| 2021 in Bellator MMA | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Promotion | Bellator MMA |
| First date aired | April 2, 2021 |
| Last date aired | December 3, 2021 |
| Events | |
| Total events | 18 |
| Fights | |
| Title fights | 13 |
2021 in Bellator MMA was the thirteenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 18 events in 2021.
The promotion went on a hiatus following Bellator 254 on December 10, 2020, which would be the final card to air on CBS Sports Network. [1] Beginning in April, Bellator's U.S broadcasts moved to the premium Showtime network. [2] Bellator 255, which took place on April 2, 2021, was the promotion's debut on Showtime, and the first MMA card to air on the network in over eight years; the last event being Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine on January 12, 2013.
| Opening round | Quarterfinals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
 A. J. McKee | KO | |||||||||||||
 Georgi Karakhanyan | 1 | |||||||||||||
| A. J. McKee | SUB | |||||||||||||
| Derek Campos | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Campos | UD | |||||||||||||
| Daniel Straus | 3 | |||||||||||||
| A. J. McKee | SUB | |||||||||||||
| Darrion Caldwell | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Darrion Caldwell | UD | |||||||||||||
| Henry Corrales | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Darrion Caldwell | SUB | |||||||||||||
 Ádám Borics | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Ádám Borics | TKO | |||||||||||||
| Pat Curran | 2 | |||||||||||||
| A. J. McKee | SUB | |||||||||||||
 Patrício Pitbull (c) | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Patrício Pitbull (c) | UD | |||||||||||||
| Juan Archuleta | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Patrício Pitbull (c) | KO | |||||||||||||
 Pedro Carvalho | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Pedro Carvalho | SUB | |||||||||||||
| Sam Sicilia | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Patrício Pitbull (c) | SUB | |||||||||||||
| Emmanuel Sanchez | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Emmanuel Sanchez | SUB | |||||||||||||
| Tywan Claxton | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Emmanuel Sanchez | UD | |||||||||||||
 Daniel Weichel | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Daniel Weichel | UD | |||||||||||||
 Saul Rogers | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
 Vadim Nemkov (c) | UD | |||||||||
| Phil Davis | 5 | |||||||||
| Vadim Nemkov (c) | SUB | |||||||||
 Julius Anglickas [lower-alpha 1] | 4 | |||||||||
| Anthony Johnson | KO | |||||||||
| Jose Augusto | 2 | |||||||||
| Vadim Nemkov (c) | UD | |||||||||
| Corey Anderson | 5 [lower-alpha 2] | |||||||||
| Corey Anderson | TKO | |||||||||
 Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov | 3 | |||||||||
| Corey Anderson | TKO | |||||||||
| Ryan Bader | 1 | |||||||||
| Ryan Bader | UD | |||||||||
| Lyoto Machida | 5 | |||||||||
| Title fights in 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Event | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | Patrício Pitbull (c) | def. | Emmanuel Sanchez | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 3:35 | Bellator 255 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Light Heavyweight | Vadim Nemkov (c) | def. | Phil Davis | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 | Bellator 257 | [lower-alpha 2] |
| Bantamweight | Sergio Pettis | def. | Juan Archuleta (c) | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | Bellator 258 | [lower-alpha 3] |
| Women's Featherweight | Cris Cyborg (c) | def. | Leslie Smith | TKO (punches) | 5 | 4:51 | Bellator 259 | [lower-alpha 4] |
| Welterweight | Yaroslav Amosov | def. | Douglas Lima (c) | Decision (unanimous) (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) | 5 | 5:00 | Bellator 260 | [lower-alpha 5] |
| Heavyweight | Valentin Moldavsky | def. | Timothy Johnson | Decision (unanimous) (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) | 5 | 5:00 | Bellator 261 | [lower-alpha 6] |
| Women's Flyweight | Juliana Velasquez (c) | def. | Denise Kielholtz | Decision (split) (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) | 5 | 5:00 | Bellator 262 | [lower-alpha 7] |
| Featherweight | A. J. McKee | def. | Patrício Pitbull (c) | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 1:57 | Bellator 263 | [lower-alpha 8] |
| Middleweight | Gegard Mousasi (c) | def. | John Salter | TKO (punches) | 3 | 2:07 | Bellator 264 | [lower-alpha 9] |
| Light Heavyweight | Vadim Nemkov (c) | def. | Julius Anglickas | Submission (kimura) | 4 | 4:25 | Bellator 268 | [lower-alpha 10] |
| Lightweight | Patricky Pitbull | def. | Peter Queally | TKO (punches) | 2 | 1:05 | Bellator 270 | [lower-alpha 11] |
| Women's Featherweight | Cris Cyborg (c) | def. | Sinead Kavanagh | KO (punches) | 1 | 1:32 | Bellator 271 | [lower-alpha 12] |
| Bantamweight | Sergio Pettis (c) | def. | Kyoji Horiguchi | KO (spinning backfist) | 4 | 3:24 | Bellator 272 | [lower-alpha 13] |
Patrício Freire, known professionally as Patrício Pitbull, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in Bellator MMA where he is the current three-time Bellator Featherweight Champion and former Bellator Lightweight Champion. He is the younger brother of lightweight fighter Patricky Pitbull. He is the second-ever simultaneous two-weight champion in Bellator MMA history, and is widely considered to be the best Bellator fighter of all-time. He is also considered one of the best ever, pound-for-pound, to have never fought in the UFC.
Liam McGeary is an English professional mixed martial artist who competed in Bellator's Light Heavyweight division. He is a former Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion.
Corey Anderson is an American mixed martial artist currently competing for Bellator MMA in the light heavyweight division, where he is the current Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion. Prior to signing with Bellator, Anderson competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the light heavyweight winner on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn and achieved success as a top 5 UFC light heavyweight contender.
Emmanuel Sanchez is an American mixed martial artist currently in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Sanchez has formerly competed for Bellator MMA, where he was a contender for the Featherweight World Championship, and Resurrection Fighting Alliance.
Juan Archuleta is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight divisions of Bellator MMA and Rizin Fighting Federation, where in the latter promotion, he is the former Rizin Bantamweight Champion. A professional MMA competitor since 2013, he has also previously fought for King of the Cage and the World Series of Fighting. Archuleta is also a former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion.
Vadim Aleksandrovich Nemkov is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and a four-time Combat Sambo World Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of Bellator, where he is the former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion. Nemkov is the younger brother of Viktor Nemkov and is a protégé of the MMA Heavyweight and Sambo master Fedor Emelianenko. He is ranked #1 in the 205 division by sherdog.
2019 in Bellator MMA was 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.
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.
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 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 268: Nemkov vs. Anglickas was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on October 16, 2021, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, United States.
2022 in Bellator MMA was the fourteenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.
Bellator 273: Bader vs. Moldavsky was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA, it took place on January 29, 2022 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Bellator 277: McKee vs. Pitbull 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 15, 2022, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, United States.
Bellator 283: Lima vs. Jackson was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on July 22, 2022 at Emerald Queen Casino and Hotel in Tacoma, Washington, United States.
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.
2023 in Bellator MMA was the fifteenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.
Bellator 290: Bader vs. Fedor 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on February 4, 2023, at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, United States. The card aired live on CBS and Paramount Plus, the first time the promotion has aired live on the network and the first time MMA has been broadcast live on CBS since 2010.
Bellator 297: Nemkov vs. Romero was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on June 16, 2023, at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Bellator Champions Series: Belfast was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA, that took place on March 22, 2024, at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It marked the first show to air on Max as part of a new U.S. television deal with Warner Bros Discovery.