 300 is down to two title fights in San Diego.
SAN DIEGO – Bellator 300 is down to two title fights.
Ahead of Bellator 300, which takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (26-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) and challenger [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) stepped on the scale at the official weigh-ins. So, too, did lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) and challenger and ex-champ [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 10-3 BMMA).
They hit their marks, but former women’s bantamweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane missed weight, making her bout against friend and former teammate Liz Carmouche a non-title fight.
Check out the video from their trips to the scale above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
Brent Primus is out to prove the oddsmakers wrong at Bellator 300.
SAN DIEGO – [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] is out to prove the oddsmakers wrong at Bellator 300.
Primus (12-3 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) meets lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) in the grand prix semifinals Saturday at Pechanga Arena. The main card, which features three title fights, airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Undefeated Nurmagomedov has lived up to the hype since joining the Bellator roster, and has been pegged as a massive favorite to beat Primus. A former Bellator lightweight titleholder, Primus is confident he can not only spoil the party, but finish Nurmagomedov.
“I know he’s a tough opponent,” Primus told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I prepared really well for this fight and I’m ready for anything. I’m going to shock everybody and he’s going to be 17-1 after Saturday.”
According to BetMGM, Primus is a whopping +1050 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the challenger would net a $1050 profit. Nurmagomedov is a -2500 favorite, meaning a $2500 bet would be needed on the champion to return $100 profit.
Considering that Primus is a former champion, the lopsided odds could be viewed as offensive. But, the 38-year-old veteran is embracing that role.
“I like being the underdog,” Primus said. “I feel like I do better when I’m the underdog. I don’t like it when people are like, ‘Oh, you’re going to win, you’re going to go out there and kill it.’ I like being the underdog, I’ve been the underdog a lot, and I’ve proven a lot of people wrong. So, let’s go. I’m going to shock everybody like I said and this is exactly where I want to be.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
Veteran Jason Herzog is among the referees assigned to oversee three title fights at Bellator 300 in San Diego.
Referees and judges for the three Bellator 300 title fights have been assigned.
California State Athletic Commission executive officer Andy Foster informed MMA Junkie of the assignments for the event, which takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The three title-fight main card airs on Showtime after prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.
Lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) in the designated headliner. The fight, which also serves as a grand prix semifinal, will be officiated by referee Jason Herzog, with Derek Cleary, Ron McCarthy and Chris Leben serving as judges.
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In the night’s co-headliner, women’s featherweight champ [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (26-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) defends her belt against [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 4-0 BMMA). Referee Frank Trigg will be the third person in the cage while judges Chris Crail, Eliot Kelly and Cleary score the fight from cageside.
The third featured title fight pits friends and former teammates against each other as flyweight champ [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) puts her title on the line against ex-champ [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA). Blake Grice will serve as referee while judges Bryan Miner, Felicia Oh and McCarthy score the bout.
Bellator 300 is the first event in the promotion’s history to feature three title fights. The event originally had four, but a rematch between heavyweight champ Ryan Bader and Linton Vassell was scrapped after Vassell withdrew earlier this week because of an undisclosed illness.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the main event for Bellator 300, Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus for the lightweight title.
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down MMA’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for Bellator 300.
Bellator 300 takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The main card, which features three title fights, airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Khabib’s cousin Usman Nurmagomedov has knocked down language barriers in recent years and his confidence shined through Wednesday.
SAN DIEGO – [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] only cares about winning decisively Saturday at Bellator 300 and that means making [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] look bad.
At a pre-fight news conference Wednesday at the host hotel, the Bellator lightweight champion Nurmagomedov (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) seemed unbothered and unfazed about many of the theoretical scenarios or opinion questions thrown his way. In what was the equivalent of a verbal shrug, Nurmagomedov used few words to get his point across.
“When he said all the time he will beat me, he will beat me, I don’t understand,” Nurmagomedov told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “He really believe in this? OK, but if you believe this, this is good. We’re going to show you guys a good fight. … Saturday night, I respect this guy. He’s a former champion. But Saturday night, I’m going to make him feel he’s like slow and old. This is all what I have to say, guys. Sorry.”
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Viewers who have followed Bellator and Nurmagomedov closely since his debut in 2020 have noticed his personality has slowly but surely broken through language and cultural barriers. Perhaps it was on display more than ever Wednesday, as Nurmagomedov wasn’t afraid to channel his confidence and throw it directly at Primus (12-3 MMA, 10-3 BMMA), his Bellator lightweight grand prix semifinal opponent.
“For me, it’s more important to win every fight,” Nurmagomedov said. “It’s not like ‘grand prix or defend my title.’ For me, it’s to not lose. But I not believe this guy can beat me. He said he’s going to be pushed, but why he didn’t push himself when he was fighting with (Alexander) Shabliy? What happened?”
Nurmagomedov, 25, defeated Patricky Freire for Bellator gold in November before he quickly finished and retired former UFC champion Benson Henderson in the opening round of the tournament in March.
Primus, 38, was a grand prix alternate who replaced Sidney Outlaw after a failed drug test. Primus upset Mansour Barnaoui in May to advance to the semifinal round.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
The Bellator 300 title fighters got together Wednesday in San Diego. Check out the Usman Nurmagomedov-Brent Primus faceoff at Bellator 300.
SAN DIEGO – The Bellator 300 title fighters got together Wednesday in San Diego.
Undefeated lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) takes on former champ [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) to close out the event. It’s one of three title fights on the main card of the historic show.
Wednesday, Nurmagomedov and Primus took questions from the media at a pre-fight news conference at the host hotel. They were joined by Bellator president Scott Coker, the other four title fighters and former fighter Chael Sonnen, who served as the event’s emcee.
Check out the Nurmagomedov-Primus faceoff in the video above. Bellator 300 takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
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