| 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 |
2023 in Bellator MMA was the fifteenth year in the history ofBellator MMA, amixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.
On September 28, 2022, Bellator presidentScott Coker revealed in aThe 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 includesUsman Nurmagomedov,A.J. McKee,Tofiq Musayev,Alexandr Shabliy,Patricky Freire,Mansour Barnaoui,Benson Henderson, andSidney Outlaw. The tournament kicked off atBellator 292 on March 10 in San Jose, California.[15]
The eight participants of the tournament were revealed on December 3, 2021. They include current championSergio Pettis, the formerRizin and Bellator championKyoji Horiguchi, another former Bellator champion inJuan Archuleta, who captured the vacant bantamweight title in 2020 againstPatchy 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 andLeandro 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 betweenJosh Hill andEnrique Barzola, with the winner meetingMagomed Magomedov in the opening round, and the second qualifier between Jornel Lugo andDanny Sabatello, which will have the winner faceLeandro 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 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] |
