2020 in Bellator MMA was the twelfth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 18 events in 2020.
On September 11, 2020, it was announced that Bellator telecasts would move to CBS Sports Network, starting October 1, after Viacom's re-merger with CBS Corporation in 2019.[2] Prior to the announcement, CBS Sports Network debuted the recap series Bellator MMA: Recharged on April 25, 2020.[3][4]
Bellator 248, which was held on October 10, would be the first MMA event to be held by a major promotion in France since the sport was legalized in January.[5]
Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix Tournament
Current featherweight champion, Patrício Freire, is a participant and if he were to lose, the victor will be declared lineal champion until he loses or wins the tournament and becomes undisputed champion.
Bellator Dublin/Bellator 240 took place on February 22, 2020 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.
Background
This was the first event of the second year of the Bellator European Series. The event was to be headlined by a bantamweight bout between James Gallagher and Cal Ellenor.[10] However, on February 4, it was announced that Gallagher pulled out of the event due to a back injury, thus a women's featherweight bout between Leah McCourt and Judith Ruis was bumped to the main event.[11]
Bellator 241: Pitbull vs. Carvalho was a scheduled event to take place on March 13, 2020 at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event was scheduled to be live on DAZN.
A heavyweight between former UFC Heavyweight ChampionJosh Barnett and Ronny Markes was expected for the event. The original meeting was scheduled for Bellator 235, but Barnett was pulled out an hour before the fight due to illness and the fight was rebooked for this event.[16] Reports came out stating that Barnett was pulled due to a failed drug test, but Mike Mazzulli, head of the Mohegan Tribe Athletic Department, announced that the reports were false. However on March 4, it was announced that Barnett was officially off the card, which Mazzulli announced that a failed medical test was the reason for Barnett's removal and Bellator then announced that Matt Mitrione would replace Barnett against Markes.[17]
Bellator London: Gallagher vs. Ellenor was a scheduled event to take place on May 16, 2020 at SSE Arena in London, England as part of the Bellator European Fight Series. The event was scheduled to be live on Channel 5.
Background
The event was expected to feature a bantamweight bout between rivals James Gallagher and Cal Ellenor.
Bellator 244: Chandler vs. Henderson 2 was a scheduled event to take place on June 6, 2020 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The event was scheduled to be live on DAZN.
Background
The event was expected to feature a rematch between former Bellator world champion Michael Chandler and former UFC and WEC world champion Benson Henderson, with Chandler having won the first bout.
Bellator 242 marked the organization's return to live events following a shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was held behind closed doors without fans in attendance.
Bader vs. Nemkov was initially scheduled to take place at Bellator 242 on May 9, 2020 at SAP Center in San Jose, California. However, the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was announced that the bout was rescheduled as the main event for Bellator 244 set to take place on August 21 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The event featured a men's light heavyweight championship match between the current two-division champion Ryan Bader and the number one contender Vadim Nemkov.
At the weigh-ins, DeAnna Bennett and Keoni Diggs both missed weight for their respective bouts. Bennett weighed in at 131.7 pounds, 5.7 pounds over the non-title flyweight limit of 126.0 pounds, and Diggs weighed in at 157 pounds, 1 pound over the non-title lightweight limit of 156 pounds. Both bouts proceeded at catchweights and both fighters were fined a percentage of their respective purses, a percentage that went to their opponents.[27]
Bellator Milan: Edwards vs. van Steenis was a mixed martial arts event scheduled for September 26, 2020 from Milan, Italy and marked the organization's eighth European Series event.
The event aired on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom and featured a middleweight bout between Fabian Edwards and Costello van Steenis.
The event was expected to feature a welterweight bout between Paul Daley and Derek Anderson. The day of the weigh-ins, Daley notified Bellator officials that he would not make weight. Daley weighed in anyway, 2.5 pounds over the welterweight weight limit of 171 lb. Daley was hospitalized and Bellator announced that the bout was canceled. The women's flyweight bout between Kate Jackson and Denise Kielholtz was bumped to the main event.[30]
Bellator Milan: Gallagher vs. Ellenor took place on October 3, 2020 at Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy as the ninth event in the Bellator European Series. The event will be live on Channel 5 in the UK.
Background
The event featured a bantamweight bout between rivals James Gallagher and Cal Ellenor.
Bellator Paris/Bellator 248 was a mixed martial arts event scheduled for October 10, 2020 from Paris, France. It was the first major MMA event held in France since the sport was legalized back in January.[5]
Background
This was the first event where a leading MMA organization held a live event in front of a paying audience in France. One thousand tickets were made available and were all sold out within 48 hours.
The Bellator Paris portion of the card aired on Channel 5 and featured a heavyweight bout between former title challenger Cheick Kongo and Timothy Johnson. The two previously met at Bellator 208 where Kongo won by knockout the first round.
A middleweight prelim bout between Curtis Millender and Joe Schilling was canceled after it was revealed by Schilling that one of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19.
A catchweight bout between Patricky Freire and Jeleel Willis was scheduled to be the co-main event of the event. However, the bout was removed from the card when the Mohegan Tribal Athletic Commission deemed Freire unable to compete due to what was termed an undisclosed medical issue.[37]
Nick Newell was scheduled to face Zachary Zane in a lightweight bout and Veta Arteaga was scheduled to Desiree Yanez in a women's flyweight bout. However, both bouts where cancelled when Newell and Arteaga tested positive for COVID-19.[39]
At weigh ins, Goiti Yamauchi weighed in at 162.8 pounds, 6.8 pounds over the lightweight limit. The bout against PFL veteran, Nate Andrews was cancelled. Mohegan Sun commission head, Mike Mazzulli, said that from now on Yamauchi will be required to fight at Welterweight, 170 pounds.[45]
A women's featherweight bout between Marina Mokhnatkina and Jessica Borga was scheduled for this event but cancelled a week before for unknown reasons.[46]
This would be the last card to air on CBS Sports Network; all Bellator cards will air exclusively on Showtime beginning in April 2021.[47]
Bellator MMA is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Global. It is the second largest in the United States and one of the largest combat sport promotions in the world. The promotion takes its name from bellātor, the Latin word for "warrior".
2009 in Bellator MMA was the first installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships -produced series. It started broadcasting April 3, 2009, through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes. The episodes had a one-day tape delay.
2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships -produced series. It started on April 8, 2010 and ended June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight divisions. The winner of each tournament will get a shot at the current Bellator Champion in his respective weight class. Three of the four current Bellator Champions also fought during this season in "Super Fights". These non-tournament, non-title catch-weight fights were to help prepare the champions in defending their titles against the winners of this season's tournament winners sometime in the third season.
2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013.
2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV.
2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015.
2016 in Bellator MMA was the eighth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promoter based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2016.
2017 in Bellator MMA was the tenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 26 events in 2017.
2018 in Bellator MMA was the tenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2015.
2019 in Bellator MMA is the eleventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 27 events in 2019. Including having Underground Legend Kenny Rivera
Bellator 255: Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 2, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event was Bellator's first of the year following a four-month break after Bellator 254.
Bellator 256: Bader vs. Machida 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 9, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Bellator 257: Nemkov vs. Davis 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 16, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Bellator 258: Archuleta vs. Pettis was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on May 7, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. This fight card is notable for being Anthony Johnson's final fight before his death.
Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 was a mixed martial arts event that was produced by Bellator MMA at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Bellator 260: Lima vs. Amosov was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on June 11, 2021, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event was the first Bellator event with fans in attendance since Bellator 240 in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bellator 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on June 25, 2021, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Bellator 262: Velasquez vs. Kielholtz was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on July 16, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Bellator 264: Mousasi vs. Salter was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on August 13, 2021 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Bellator 288: Nemkov vs. Anderson 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on November 18, 2022, at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
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