Bellator

Jake Paul is one of the most talked-about figures in combat sports, and now he's drawing interest from a prominent mixed martial arts organization.

Bellator MMA President Scott Coker recently said he's open to doing business with the 25-year-old boxer, if and when he wants to transition to MMA.

"If Jake Paul is serious and wants to do it, we're here," Coker told TalkSport (via TMZ Sports). "We're already talking about [it]."

Coker said that Paul has expressed a desire to compete in MMA once he has 10 fights in the boxing ring. He has an undefeated record of 5-0 with four knockouts, including victories over former UFC fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.

Coker said that talks have already begun with Paul, considering he competes under Showtime Boxing and Showtime is Bellator's broadcasting partner.

"You know, when I say talking about it, he's with Showtime boxing and he did the fight with T-Wood. There's dialogue," Coker said. "I think he wants to do 10 boxing fights and then come over to MMA."

While the door is apparently open to Paul in Bellator, the boxer has also been putting himself on the UFC's radar by igniting a feud with the promotion's president, Dana White. Paul put out a diss track against White in January, and he also invested in the UFC's parent company Endeavor in his continued advocacy for increased fighter pay.

Paul's next boxing opponent is not yet known, but he's remained involved in the combat sports world. He's been acting as the lead promoter for Amanda Serrano ahead of her scheduled fight against undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor on April 30 in Madison Square Garden.

The high of Adam Piccolotti's victory at Bellator 274 on Saturday has been short-lived, as he received a suspension from the Association of Boxing Commissions on Wednesday.

ABC president Mike Mazzulli told MMA Junkie's Nolan King that the lightweight fighter will have to sit out the next four to six months, and he will have to receive clearance from a nephrologist (kidney specialist) prior to his return.

Piccolotti had posted and then deleted an Instagram video that showed him vomiting green and yellow liquid during his weight cut leading up to Saturday's fight.

Piccolotti wrote in the caption for the video that he "continued throwing up 20-plus times through the night" during his weight cut. He was seen crawling out of a portable sauna before vomiting. His trainers helped him off the floor to get back into the sauna to cut more weight.

"I reviewed the video and determined the process was unnecessarily dangerous," Mazzulli said. "We're always concerned for fighter safety and weight cutting. Hopefully this will be a learning experience [for Piccolotti]. Fortunately, he didn't die."

The suspension was put in place by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation, but Mazzulli said it will be upheld by the other commissions across the U.S. and Canada, per ESPN's Marc Raimondi.

"I'm concerned about his kidneys," Mazzulli said. "Something has to be done about these unnecessarily dangerous weight cuts."

Piccolotti defeated Georgi Karakhanyan by unanimous decision in Saturday's bout to improve to 13-4. His victory will not be affected by his suspension. The 33-year-old has won four of his last six fights.

All three of Piccolotti’s cornermen — Raul Castillo, Mauricio Calvo and Matthew Aragoni — also were suspended four to six months by the Mohegan Tribe.

Cris Cyborg said she's open to a marquee bout against Kayla Harrison after scoring a knockout victory over Sinead Kavanagh at Bellator 271 on Friday night.

Cyborg stopped Kavanagh with a hard right hand midway through the first round with Harrison in attendance.

.@CrisCyborg leaves no doubt as to her championship status.

She is now 4️⃣ & 0️⃣ inside the #Bellator cage.#Bellator271 pic.twitter.com/TcwYl57kPC

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 13, 2021

"Kayla, thank you for coming to the fights," Cyborg said, per Steven Marrocco of MMA Fighting. "I really appreciate you here. If you want to fight me one day, it's going to be a great fight, but [Harrison's manager] Ali Abdelaziz have to talk to all the promotions to make this happen."

The former UFC women's featherweight championship improved her career record to 25-2 with one no-contest. She's 4-0 since making the move to Bellator in January 2020, when she defeated Julia Budd to win the Bellator women's featherweight world championship.

Her only loss since her debut defeat in 2005 came in December 2018 when she dropped the UFC title to Amanda Nunes.

Meanwhile, Harrison is off to a 12-0 start to her MMA career after winning judo gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics.

The 31-year-old Ohio native most recently won the 2021 PFL women's lightweight tournament with a submission victory over Taylor Guardado in the finals last month.

Harrison confirmed to Simon Samano and Danny Segura of MMAJunkie after attending Friday's card she's aiming for a fight against Cyborg, potentially in 2022:

Listen, she's one of the greatest of all time. I don't care which way you slice it. You can't deny her her greatness, and I've made it no secret that I wanna go down as the greatest. So, in order to do that, you've got to beat the greatest, and she's one of those people. So, for me, the greatest compliment I can give to Cris Cyborg is that I want to fight her. That's the greatest honor I can say, is that I wanna share the cage with you for 25 hard minutes. I would be over the moon to have an opportunity to fight her.

Given both fighters' interest in the bout, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the long-awaited matchup come together early next year.

When 13-fight UFC veteran Yoel Romero learned that his time with the promotion was over, he did what he always does in times of strife: He trusted that it was all part of God's plan.

"Everything in life has a beginning and an end," the 44-year-old Cuban told Bleacher Report on Wednesday some eight months after his UFC run concluded. "I remember when I came to the UFC and when I left. I knew that one day it would have to end and that life would continue.

"It doesn't matter the reason or the motives. The ways of God are filled with mystery. We have to accept what God puts in front of us and be grateful." 

Free agency can be dangerous for fighters. Good opportunities are few and far between, and the risk of being lost in the shuffle is ever-present. Romero and his team navigated the wilderness of free agency with astounding ease, putting pen to paper with Bellator MMA—arguably the second biggest promotion in the sport—less than two weeks after his UFC contract went through the shredder. 

"When you do something very, very well and you really dedicate yourself to it, you'll be sought-after," Romero said, looking back on the day he officially became a Bellator fighter. "To be honest, I don't think I did anything wrong in the UFC. I knew I was going to find work. I knew my work and my talent would be in demand, and Bellator became home.

"I felt happy," he added. "It was almost as if God was saying 'don't worry, you're in my arms.'"

Despite spending the entirety of his UFC career competing as a middleweight, Romero elected to begin his Bellator career in the 205-pound light heavyweight division. Not long after he was signed by the promotion, ESPN reported that he'd been matched up with former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony "Rumble" Johnson—one of a few fighters in MMA history capable of matching him in terms of knockout power.

The fight had fans drooling like dogs in a steakhouse. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. Bellator revealed there was an undisclosed issue with Romero's pre-fight medicals, and he was pulled from the matchup.

The fans were gutted, but Romero, as ever, was the picture of stoicism, confident that it was all a part of God's plan. 

"That's something we prepare ourselves for mentally," Romero said of the foiled Rumble scrap. "Sometimes things are canceled. We were ready for that.

"I put it in the hands of God and now we're here." 

Here, for Romero, is San Jose, California. The Sunny Californian city will host the Bellator 266 event Saturday, which will be topped by a fight between Romero and fellow UFC veteran Phil Davis. 

Davis parted ways with the UFC in 2015 and has stepped into the Bellator cage 12 times since, notably ruling over the light heavyweight division from 2016-2017. Romero relishes the opportunity to battle such an established and respected foe in his first fight with the promotion.

Fire @YoelRomeroMMA steps into the Bellator cage for the first time ever!

Don't miss #Bellator266 LIVE this Saturday on @SHOsports, 10PM ET/7PM PT. pic.twitter.com/jZTM1tKiw7

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) September 15, 2021

"This division is stacked with big names, and I expected that, eventually, I'd end up matched up with Davis," Romero said. "It was already in our schedule. It's a big fight. He's a great fighter—one of the biggest names in this division—and we're ready for him. 

"We both have good wrestling," Romero added. "I don't think it will just be wrestling, or just striking, we're going to mix it all up. That's what I think will happen.

"It's going to be like a chess match." 

The Bellator light heavyweight division is ruled by Vadim Nemkov, a protege of the great Fedor Emelianenko and a man many consider the best fighter in the division—regardless of promotion. Nemkov is tied up with Bellator's Light Heavyweight Grand Prix, but if Romero can get by Davis, he'll be well-positioned for a shot at the champion's belt when the tournament concludes.

Romero sees Nemkov as a "very good, very complete" fighter and is also interested in dropping back down to middleweight to challenge that division's reigning champion, Gegard Mousasi, but he noted that "the most important thing is not who you're fighting, but the victory." 

"To be the champion is just as important as winning at the Olympics, competing in wrestling world championships, or being UFC champion" Romero said. "Being the Bellator champion is just as important."

Romero's Bellator fights—including his imminent showdown with Davis—will air on Showtime. The network, which is steeped in combat sports history, recently dipped its toes in the celebrity boxing pool, promoting boxing matches involving YouTube stars Jake and Logan Paul. Romero is interested in boxing in theory, but he isn't holding his breath for a fight with either of the Paul brothers—as lucrative as those opportunities might be. 

"As soon as I left the UFC, about a week after, the [Paul brothers'] managers and my managers talked," he said. "They suggested the fight, but when it came down to it, the Paul's managers let us know that they didn't want the match. They would rather fight Ben Askren." 

One way or the other, Romero has a smorgasbord of exciting options in front of him, from the light heavyweight division to the middleweight division and beyond. It could even be argued that the 44-year-old has too many options to fit into the remaining years of his career, but he isn't planning on slowing down anytime soon. 

"I would like to surpass Bernard Hopkins," Romero said, drawing inspiration from the former two-division boxing champion, who famously fought into his 50s.

While the future looks bright for Romero, a great many things—from Bellator title fights to lucrative boxing matches—would seem to hinge on the outcome of his looming fight with Davis. He hopes he'll win that fight, but as always, he is leaving it up to God.

"It's going be a very exciting fight that will keep fans in their seats," he said. "And God willing, Yoel Romero's hand will be the one that is raised."

The man involved in a bar fight with Joe Schilling last weekend plans to pursue charges against the MMA fighter, his attorney told TMZ Sports.

"I cannot believe [Schilling] thought it was OK to just haul off and crack somebody twice like that," Robert Solomon said. "[Schilling] is lucky we're not dealing with a manslaughter case."

Schilling knocked out Justin Balboa, 31, after Balboa lunged at him in a Florida bar Sunday. Video of the incident made rounds on social media this week.

The video shows Schilling attempting to walk around Balboa, before Balboa lunges in Schilling's direction and he responds by punching Balboa twice. Balboa appeared to say something to Schilling before being hit, but he did not throw a punch. Schilling is claiming self-defense and said Balboa had been bothering other patrons throughout the night.

A witness told police Balboa "had possibly made an improper remark" about Schilling's fiancee. 

Solomon said he plans on filing a lawsuit on Balboa's behalf against Schilling, who was 4-6 in his MMA career. He last fought in Bellator in 2019. 

Mixed martial artist Joe Schilling, who most recently competed in Bellator, said he was acting in self-defense in a video of him knocking out a man at a bar that went viral. 

In the video posted on Twitter, Schilling appears to be trying to get around a man who is standing between a bar and a table, the man then seems to confront Schilling before the MMA fighter quickly punches the man twice in the face, sending him to the floor. 

Schilling wrote on Instagram, "self defense is apparently not what this country is about anymore." He added that he's got footage of the incident and also used a hashtag "f--k racists."

The 37-year-old Schilling has competed in boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts over the course of his career. The Ohio native lost to Tony Johnson at Bellator 229 in his last fight with the promotion before being released in October. 

Fedor Emelianenko is bringing Bellator back to Russia. 

The 44-year-old heavyweight has agreed to end his two-year hiatus from MMA on October 23 at VTB Arena in Moscow against a yet-to-be announced opponent, according to ESPN's Marc Raimondi.

It's Bellator's first-ever event in Russia and will mark Emelianenko's first bout in his home country since 2016. 

The MMA legend began his career going 31-1-1, including a stretch of 28 consecutive bouts without a loss and victories over the likes of Mark Coleman, Mirko Cro Cop and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. While UFC was still gaining an international foothold in MMA, Fedor was building a legacy that would span multiple promoters over two decades.

Emelianenko (39-6-1, 15 KOs) defeated Fabio Maldonado via majority decision at June 2016's Fight Nights Global 50 in St. Petersburg, Russia, It was his seventh professional bout in Russia and helped extend a five-fight win streak after suffering three consecutive losses in Strikeforce competition. 

Following a victory over Maldonado, Emelianenko joined Bellator, where he lost his 2017 debut to Matt Mitrione by first-round knockout. He'd go onto win his next two bouts before getting knocked out in the first round again by Ryan Bader in a battle for the vacant heavyweight title. 

Emelianenko hasn't been back in the cage since he earned a first-round technical knockout of Quinton Jackson at Bellator 237 in December 2019. 

It's unclear who Bellator may tap as Emelianenko's return opponent. 

Cris Cyborg remained atop Bellator's women's featherweight division with a fifth-round TKO win over Leslie Smith in the main event of Bellator 259 from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. 

The finish came better late than never for the champion as she secured the TKO with just around 10 seconds left in the final round. 

Smith only lasted one minute and 21 seconds in her first fight with Cyborg in 2016. She at least made it past that mark this time around as Cyborg took a patient approach, walking her opponent into the cage. 

Smith was able to delay the inevitable onslaught for a few minutes with some defensive boxing. Once Cyborg decided to fire off some combinations, the results were predictable as she put her opponent on the mat. 

Cyborg wasn't quite able to draw the finish in the first round, but she did add a highlight-reel suplex to her repertoire. 

A counter right hand nearly put Smith down in the second round. The 38-year-old was able to stay upright and showed some strong boxing, but Cyborg's power was the difference. 

Smith got credit for hanging with a tough opponent even if the fight never really felt like it could go her way:

Toughness alone isn't enough to beat someone of Cyborg's caliber. Smith found that out as she continued to take shots into the championship rounds. 

Those fourth and fifth rounds turned out to simply be more of the same. Cyborg continued to exploit the skill gap between the two, and eventually, it became too much as she got the stoppage in the final moments of the fight. 

It's Cyborg's third win since joining the company in 2020. As a champion in Bellator, UFC, Invicta and Strikeforce, no one has seen as much gold from different organizations than the Brazilian. If it weren't for a loss to Amanda Nunes, she would have the strongest argument as the greatest of all time. 

Cyborg lost to the Lioness in the final fight on her UFC contract before signing with Bellator. Fighting for Scott Coker's promotion gave her the freedom to pursue boxing while maintaining her MMA career. Cyborg intended to make her boxing debut in 2020, but the pandemic threw a wrench in those plans. 

While the fearsome striker still intends to do that, she's excited about the featherweight division in her current MMA home.  

"This is the first thing I think about -- OK, I want to be in an organization that has my real division," Cyborg said, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com. "I cannot wait, fight one time a year, two times a year [and] fight against girls that are [coming up] from 135 [pounds]. This is nice. I'm very happy."

The UFC's women's featherweight division has struggled to really materialize. Nunes is the current champion and has split her time between defending both of her belts. 

Bellator has some interesting options to oppose Cyborg should she want to continue to do so. Julia Budd was competitive in Cyborg's Bellator debut. Cat Zingano is a former UFC title challenger with a win over Nunes on her resume. 

Either one would be a strong enough matchup to anchor another card for the promotion. 

Cris Cyborg's rematch with Leslie Smith may not be for the faint of heart.

Speaking with MMA Fighting's Mike Heck, Cyborg said she feels like she's prepared to go the distance if necessary against Smith and that her opponent is equally equipped for a physical struggle.

"And Leslie Smith, she’s a very, very tough girl, and people who watch her know that," she said. "Everyone knows I have the heart of a warrior, too. So there’s gonna be a lot of violence, so you guys should get excited to watch this fight."

The two first crossed paths at UFC 198 in May 2016, which was Cyborg's debut for the promotion. She earned a TKO victory one minute and 21 seconds into the first round on home soil in Curitiba, Brazil.

Now, Smith has an opportunity for revenge Friday at Bellator 259, and Cyborg will be putting the women's featherweight title on the line in the main event.

Eighteen of Cyborg's 23 professional wins have come by way of knockout or TKO. It's doubtful this one goes the full five rounds, but the Brazilian's promise of "a lot of violence" will probably come to fruition.

Bellator MMA fighter Anthony Johnson was arrested Friday in Connecticut and charged with identity theft related to an allegation he used another person's credit card without permission to book a plane ticket to Florida in November 2019.

Zak Failla of the Greenwich Daily Voice reported Tuesday that Johnson also faces charges of illegal use of a credit card and spending less than $500 on a revoked payment card. He was released from custody on $500 bond.

Johnson was arrested at the Mohegan Sun Casino, where earlier he defeated Jose Augusto in his first Bellator appearance after a four-year hiatus since his last fight in UFC.

The 37-year-old Georgia native, who currently lives in Florida, has a court date scheduled for June 8, per MMA Fighting. The identity theft charge carries a potential prison sentence of five years in prison, a $5,000 fine and probation. The New Canaan Police Department announced the details:

"The illegal use of the credit card was used to purchase a round-trip airline ticket from Ft. Lauderdale, FL (FLL) to Newark, NJ (EWR). The name of the passenger was Anthony Johnson. A subsequent Investigation determined Johnson used the illegally obtained credit card to purchase the airline ticket. An arrest warrant was obtained for Johnson for the above charges."

Johnson hasn't commented on the arrest. He was active on social media as recently as Sunday, wishing his grandmother a Happy Mothers' Day.

Johnson has compiled a 23-6 record with 17 knockouts during a pro career that dates in 2006.

His career included two stints in the UFC, including two fights for the light heavyweight championship against Daniel Cormier in 2015 and 2017. He lost both title bouts.

He announced his retirement in April 2017 after the second loss to Cormier, but he opted to return and secured his release from his contract with UFC in December in order to sign with Bellator.

Johnson secured a second-round knockout of Augusto in his promotion debut Friday.