“It just makes all the non-believers into believers. And I have a belt to show my country that yes, Jason Jackson can be champ. Anywhere he goes. And it’s just a matter of time before he becomes the best welterweight on the planet,” Jackson told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

Jackson finished Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 301 to claim the title in the main event. Betting lines put the Amosov as a heavy favorite leaving Jackson to play spoiler, and in his post-fight scrum he let them know about it.

“It felt good. On MMA Junkie and ESPN, they got him at what, #1 and #5? So where’s that put me at, #6? So that put me at #5 if I just jumped him. Or #4 or #1. Alright, #1. I like that, I’ll take that,” Jackson said.

Jackson may be the new champion, but he still has to go to work on Monday. He’s one of many professional fighters who hold a day job in addition to their dream job.

“I feel good that I could give all upcoming fighters who just think is just, you know, get up and go to the gym and come home and play game, and find excuse not to be in (the) gym. I get up and I work and I try to find every little way possible to make money,” he said talking about not making excuses and taking fights regardless of pay.

“I just want to make everybody a believer in that. Hard work always pays off.”

Just minutes removed from his title victory Jackson still wasn’t sure it was even real.

“Not yet, it hasn’t set in. Like I said, every man has a dream, and everyone has a nightmare,” Jackson said.

And I was his nightmare.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Jason Jackson above.

The post Jason Jackson Was Amosov’s “Nightmare” appeared first on Cageside Press.

“Yeah I really believe so,” Mix (19-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press following Bellator 301 in Chicago this past Friday. “My opponent there, Sergio Pettis, you look at his 25 [flyweight] run, but this kid was young when he was in the UFC. He’s great, he just beat Patricio Pitbull, he smoked the only man to beat me, [Juan] Archuleta didn’t win a round against him. I think Sergio is up there with the top three bantamweights in the world right now.”

Mix, in laying out his argument for being the best bantamweight on the planet, suggested that Pettis had beaten better competition that UFC champ Sean O’Malley.

“I think he [Pettis] was so young in the UFC, at 24, 25 years old. He just turned 30-years old, him and I. I feel like we’re both entering our prime. They hold Sean O’Malley in such a high regard, it’s like, Sean O’Malley never beat someone on the level of Patricio Pitbull like Sergio Pettis did. And that’s why I respected him the way I did. That’s why I took this fight very seriously. I feel like a lot of people underestimated him, and I overestimated him because I knew how good he was.”

Having submitted Pettis to unify the Bellator MMA bantamweight champion — Mix won the promotion’s bantamweight grand prix and an interim belt in the process earlier this year — Patchy Mix can now look ahead. Which, in this particular case, might actually mean looking behind him, to a trio of fighters he’s already faced. That includes the only man to ever beat him, RIZIN champ Juan Archuleta.

“I want to avenge a loss that I got of course, but Archuleta is tied up in Japan, he’s fighting, I think he’s on New Year’s. I necessarily don’t like to wait and see, and I know he’s got his deal over there, I’m not sure what Bellator’s deal is,” stated Mix. “But I’m not necessarily chasing anyone. Now that I’m the title holder, whoever they approach me with, I’m willing to do. I don’t mind, I can run it back with all three of them. Any one of them. If they wanted to do me and Serg again, if they wanted to do me and Stots again, or if they wanted to do me and Arculeta. Or even me and Maga. I fought all the top guys, and I just want to fight who they believe is the best.”

Any of those fights would no doubt be entertaining. When Mix will fight again remains to be seen, however. On Monday, the PFL’s purchase of Bellator MMA was officially announced. The promotion will continue as its own brand, mainly with international events, moving forward, though for how long remains unclear.

Watch the full Bellator 301 post-fight press conference with Patchy Mix above.

The post Bellator 301: Patchy Mix Open to Any Number of Rematches appeared first on Cageside Press.

The MMA landscape changed forever. A new era has 𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗗@PFLMMA acquires @BellatorMMA creating a 𝗚𝗟𝗢𝗕𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗠𝗔 𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘 pic.twitter.com/fWldsDNpPC

— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 20, 2023

The PFL has officially acquired Bellator and it means a new day has officially arrived in the MMA landscape.

Per a press release, Bellator will continue as a “reimagined brand” in 2024 with “all Bellator fighters becoming available to compete in PFL franchises.”  Exactly how this is expected to be divided is still uncertain but it does confirm that the contracts of all Bellator fighters will indeed go under the umbrella of the PFL, thus adding a significant amount of elite talent to their already respectable roster.

The Todd Atkins MMA Show first reported news of a potential sale of Bellator to the PFL earlier this year. In late October, journalist Al Zullino reported that the sale had been finalized.

PFL CEO Donn Davis announced that the Bellator brand would operate primarily outside of the US as “Bellator International Champions Series” which hints that the brand would continue their strong presence in Europe where fan reception to events has been astronomical.

Davis also announced that the plan was to host a super-event next year that would feature the Bellator champions against the PFL champions, the latter of which will be determined at their event this Friday which concludes the 2023 season.

As of this writing, it has not been established exactly which fighters will continue to anchor the Bellator brand and which will be part of the PFL vs Bellator event.  It should be noted, however, that the PFL does not currently have divisions for several of the weight classes that Bellator does such as men’s bantamweight, men’s middleweight, and women’s flyweight.  Another point to address is that it is completely possible that just because the fighters are in a division that the PFL houses it does not mean that they will fight in the PFL immediately.

Exactly where Bellator goes with their lightweight Grand Prix is unclear and has not yet been addressed.  On Friday, Alexandr Shabliy defeated Patricky “Pitbull” Freire to reach the finals of the tournament.  A week earlier, champion  Usman Nurmagomedov had his victory over Brent Primus overturned to a No Contest after testing positive for a banned substance.  What the promotion’s plan, if there was one at all with the impending merger, for the tournament going forward was not made official.  Whether there is a tournament final at all as part of the Bellator International Series has not been announced.

PFL CEO Donn Davis is scheduled to make a media appearance later today to discuss the merger.

The post PFL Officially Acquires Bellator MMA, Bellator to Continue Internationally appeared first on Cageside Press.

Amosov had a game challenger in Jackson at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois on Friday night, with plenty of chances presenting themselves for both men early. Jackson spent much of the round walking the champ down, keeping him circling on the outside. Despite a couple of clinches, the bout played out on the feet in the opening round, with Jackson fighting off a couple of takedown attempts.

Early in the second, Jason Jackson shrugged off another takedown attempt, fired a knee, and had to deal with a kick in response. 90 seconds in, the champ looked for a high-crotch single leg takedown attempt only for Jackson to easily break free. Each and every takedown stuffed was no doubt a shot in the arm of confidence for challenger Jackson; near the midway mark, Jackson cracked the Ukrainian standout with a perfectly placed uppercut.

The back half of the second round saw another uppercut land for Jackson, as did at least one sharp calf kick. Amosov finally managed to clamp on a body lock, but try as he might, he could not get Jason Jackson to the mat. Amosov finished the round with a high kick, but the second belonged to Jackson.

In the opening minute of the third, Jackson again cracked Yaroslav Amosov with a nasty uppercut. If nothing else the champ had a chin, but those were going to add up regardless. Moments later, Jackson dropped Amosov with a right hand! That put him to a knee, an uppercut sent him the rest of the way to the mat! The champ dove in on a leg, but Jackson took the opportunity to put the fight away with a few extra strikes! A huge upset win by Jason Jackson, who becomes the first man to defeat Yaroslav Amosov, claiming the Bellator MMA welterweight championship in the process!

Official Result: Jason Jackson def. Yaroslav Amosov by KO, Round 3, 2:08

The post Bellator 301: Jason Jackson First to Defeat Yaroslav Amosov, Captures Welterweight Title appeared first on Cageside Press.

The pair’s title unification bout served as the evening’s co-main event, but given the run both men had been on, it was arguably the most prestigious fight on the card.

Roughly 90 seconds in, Mix hoisted Pettis up over his shoulder, though the slam takedown that was expected to follow was less slam and more laying Pettis on his back. Still, on top was just were Patchy Mix, with an embarrassment of riches in the submission department, wanted to be.

Working from bottom, on the other hand, was where Sergio Pettis did not want to be. Pettis got his butterfly guard in place, looking to lift Mix off him to no avail. Instead, Mix moved to side control, and throughout the round, showed what was widely believed ahead of the bout: in the grappling department, he almost certainly had the edge.

Round two saw the pair go the ground roughly a minute in, with Mix locking up a body triangle in quick succession. Before long, Patchy Mix had an arm under the neck, and it was soon in tight like a vice! While Pettis refused to tap, the ref intervened just as he started going out, checking the now-former champ’s arm (Pettis may have actually signaled his submission to the ref). Either way, no complaint about the stoppage from Sergio Pettis, who was clearly either out, or well on his way.

As for Mix, a stunningly one-sided performance to ascend to the top of the bantamweight mountain. Patchy declared himself the best bantamweight on the planet following the win, saying he would have defeated King Kong if necessary.

UNDISPUTED! 👑@TeamMixMMA has done it! Mix submits @sergiopettis to claim the bantamweight world championship in Chicago.#Bellator301 | LIVE NOW | @SHOsports 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/CQL9Axqn2x

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 18, 2023

Official Result: Patchy Mix def. Sergio Pettis by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:51

The post Bellator 301: Patchy Mix Chokes Sergio Pettis to Claim Undisputed Gold appeared first on Cageside Press.

Outlaw was pulled from the tournament shortly after his quarterfinal fight had been announced, having failed a drug test. As for McKee, the former featherweight champ saw injury pull him from a fight with Patricky Pitbull.

The lightweight pair got right to work on Friday, with Outlaw landing an early takedown, which McKee defended with a guillotine. When the guillotine wasn’t there, however, McKee spent a good stretch of time on his back, seconds ticking away without Outlaw getting much damage in, or really improving position much, though he did try.

McKee would make it to the fence basically, looking to wall-walk up to no avail as Outlaw turned him away from the cage. McKee then fired elbows off his back, while Outlaw worked the body.

By virtue of spending the entire round on top, Outlaw no doubt won the round. But he did very little damage despite sitting in a dominant position throughout almost the entirety of the round.

Round two opened with Outlaw catching an A.J. kick, which nearly had him get the fight down. Instead, McKee managed to fight off the attempt with elbows, getting to his feet and cutting Outlaw with at least one of those blows. Outlaw, bloodied, would get the fight down, only to eat more McKee elbows, who was firing them off his back again.

Again, Sidney Outlaw would ride out the round on top. But there would be a better argument for A.J. McKee winning round two, given the damage he had done early on, and off his back.

A.J. opened round three with a 1-2, and this time it was McKee landing a takedown along the fence. Outlaw would later reverse the position, pulling McKee’s legs out from under him and getting him flat on his back. With roughly two minutes to go, McKee began elbowing the body off his back, while Outlaw looked to pass guard. He couldn’t, and for a third straight round A.J. McKee appeared to have the striking advantage despite being on his back. How the judges would see things was another matter, given Sidney Outlaw had dominated in the grappling department.

In something of a surprise result, all three judges scored all three rounds for A.J. McKee despite “The Mercenary” working off his back almost the entire fight. Not exactly a controversial result, given the damage A.J. inflicted — but still a rarity given the reluctance of judges to score rounds for fighters on bottom.

Official Result: A.J. McKee def. Sidney Outlaw by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post Bellator 301: A.J. McKee Does Enough Damage Off His Back to Decision Sidney Outlaw appeared first on Cageside Press.

While the Bjorn Rebney area was tournament-based, the latter Bellator grand prix tournaments felt just a little more special.

At Bellator 301, the second semi-final of the lightweight grand prix played out, with Patricky Pitbull and Alexander Shabliy looking to punch their ticket to a title shot. Against who would be a question, with champ/finalist Usman Nurmagomedov failing a drug test. When and where was another concern, with Bellator on the auction block.

Still, the show must go on. And it did with the five-round lightweight affair kicking off the Bellator 301 main card on Friday in Chicago. A slow feeling out process played out through the first minute and a half, much to the dismay of the crowd at the Wintrust Arena. The action was then paused when Pitbull suffered an eye poke, or more of a face wash.

With Pitbull ready to go, the action got back underway; Shabliy worked his kicks, but Pitbull made sure to answer back with his hands. And he did so repeatedly, despite being bloodied by Shabliy by the end of the round.

Shabliy continued to work his kicks in round two, with both fighters loading up at times. Pitbull had to be careful not to put himself out of position; he also found himself stalked along the fence, Shabliy cutting off the cage and attacking with short combos and single strikes. In the final 30 seconds, Shabliy hit his target, sending Patricky Pitbull to his backside with a 1-2!

Round three saw Shabliy target the body, while Pitbull, likely trailing on the scorecards, fired a calf kick. Again, Alexander Shabliy was walking the Brazilian ex-champ down, but towards the midway mark, Pitbull came forward firing! Shabliy was forced to retreat, but then planted and fired a right hand, ending the onslaught as Pitbull eased off the attack.

Heading into round four, it appeared Pitbull had found some more gas in the tank, taking the fight to Shabliy. But as the round progressed, Shabliy took over, and soon it was Patricky Pitbull on his heels, covering up and being tagged multiple times by Shabliy! Blow after blow hitting its target, Pitbull was soon looking like ground beef. The fourth round was a bad one for the elder Pitbull brother, and he was looking at needing a finish heading into round five.

That finish wouldn’t come. Instead, it was Alexander Shabliy again putting in a strong effort in round five. He walked Pitbull down, picked him apart, and by the end of the frame, fired a spinning kick that hit the mark and had it not been partially blocked might have finished the fight.

The scorecards produced no surprises, with all three judges scoring all five rounds for Alexander Shabliy. He now advances to the lightweight grand prix finale, though when or where that fight might take place, and against who, remains to be seen.

Official Result: Alexander Shabliy def. Patricky Pitbull by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

The post Bellator 301: Shabliy Lights Up Pitbull, Lands Spot in Grand Prix Final appeared first on Cageside Press.

The event at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL was already underway with several preliminary card bouts already in the books when Bellator officials broke the news.

Sources tell Cageside Press that Fortune took ill ahead of the fight, and was forced to withdraw. With Bellator MMA’s schedule a question mark moving forward — they have no events scheduled past Bellator 301 — it’s unclear when or if the match-up might take place.

Brazil’s Golm, a UFC veteran, arrived in Bellator in 2021 and has posted a 2-1 record to date. He was looking to shake off a loss to Daniel James in the fight with Fortune.

Tyrell Fortune (13-3, 1NC) is a Bellator product who has been with the company for his entire professional career. He last competed in April, securing a win over Sergey Bilostenniy.

Fortune is ranked #6, and Golm #7 in the promotion’s heavyweight rankings currently.

Bellator 301 is set to be headlined by a welterweight title fight featuring undefeated, 27-0 champ Yaroslav Amosov of Ukraine putting his title on the line against Jason “The Ass-Kicking Machine” Jackson. Sergio Pettis and Patchy Mix throw down in a bantamweight title unification bout in the co-main event.

The post Tyrell Fortune vs. Marcelo Golm Drops Off Bellator 301 With Card Underway appeared first on Cageside Press.

A big night even with the questions about the promotion’s future, especially given the winner of Patricky Pitbull and Alexander Shabliy would in theory be moving on to the lightweight grand prix final to face… well, possibly Brent Primus, given rumors he was back in the tournament following Usman Nurmagomedov’s positive drug test.

Headlining Bellator 301 was undefeated welterweight Yaroslav Amosov, taking on top contender Jason Jackson. Amosov entered the fight 27-0, with almost certainly the best record among active fighters regardless of promotion.

Arguably the best two bantamweights on the planet, meanwhile, faced off in a title unification bout when interim champ Patchy Mix took on Sergio Pettis, who was coming in off a defense of his title against Patricio Pitbull.

Where to Watch Bellator 301

Bellator 301 takes place at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL on Friday, November 17, 2023, airing live on Showtime in the U.S. (prelims via the Bellator MMA Youtube channel). In Canada, the full card is available via streaming PPV. Full results from the event, which kicks off at 4:55PM ET, can be found below.

Bellator 301: Amosov vs. Jackson Results

Main Card

Welterweight: Jason Jackson def. Yaroslav Amosov (c) by KO, Round 3, 2:08 — for the Bellator MMA welterweight championship
Bantamweight: Patchy Mix (ic) def. Sergio Pettis (c) by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:51 — for the Bellator MMA bantamweight championship / title unification bout
Bantamweight: Raufeon Stots def. Danny Sabatello by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight: AJ McKee def. Sidney Outlaw by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lightweight: Alexander Shabliy def. Patricky Pitbull by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) — Lightweight grand prix semi-final

Preliminary Card

Heavyweight: Tyrell Fortune vs. Marcelo Golm — cancelled due to illness
Lightweight: Archie Colgan def. Pieter Buist by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Flyweight: Denise Kielholtz def. Sumiko Inaba by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Featherweight: Timur Khizriev def. Justin Gonzales by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Flyweight: Keri Taylor Melendez def. Sabriye Sengul by submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 2:06
Bantamweight: Matheus Mattos def. Richard Palencia by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 3:20
Welterweight: Ramazan Kuramagomedov def. Randall Wallace by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 3:49
160-Pound Contract Weight: Islam Mamedov def. Killys Mota by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Featherweight: Cody Law def. Jefferson Pontes by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lightweight: Tim Wilde def. Mike Hamel by TKO, Round 3, 2:47
Featherweight: Yves Landu def. Isao Kobayashi by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post Bellator 301: Amosov vs. Jackson Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Colgan’s mini-me so to speak was seen on video recently copying his dad’s moves. Of course he’s still too young to know what fighting entails, and Colgan would rather he not grow up to be a fighter.

“I hope not! But it seems like that’s what his calling is,” Colgan told Cageside Press in a recent interview. “I love being his role model. I love being the guy that he idolizes. It’s just a cool job to have, to be the role model of your kid. But man, I hope he doesn’t want to fight, because it’s a roller coaster.”

Colgan has emerged as a standout talent in Bellator’s lightweight division, and returns to the cage at Bellator 301 on Friday night in Chicago, IL. At 8-0, the Colorado native has had a stellar start to his fighting career — and will be getting a step up in competition against Peter Buist, a ONE Championship veteran looking for his first win under the Bellator banner.

Previously, Archie Colgan suggested he was poised for big things moving forward, from 2023 to 2025. That hasn’t changed.

“I feel like I’m knocking on the door right now, man. I feel skill-wise, I’m there. I’m right there to be that guy. But I think I’m just missing a little bit of time,” Colgan explained. “Especially with— I don’t know what’s going on with Bellator, selling, not selling. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I hope they can stick around for another 12 to 18 months, and we can really sell 20-0 Usman Nurmagomedov versus 13-0 Archie Colgan. And that will really hit, I really believe it.”

“I might miss it by just by a little bit of time,” added Colgan, “but no matter what, whatever happens there, I think my 23 to 25 will still be super successful and much better than my 21 to 23 as well.”

Watch our full interview with Bellator 301’s Archie Colgan above.

The post Bellator 301: Archie Colgan Feels Like He’s “Knocking on the Door” Right Now appeared first on Cageside Press.