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You can consider Ben Askren one of the converted. The One Fc welterweight champion, and former Bellator welterweight champion, with an undefeated record in professional Mma, was one of the most vocal critics of the Ufc’s signing of Cm Punk when the news was announced in December.

When Punk chose to train at Rousfusport, where both Askren and Ufc lightweight champion Anthony Pettis make their home, many were unsure of how the two would get along. Punk admitted that he would need to talk to Ben.

Well, it turns out, now that they’re training together, Askren has come around on the Punk signing.

Speaking to Mma Junkie, Askren had the following to say about his new team mate;

When someone decides to come into the Ufc and they don’t have a combat sports background, you’re kind of thinking, does he really understand what he’s getting into?...

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The Brock Lesnar lottery talk continues to swirl as we approach 2015, and now Scott Coker has confirmed that Bellator Mma have reached out to the WWE champion, who remains under contract with the pro wrestling giant until after Wrestlemania 31. According to Coker, who spoke to Mma Fighting about pursuing Lesnar, there have been no serious talks, but Bellator have gone about “saying hello” to the former Ufc heavyweight champion. As a result;

There hasn’t been any serious dialogue, but when the time comes to have serious dialogue, we’ll be right there.

He went on to add that;

I think that he’s a big needle mover. There have been several years that have passed and I think that he still has the WWE limelight.

More interestingly, Coker had the following to say about signing Lesnar and other high-profile free agents;

There’s not going...

The big news coming out of Ufc Fight Night 58, aside from Lyoto Machida’s devastating Tko of Cb Dollaway, was the re-signing by the Ufc of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, a move that surprised many in the Mma world mainly because Rampage was believed to be under contract with Bellator Mma. Now, it’s no secret that Jackson has not been happy with Bellator since Bjorn Rebney, the promotion’s founder, was fired this past summer, and there was talk that perhaps this situation was similar to the one with Eddie Alvarez, where Bellator opted to let the fighter go after years of drama between him and the promotion, including a lot of legal wrangling.

It seems, however, that such is not the case here, and there may in fact be more legal wrangling to come. According to a post by Scott Coker on his twitter and retweeted by Bellator Mma’s official account,...

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The Ufc seems to have taken a page out of Bellator Mma’s playbook with these “big announcements” during live events. They did it with Cm Punk, and now, the big news of Ufc Fight Night 58 is the return of Mma superstar and former Pride and Ufc champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Jackson was a Pride legend who won Ufc gold and unified the Ufc and Pride belts when he beat Dan Henderson (who held Pride gold) back in 2007. However, he lost his belt to Forrest Griffin, and though he would work his way back to a title shot against Jon Jones in 2011, like so many others he would lose, triggering a three fight losing streak, the worst stretch of his career.

Upset with the Ufc’s treatment of him and his pay, and unhappy with facing wrestlers unwilling to exchange with him on the feet,...

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When Quinton “Rampage” Jackson signed with Bellator in 2013, it was huge news. Sure, Rampage was on an 0-3 skid in the Ufc and looked like he had lost his will to fight, coming in overweight and laying a goose egg in his beloved second home of Japan, and complaining about everything from money to having to face wrestlers who wouldn’t stand and trade punches with him (this from a guy who relied on solid wrestling early in his career), but he was still a big name that drew eyeballs. A guy who could headline fight cards.

So his defection to Bellator was huge, and huge for Bellator Mma. It also gave his career in the cage a boost: upon joining Bellator, Jackson quickly piled up three wins, knocking out Joey Beltran and former Bellator light heavyweight champion Christian M’Pumbu before winning a close decision over...

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The trials and tribulations of Eddie Alvarez during his last few years in Bellator have been well documented. A consensus top ten lightweight during that time, he was made a star in Bellator Mma under the Bjorn Rebney regime, where he would become, then lose, the Bellator lightweight championship in the world’s number two Mma promotion. After losing the belt to another homegrown Bellator star, Michael Chandler, in a fight of the year candidate, Alvarez gained a couple of wins in non-title matches, then went to explore the free agent market.

Dana White, seemingly a fan of what Alvarez brought to the table, offered the fighter a fantastic contract that included six figures, Pay-per-View points, and an immediate title shot, and it appeared as if Alvarez was Ufc bound – until Bellator opted to exercise its matching rights. Matching rights allow an organization to match the offer of any...

Lost in the all the excitement over last week’s Ufc Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandao and this coming Saturday’s Ufc on Fox 12: Lawler vs. Brown is the fact that Bellator returns to the air for their only live event until September. Airing as always on Spike TV in North America, Bellator 122 looks like an underwhelming card on paper, lacking a single title fight, and with tournament finals of questionable value now that Bellator appears to be moving away from its tournament system.

However, there are still reasons to tune in to the event, especially if you’re a hardcore Mma fan. Bellator Mma, if nothing else, is known for having at least one or two fights per show where guys will do the old “stand and bang” routine, and generally speaking their finish rate is pretty high. There’s a reason they’re the number two Mma promotion around,...

It’s out with the old, in with the new over at Bellator this Summer, as founder Bjorn Rebney has been cut loose, and Strikeforce founder Scott Coker has been brought in to replace him. Coker has a lot of goodwill in the Mma world with both fans and fighters from his Strikeforce days. Originally a kickboxing promotion, Strikeforce got into the Mma game in 2006 and quickly became the number two promotion in the world, with fights airing live on Showtime. With a solid TV deal behind him, Coker handed out lucrative contracts to the likes of Jake Shields, Dan Henderson, Gilbert Melendez, Nick Diaz, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, Robbie Lawler, Nate Marquardt, Andrei Arlovski, Alistair Overeem, and most importantly, Fedor Emelianenko.

Fans who for years had wanted to see Fedor fight big name heavyweights got their wish, as Strikeforce built the best heavyweight division in Mma (they probably didn...

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Founder Bjorn Rebney and COO Tim Danaher have been relieved of their duties by Viacom, who own Bellator Mma.

The news was made official in a press release sent out earlier today. Rumours had been swirling throughout the media that a change in the number two Mma organization was eminent, and that Viacom was eyeing former Strikeforce founder and CEO Scott Coker for the job.

No official reason was given, though from the press release, it is clear that Rebney and Viacom had a difference of opinion on the direction of the company.

From the press release:

“It is with bittersweet emotions that I announce that I am leaving the company I founded. I have great pride in having turned my vision into reality, a thriving business with television distribution to over 140 countries around the world, a partnership with one of the world’s largest entertainment giants and wide array of sponsors,...

According to multiple reports, it is believed that Viacom has hired Strikeforce founder and former CEO Scott Coker, the idea being to have him run the world’s #2 Mma promotion. Viacom purchased Bellator in 2011, and the promotion airs its “seasons” on Viacom’s Spike TV. Last month, they ran their first PPV show, which drew an estimated 100,000 buys, although no official numbers have been announced.

Bjorn has become the other side of the Dana White coin over the past year or so, and the two have often butted heads in the media, with White taking pot-shots at his competitor despite claims that he “doesn’t care” about Bellator. Viacom, who have deep financial pockets, were reportedly with odds with Rebney over the direction of the company.

Coker, meanwhile, was most recently employed by Zuffa, parent company of the Ufc, who bought out Strikeforce in 2011. Although they initially continued to run Strikeforce shows,...

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Sokoudjou and James Thompson both earned stoppage victories in their respective debuts at Bellator 121 on Friday night.

Ex-Pride/Ufc fighter Sokoudjou, who holds victories over Little Nog and Ricardo Arona from his Pride days, and Pride heavyweight vet James “The Colossus” Thompson both won their debut Bellator matches at last night’s Bellator 121, the company’s first event since it’s inaugural PPV in May.

The two vets were touted as big signings by Bellator Mma, despite Sokoudjou having lost two straight fights heading into the event.

Matched up with Terry “The Punisher” Davinney, Sokoudjou controlled for most of the opening stanza but was taken down briefly. Davinney was unable to make much of the takedown, however, which led to Sokoudjou reversing and landing some solid shots. Davinney leaned forward and gave up his neck before getting free, only to give it up again later in the sequence to avoid ground and pound,...

Shaquille O'Neal vs. Charles Barkley is one step closer to happening ... but it might cost you around $40 bucks -- 'cause Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney says he wants to put it on pay-per-view if they're serious.Rebney tells TMZ Sports ... if Superman and Sir Charles wanna trade blows in the ring for an Mma fight Bellator wants to host the event -- and Rebney says it would be a perfect fit for their May 17th PPV featuring Rampage Jackson.

The CEO of Bellator Mma wants nothing to do with disgraced Ufc fighter Rousimar Palhares -- telling us the Ufc's decision to fire him this week was spot on. In case you missed it ... Palhares was axed less than 24 hours after his Wednesday night fight against Mike Pierce at Fight Night 29 in Brazil -- where R.P. held onto an ankle lock way after the bell rang, for the second time in his Ufc career.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, the mixed martial artist and actor has agreed to what the press release calls "a monumental, multi-year partnership" with Spike TV, Bellator Mma, and Tna Wrestling. The partnership includes Spike TV creating a reality series featuring Rampage that will lead to other entertainment initiatives. "Rampage is a true superstar both inside and outside the Mma cage" Bellator CEO & Chairman Bjorn Rebney said. "The partnership that we've created with Quinton is unlike anything that's ever been done in the sports & entertainment arena and Rampage is the perfect athlete/entertainer to carry it off." Jackson (32-11) joins Bellator as a former Pride and Ufc...