2023 in Bellator MMA

2023 in Bellator MMA was the fifteenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.

2023 in Bellator MMA
Information
Promotion	Bellator MMA
First date	February 4, 2023 (2023-02-04)
Last date	November 17, 2023 (2023-11-17)
Events
Total events	13
Fights
Total fights	179
Title fights	15
← 2022 2024 →

Events list

Main article: List of Bellator MMA events

#	Event	Date	Venue	City	Country	Ref.
13	Bellator 301: Amosov vs. Jackson	November 17, 2023	Wintrust Arena	Chicago, Illinois	U.S.	[1]
12	Bellator 300: Nurmagomedov vs. Primus	October 7, 2023	Pechanga Arena	San Diego, California		[2]
11	Bellator 299: Eblen vs. Edwards	September 23, 2023	3Arena	Dublin	Ireland	[3]
10	Bellator 298: Storley vs. Ward	August 11, 2023	Sanford Pentagon	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	U.S.	[4]
9	Bellator MMA x Rizin 2	July 30, 2023	Saitama Super Arena	Saitama	Japan	[5]
8	Bellator 297: Nemkov vs. Romero	June 16, 2023	Wintrust Arena	Chicago, Illinois	U.S.	[6]
7	Bellator 296: Mousasi vs. Edwards	May 12, 2023	Accor Arena	Paris	France	[7]
6	Bellator 295: Stots vs. Mix	April 22, 2023	Neal S. Blaisdell Arena	Honolulu, Hawaii	U.S.	[8]
5	Bellator 294: Carmouche vs. Bennett 2	April 21, 2023				[9]
4	Bellator 293: Golm vs. James	March 31, 2023	Pechanga Resort and Casino	Temecula, California		[10]
3	Bellator 292: Nurmagomedov vs. Henderson	March 10, 2023	SAP Center	San Jose, California		[11]
2	Bellator 291: Amosov vs. Storley 2	February 25, 2023	3Arena	Dublin	Ireland	[12]
1	Bellator 290: Bader vs. Fedor 2	February 4, 2023	Kia Forum	Inglewood, California	U.S.	[13]

Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix Tournament

On September 28, 2022, Bellator president Scott Coker revealed in a The MMA Hour interview that a Lightweight World Grand Prix will take place in 2023.^[14] On January 11, 2023, during an appearance on "The MMA Hour," Bellator president Scott Coker revealed the fighters taking part in the tournament. The lineup includes Usman Nurmagomedov, A.J. McKee, Tofiq Musayev, Alexandr Shabliy, Patricky Freire, Mansour Barnaoui, Benson Henderson, and Sidney Outlaw. The tournament kicked off at Bellator 292 on March 10 in San Jose, California.^[15]

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	Usman Nurmagomedov (c)	SUB
	Benson Henderson	1
					Usman Nurmagomedov (c)[a]	UD
					Brent Primus	5
	Mansour Barnaoui	5
	Brent Primus[b]	UD
									Alexandr Shabliy[c]
	Tofiq Musayev	3
	Alexandr Shabliy	TKO
					Alexandr Shabliy	UD
					Patricky Pitbull	5
	Roberto de Souza[d]	3
	Patricky Pitbull	TKO

^[16]

1. Nurmagomedov's win was later overturned to a No Contest after he tested positive for a banned substance in a prescription drug. He was not stripped of the title due to the unintentional ingestion of the substance, but did receive a suspension.
2. Primus replaced Sidney Outlaw after he was suspended for a positive drug test.
3. The conclusion to the tournament was cancelled following the acquisition of Bellator MMA by Professional Fighters League in November 2023. Shabliy and Nurmagomedov did however eventually face each other the next year in a Lightweight Title bout at Bellator Champions Series 4, where Nurmagomedov won by unanimous decision.
4. de Souza replaced A. J. McKee after he withdrew due to medical issues. The bout took place at catchweight of 161 pounds.

Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix Tournament

The eight participants of the tournament were revealed on December 3, 2021. They include current champion Sergio Pettis, the former Rizin and Bellator champion Kyoji Horiguchi, another former Bellator champion in Juan Archuleta, who captured the vacant bantamweight title in 2020 against Patchy Mix, who will also be in the tournament. The final four fighters in the Grand Prix are all ranked in the top six by Bellator at 135 pounds: Magomed Magomedov, James Gallagher, Raufeon Stots and Leandro Higo.^[17][18][19] Pettis and Gallagher would eventually pull out due to injuries requiring surgery.^[20][21] Due to the pull outs, two wild card qualifier bouts between Josh Hill and Enrique Barzola, with the winner meeting Magomed Magomedov in the opening round, and the second qualifier between Jornel Lugo and Danny Sabatello, which will have the winner face Leandro Higo in the first round of the tournament.^[22] Due to Covid, Hill had to pull out of the bout and was replaced by Nikita Mikhailov.^[23][24]

Wild Cards

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Juan Archuleta

3

Raufeon Stots

KO

Raufeon Stots (ic)

SD

Danny Sabatello

5

Leandro Higo

5

Danny Sabatello

UD

Danny Sabatello

UD

Jornel Lugo

3

Raufeon Stots (ic)

1

Patchy Mix

KO

Magomed Magomedov

SUB

Enrique Barzola

4

Enrique Barzola

UD

Nikita Mikhailov

3

Magomed Magomedov

2

Patchy Mix

SUB

Patchy Mix

UD

Kyoji Horiguchi

5

Title fights

Title fights in 2023
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Event	Notes
Middleweight	Johnny Eblen (c)	def.	Anatoly Tokov	Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 49–46, 49–46)	5	5:00	Bellator 290	[a]
Heavyweight	Ryan Bader (c)	def.	Fedor Emelianenko	TKO (punches)	1	2:30	Bellator 290	[b]
Welterweight	Yaroslav Amosov (c)	def.	Logan Storley (ic)	Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–45)	5	5:00	Bellator 291	[c]
Lightweight	Usman Nurmagomedov (c)	def.	Benson Henderson	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	2:37	Bellator 292	[d]
Women's Flyweight	Liz Carmouche (c)	def.	DeAnna Bennett	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	4	4:29	Bellator 294	[e]
Bantamweight	Patchy Mix	def.	Raufeon Stots (ic)	KO (knee)	1	1:20	Bellator 295	[f]
Bantamweight	Sergio Pettis (c)	def.	Patrício Pitbull	Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 50–45, 50–45)	5	5:00	Bellator 297	[g]
Light Heavyweight	Vadim Nemkov (c)	def.	Yoel Romero	Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–46)	5	5:00	Bellator 297	[h]
Flyweight	Kyoji Horiguchi	vs.	Makoto Takahashi	No Contest (accidental eye poke)	1	0:25	Bellator MMA x Rizin 2	[i]
Middleweight	Johnny Eblen (c)	def.	Fabian Edwards	KO (punches)	3	0:21	Bellator 299	[j]
Women's Flyweight	Liz Carmouche (c)	def.	Ilima-Lei Macfarlane	TKO (leg kick)	5	0:17	Bellator 300	[k]
Women's Featherweight	Cris Cyborg (c)	def.	Cat Zingano	TKO (punches)	1	4:01	Bellator 300	[l]
Lightweight	Usman Nurmagomedov (c)	vs.	Brent Primus	No Contest (overturned)	5	5:00	Bellator 300	[m]
Bantamweight	Patchy Mix (ic)	def.	Sergio Pettis (c)	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	1:51	Bellator 301	[n]
Welterweight	Jason Jackson	def.	Yaroslav Amosov (c)	KO (punches)	3	2:08	Bellator 301	[o]

1. For the Bellator Middleweight World Championship.
2. For the Bellator Heavyweight World Championship.
3. For the Bellator Welterweight World Championship.
4. For the Bellator Lightweight World Championship.
5. For the Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship.
6. For the interim Bellator Bantamweight World Championship.
7. For the Bellator Bantamweight World Championship.
8. For the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship
9. For the inaugural Bellator Flyweight World Championship. Accidental eye poke rendered Takahashi unable to continue.
10. For the Bellator Middleweight World Championship.
11. For the Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship.
12. For the Bellator Women's Featherweight World Championship.
13. For the Bellator Lightweight World Championship. Originally a unanimous decision win for Nurmagomedov; overturned after he tested positive for a banned substance.
14. For the Bellator Bantamweight World Championship.
15. For the Bellator Welterweight World Championship.

See also

• List of Bellator events
• List of current Bellator fighters
• 2023 in combat sports
• 2023 in UFC
• 2023 in ONE Championship
• 2023 in Absolute Championship Akhmat
• 2023 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
• 2023 in Rizin Fighting Federation
• 2023 in AMC Fight Nights
• 2023 in Brave Combat Federation
• 2023 in Road FC
• 2023 in Professional Fighters League