While Coglan went the distance, it wasn’t for lack of effort. Early in the bout, Colgan had the fight on the ground, and at one point “I had 48 unanswered punches,” Colgan recalled in a recent interview with Cageside Press. “He was balled up, and the ref just kept saying ‘I’m going to stop the fight, I’m going to stop the fight,’ but he was saying that for like 20 seconds of me continuously punching him.”

Despite the warning, the ref never did stop the affair, nor did he deduct a point for frequent fouls by Gouti, including grabbling Colgan’s gloves as well as the fence. “I’m like bro, what are we doing? Penalize him. I know I’m winning the fight, but you can’t just keep grabbing my gloves and not get the repercussions for it, you can’t just keep grapping the fence on the takedown and not get repercussions.”

Despite not finding the finish, overall Archie Colgan is satisfied with his showing in Paris. “This was definitely my most dominant performance. A good fighter, he’s coming off- I didn’t actually know that his last six, he won five of six. I didn’t know that. Obviously he was a little bit older but he was still dangerous, coming off a knockout win, and I don’t think he won a second of the fight.”

Even with a 10-0 record, however, Colgan later added that “I do understand that I have things to get better at, under the light of pressure, of the performance, and actually showing the world when the time is right who I am.”

“I’m building into that person, I do think when it’s all said and done that I’m going to be recognized by many as one of the greatest. But I have some things to continue to build for sure. I’m excited and grateful to have those takeaways, I have that mindset to be able to think ‘yeah I’ve got some work to do.’ And I’m going to do the work, that’s the most exciting part, and we’re going to find out what that ceiling is.”

Watch our full interview with Bellator Paris star Archie Colgan above.

The post Archie Colgan Believes He’ll Be “Recognized by Many As One of the Greatest” appeared first on Cageside Press.

In Hardy’s estimation, in fact, some stars were born at the event, Archie Coglan among them.

“We had some stars born tonight. I think we had some really, really strong, standout performances,” Hardy opined, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press following the event. “For me, Archie Coglan is someone we need to keep an eye on. 9-0, undefeated, a powerhouse wrestler. The power of his shots at close range, through the fence, scary. Scary power, scary individual.”

“Slim Trebelsi as well,” added Hardy. “Gotta keep an eye on this guy. He didn’t look himself tonight, said he was injured, dealing with a few things coming into this. He’s the kind of person who has the skills to really put a cat among the pigeons in the heavyweight division.”

Overall, Hardy is of the belief that “we had a strong night tonight. I thought [Cedric] Doumbe looked good. I thought Yves Landu – I just seen him in the corridor, I said ‘dude you owned it tonight.’ The back flip into the name, flipping up to his feet, fantastic.”

Landu earned a split decision win over Jonas Bilharinho at the event. Cedric Doumbe, meanwhile, returned to form in the Bellator Paris co-headliner, stopping Jaleel Willis inside of a round.

Watch the full Bellator Paris media scrum with Dan Hardy above.

The post Dan Hardy Believes Bellator Had “Some Stars Born” in Paris appeared first on Cageside Press.

The win did not come without its share of controversy, after Shipman (16-4) landed a borderline illegal knee in the opening round. Hill was on the way up, and replays showed the strike was very close to being a foul. When Hill was unable to answer the bell to start round two, the fight was waved off, with Shipman announced as the winner.

Even Mike Shipman himself, however, admitted that the knee was a close call.

“I’d feel pretty bad if he was down when I threw it. It’s one of those things, it’s very very fine margins. Because he was on the way up; if you leave it too long, he’s guarded again, you lose the opportunity,” Shipman explained following the fight, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “I thought his knee was coming up.”

“It was a close call, but hopefully it wasn’t too bad, it wasn’t too egregious,” Shipman added. “Otherwise, I feel good.”

Asked whether he was in favor of knees to grounded opponents being legal, as they are in RIZIN and ONE Championship, Shipman clarified that he was, but that he’d accept any ruleset he’s required to fight under.

“I feel that the ruleset I’m fighting to is the ruleset that I’m fighting too. So it’s my responsibility that I follow the ruleset. I may have fallen short, it was a close call,” he stated. “In general, yeah, I’m in favor of kneeing. I don’t see the problem with kneeing a grounded opponent. I think it opens up those opportunities, especially for wrestlers to become more prolific finishers if they can throw from a front headlock when someone’s grounded. It completely changes the ground n’ pound game.”

Shipman also questioned the belief that knees to a grounded opponent are more dangerous than those landed from other positions.

“I don’t feel it necessarily introduces any element of danger. You’re still allowed to knee people, elbow them in the face anyway, why not knee them when they’re grounded, provided it’s not to the back of the head, it’s a safe shot? But that’s not in defense of, if that was a foul. The ruleset is the ruleset, but as you can see, I’m all for it.”

Watch the full Bellator Paris post-fight media scrum with Mike Shipman above.

The post Mike Shipman Addresses Borderline Illegal Knee at Bellator Paris appeared first on Cageside Press.

“The game plan was to get a finish, but she’s a very good grappler. It’s not one-and-done when you get her down, or vice versa when she was shooting on me,” Ladd (12-5) said following the win, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press at the Accor Arena on Friday. “It wasn’t easy, and I didn’t expect it to be.”

Ladd, who bounced back from a loss to Kayla Harrison in the fight, noted that she came close to submitting Shakalova, but her opponent was just a little too wet to pull it off.

“I did some things well, I did some things not so well. Takeaway is more pressure sooner. But I was calm and I implemented what we were going for. Almost hit a good sub, but between the sweat and the blood it makes it hard to finish things. It was a heck of a fight, had fun doing it and came out on top.”

UFC vet Ladd, who arrived in France early to get a chance to see the sights and adjust to the time difference, was fighting out of the U.S. for just the second time at Bellator Paris. It’s an experience she enjoyed, and feels more people should strive for. And luckily, this time around she accounted for the time difference. “The first time we didn’t, we came in at like a normal time and that was when I fought in Poland, and the time difference messed me up. So this time we came out, I’ve been here nine days ow. So enough time to get acclimated.”

What she found in Paris defied expectations. “Being here, I think people have predispositions or believes of other places before they go. I think everyone needs to travel and see other people. Everybody I met in Paris, whether they speak English or don’t speak English, like we all spent time talking to each other and trying to communicate, and everybody’s very, very nice. It’s been amazing. That kind of community I don’t really see where I’m from, especially not in such a big city type of place. So I loved it, and the Paris crowd, loved the energy.”

Watch the full Bellator Parris post-fight media scrum with Aspen Ladd above.

The post Aspen Ladd Loved Energy of French Crowd at Bellator Paris appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ahead of Bellator Paris, where Mix (20-1) earned a split decision win over Magomed Magomedov in his first title defense, the bantamweight champ had proposed to girlfriend Tatiana Suarez. On the eve of the fight, no less.

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘾𝙄𝙏𝙔 𝙊𝙁 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀 ❤️

Congratulations to Bellator Bantamweight Champion @TeamMixMMA and @tatianaufc on their engagement on the eve of #BellatorParis! pic.twitter.com/NSyP6t86DA

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) May 17, 2024

“It was a lot of pressure. I didn’t want to wait until after the fight though, because I’m f*cking hurting right now. I just wanted to make sure I was healthy, I didn’t want to have to take a trip to hospital, break something or something, and then not be able to do it after the fight,” Mix explained following the fight, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press about his decision to propose in Paris. “Because we’re only in Paris once, wanted to do it before, and my head was a little scrambled but I got it done late last night. I wanted to make it special for Tatiana as well.”

The trip turned out perfectly, at least on the surface. While he didn’t finish Magomedov this time out, as he did in the pair’s first meeting, Mix retained his 135lb title. That said, Mix wasn’t happy with the bout going the distance.

“I’m a little disappointed in myself, I felt like I should have finished him in the third. Just adjustments. I think, it’s my first rematch, so he kind of knew my game, he knew what to look out for, he made adjustments himself. So much respect to him, Khabib, Khabib Nurmagomedov, his camp, they got him ready, so I knew he’d be prepared. He’s one of the best from Dagestan.”

Mix admitted to being confused when the first judge awarded the fight to Magomedov with a score of 49-46. “I was confident that I won the fight. I felt like just scored on rounds, I thought I won. I thought I won one, three and even five, and even another one. I felt good.”

He also addressed the cross-promotional rivalry with UFC bantamweight champ Sean O’Malley that has been brewing of late.

“Who gives a sh*t? Right now I’m not really thinking about too much. I’m in Vegas any time, if he wants to come get some work in, or anybody else at that,” exclaimed Mix. “We can do it.”

Watch the full Bellator Paris post-fight press scrum with Patchy Mix above.

The post Patchy Mix on Engagement, Sean O’Malley and More After Bellator Paris appeared first on Cageside Press.

It took less than a round for the former kickboxer to put away Jaleel Willis, and he fired off a bucket full of ammunition in the process, connecting again and again on the dazed American.

After the fight, Doumbe (6-1) gave props to Willis for coming in with a smart game plan.

“I like him, big respect to him. He had a good study for the fight, I respect that,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the Accor Arena. “But as I said I’m the best, and it showed.”

Now, there’s the question of next steps for Doumble, a budding star who the PFL signed out from under the UFC’s nose and clearly intend to use as much as possible. A match-up with Derek Anderson, Doumbe’s original Bellator Paris opponent, is a possibility. Anthony Pettis was also on hand in Paris on Friday, to hype a potential fight between the pair, perhaps in Paris, perhaps in Saudi Arabia.

“There’s no doubt, Anthony Pettis is a better choice, is a way better choice than Derek, because of his name, because of what he’s done in this sport, in UFC,” replied Doumbe when asked which opponent he’d rather face, and where. “So for me, Anthony Pettis in my back yard is amazing.”

Cedric Doumbe also discussed his goals for the future, which include more than just winning a championship.

“I know that I will soon have the PFL, Bellator belt, no matter what organization I’m in I will have the belt. And in fact I know that it will not be enough, I will be champion and yes that will be magnificent,” stated Doumbe, speaking in French. More than just winning the belt, however, he wants to follow through on his predictions, and knock out his opponents. And should Bellator welterweight champ Jason Jackson, who “spoke badly” of Doumbe, still have the belt when he gets to that point, “I’m going to knock him out. Then I take the belt and I defend it. I predict I defend, defend, defend.”

Watch the full Bellator Paris post-fight press scrum with Cedric Doumbe above.

The post Cedric Doumbe Wants Pettis Following Bellator Paris, Hopes to KO Jackson appeared first on Cageside Press.

Headlined by a bantamweight title fight and rematch between Patchy Mix and Magomed Magomedov, the card was brimming with top French talent beyond the main event, including the return of kickboxer-turned-mixed martial artist Cedric Doumbe, making his Bellator debut. Already a mainstay under the PFL Europe banner, Doumbe was looking to shake off a bizarre loss in his last fight, when a splinter/debris in the cage had rendered him unable to continue.

At Bellator Paris, Doumbe was paired up with Jaleel Willis, who had nearly sparked a brawl at the card’s ceremonial weigh-ins a day earlier.

Where to Watch Bellator Champions Series 2

Friday’s Bellator Paris card in Paris, France airs live on HBO MAX in the U.S. and on Fight Network in Canada. Full results from the event, which gets underway at 12PM ET, can be found below.

Bellator Paris: Mix vs. Magomedov Full Results

Main card

The post Bellator Paris: Mix vs. Magomedov Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

While there’s always plenty of talk around rematches and “running it back,” for Mix, the approach is a little different. It’s not studying for a test you’ve already taken but rather focusing on himself, and treating the second fight as a new test altogether.

“Just focus on myself I guess. Over the past let’s say 15 fights, however many I’ve had, I kind of don’t train for the specific opponent,” Mix (19-1) said about how he’s been looking at the rematch, speaking with Cageside Press recently. “I train to be the best version of myself, and I feel that a lot of these guys can’t survive me. So as long as I train to go out there and finish, whether that’s putting the pressure on them, striking them, grappling them, however I choose to do it, I feel a lot of these guys can’t survive it.”

Mix sees the rematch as “a new test actually, because I feel like he’s going to bring new tools to the table. He’s going to be aware of some of the things I do. But I can finish him in multiple different ways. It’s not just the guillotine that I have. I’m looking forward to solving this new puzzle, this new test that I have in front of me.”

Patchy Mix also touched on partner Tatiana Suarez and her push to a title shot in the UFC.

“She’s had such a long journey, long time. It’s a crazy story. If you watch the Unbreakable documentary on HBO, you can watch her story,” noted Mix. “It’s an amazing story. Just to see her, be a part of it, small part of it at that, it’ll be a special thing for her when she wins that title.”

Mix added that he’s anticipating Suarez’s push to be a world champion in 2024 more than his own pursuits, given he’s already won a title. “For her to prove to herself what we already know. We already know she’s great- I’m talking about her team, her family, the people that love her and she loves. We know how great she is. It will be a long time coming for her when she wins that belt, and without a doubt I believe that she will.”

Watch our full interview with Bellator Paris headliner Patchy Mix above.

The post Bellator Paris: Patchy Mix Sees Rematch with Magomedov as “New Test” appeared first on Cageside Press.

That would be Ladd’s Bellator debut, a situation that came about after the PFL acquired Bellator MMA last year, then opted to drop the women’s featherweight division from their tournament format in favor of the flyweights.

Ladd admits that her initial reaction to the news was far from positive, having only been with the PFL a short time before the shake-up.

“The first reaction was disappointment because I’d just fought my first season, I’m used to how it works now, so like alright, go back for round two. So I was disappointed,” Ladd (11-5) told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview. “But then, I was curious more than anything else. Like how is it going to happen, is Bellator being absorbed? Are they running independently? Where am I fighting, how am I fighting? What are the rules I’m fighting under? So figuring out all that kind of took up my time, and it wasn’t disappointment, it was curiosity.”

Curious or not, however, Ladd would like to return to the PFL some day, and preferably soon, for another featherweight tournament.

“Ideally I’d like to see them do what they did with the 125’s last year, when they had the European season, they took the champion from that and threw her in the tournament this year,” Ladd exclaimed. “They took the best from the 125’ers in Bellator, threw them in the season. So I would like to see something similar to that with the 45’ers. Have us all fight it out, take the best of the best, throw us all in a season next year. That would be my perfect world, that would be ideal. But I really don’t know what’s going to happen basically.”

Aspen Ladd also touched on comparisons between herself and Abby from The Last of Us.

“It’s a flattering one honestly. It doesn’t bother me in the least,” said Ladd. “I’m not a gamer myself, but because I get called that on a daily basis, obviously I’m very aware of the character. And yeah, I can see the resemblance too.”

Watch our full interview with Bellator Paris featherweight Aspen Ladd above.

The post Aspen Ladd Hopes PFL Brings Women’s 145 Back Next Year appeared first on Cageside Press.

The lone miss was Thibault Gouti, who came in 1.7lbs over the lightweight limit for his fight with Archie Coglan. As a result, he’ll cough up 20% of his purse to his opponent, but the fight will move forward at a catchweight.

Both Patchy Mix and Magomed Magomedov made weight for their main event bantamweight title fight, which is a rematch, with Mix having won the initial meeting.

Full results from Thursday’s Bellator Paris weigh-in can be found below.

Bellator Paris: Mix vs. Magomedov Weigh-In Results

Main Card

Bantamweight: Patchy Mix (c) (135.0 lbs) vs. Magomed Magomedov (135.0 lbs) – for the Bellator MMA bantamweight championship
175-Pound Contract Weight: Cédric Doumbé (175.5 lbs) vs. Jaleel Willis (174.6 lbs)
Middleweight: Gregory Babene (185.7 lbs) vs. Costello van Steenis (185.8 lbs) – number one contender’s bout
Featherweight: Yves Landu (145.4 lbs) vs. Jonas Bilharinho (145.9 lbs)
Lightweight: Archie Colgan (154.9 lbs) vs. Thibault Gouti (157.7 lbs)*

Preliminary Card

Heavyweight: Slim Trabelsi (239.5 lbs) vs. Louie Sutherland (265.9 lbs)
Lightweight: Mansour Barnaoui (153.7 lbs) vs. Yusuke Yachi (155.3 lbs)
Middleweight: Steven Hill (184.3 lbs) vs. Mike Shipman (185.9 lbs)
Women’s Featherweight: Aspen Ladd (145.8 lbs) vs. Ekaterina Shakalova (144.2 lbs)
Featherweight: Asael Adjoudj (145.9 lbs) vs. Bruno Fontes (145.4 lbs)

Back-up Fighter: Leandro Higo (137.4)

* Thibault Gouti missed the lightweight limit by 1.7lbs and and will forfeit 20% of his purse to his opponent.

The post Bellator Paris: Mix vs. Magomedov Weigh-In Results appeared first on Cageside Press.