The latest addition is a light heavyweight match-up, which will see Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (18-7-1) take on Tony Johnson (9-3). Sports Illustrated was first to report the booking, which was subsequently confirmed by Bellator officials.

Yagshimuradov, born in Turkmenistan, had been living in and fighting out of Kharkov, Ukraine until recently. With Russian forces invading the country, the 26-fight veteran has been training at American Top Team in Florida — and living out of the gym as well.

The 32-year old will have his back against the wall next month, as he’s dropped both his fights in the promotion thus far, against Corey Anderson and Karl Albrektsson.

Johnson, who previously competed as a middleweight, picked up a win on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019, but did not get a UFC deal. He stepped into the Bellator cage later that year, knocking out kickboxer Joe Schilling. In his next outing, against Dalton Rosta last year, he’d end up losing a unanimous decision.

Bellator 277 is set to take place at the SAP Center in San Jose, CA, on April 15, 2022. The following fights are expected for the event:

A.J. McKee (c) vs Patrício Pitbull – for the Bellator MMA featherweight title
Vadim Nemkov (c) vs. Corey Anderson – for the Bellator MMA light heavyweight title / light heavyweight grand prix finale
Aaron Pico vs Jeremy Kennedy
Timothy Johnson vs. Linton Vassell
Tyrell Fortune vs. Rakim Cleveland
Kyle Crutchmer vs. Michael Lombardo
Gaston Bolanos vs. Isaiah Batin-Gonzalez
Bobby Seronio III vs. Calob Ramirez
Rhalan Gracie vs. Tyson Miller
Edwin De Los Santos vs. Alberto Mendez
Theo Haig vs. Alan Benson
Laird Anderson vs. JT Donaldson
Socrates Hernandez vs. Rogelio Luna
Tony Johnson vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov

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On Friday, sources close to the situation informed Cageside Press that the undefeated Dalton Rosta (4-0) has been lined up to take on Tony Johnson (9-2) at the event.

“Hercules,” as Rosta is otherwise known as, trains at American Top Team and has become one of the top 185 pound prospects in the world. Having recently signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA, Rosta has made no secret of his wish to climb the ranks and hold gold in the future.

Rosta made the most of 202 despite the pandemic complicating the year. He competed twice in the Mohegan Sun Arena, where Bellator set up shop, going 2-0. The 25 year old finished Mark Gardener (via doctor’s stoppage) and took a decision victory over the formerly undefeated Ty Gwerder.

Tony Johnson on the other hand did not compete at all in 2020. Johnson was last in the cage in his Bellator return, defeating Joe Schilling via KO back in 2019. Johnson has rattled off five victories in a row, including his Dana White’s Contender Series appearance in 2019. Johnson trains at American Kickboxing Academy with the likes of Daniel Cormer, Khabib Nurmagomedov other elite level fighters. At 37, the AKA fighter is 12 years older than his counterpart at Bellator 256.

Bellator 256 takes place Friday, April 9 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. The event is headlined by a light heavyweight grand prix bout that sees Ryan Bader and Lyoto Machida collide for the second time.

The post Dalton Rosta vs. Tony Johnson Lined Up for Bellator 256 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The event is set to take place on October 15 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The card is headlined by a women’s featherweight title fight between Cris Cyborg and Arlene Blencowe.

Johnson’s withdrawal from the Bellator 249 card was necessitated due to undisclosed injuries.

Joseph Creer will have just over a week to adjust his game plan for his new opponent. Creer (7-1-1), is 2-1 inside the Bellator MMA cage to date. He was last seen at Bellator 235 in December of last year, where he earned a unanimous decision win against Ty Gwerder. Creer’s only loss in the promotion came to Austin Vanderford, one of the top-ranked middleweights in the organization, and a high-profile fighter alongside wife Paige VanZant.

The man stepping up, Andrew Kapel (15-7), landed on most MMA fan’s radar after knocking out King Mo in Muhammed Lawal’s retirement fight. The 35-year old Kapel turned pro back in 2008, and is 1-1 inside the Bellator cage. He’ll enter Bellator 249 off a loss to John Salter in his most recent outing.

Bellator 249 currently consists of the following bouts:

Cris Cyborg (c) vs. Arlene Blencowe
Patricky Freire vs. Jeleel Willis
Ricky Bandejas vs. Leandro Higo
Saad Awad vs. Mandel Nallo
Curtis Millender vs. Joe Schilling
Albert Gonzales vs. Kastriot Xhema
Christian Edwards vs. Hamza Salim
Kyle Crutchmer vs. Kemran Lachinov
Mike Kimbel vs. Da’mon Blackshear
Steve Mowry vs. Shawn Teed
Andrew Kapel vs. Joseph Creer

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Temecula, CA — Contender Series alum Tony Johnson had an opportunity to take on one of the best kickboxers in the world at Bellator 229: Joe Schilling. ‘Stitch ’em Up’ entered the bout on a two-fight win streak, and was certainly more committed to his current MMA run.

Johnson, however, served up his first loss since 2015 in MMA, with a knockout blow delivered in the third and final round. Speaking to Cageside Press following the event, Johnson (8-3) recapped the fight.

“Man it took me a while to find my range, but I felt like in the third round, he was slowing down a little bit. He was getting a little tired,” Johnson recalled. “My cardio was good, I was picking up, close the distance, and I just caught him with that counter hook.”

Johnson had done some damage earlier in the fight as well. “I felt like I wore him out a little bit. I could sense he was getting a little bit tired,” he said. “I know I caught him a little bit and shook him. He told me in my ear ‘you hit like a bitch.’ He is a hell of a competitor, right, so we were talking a little bit. I knew that he felt it. Then after I made him get up, I could sense he was getting tired. So I knew I that I just had to start turning it on in that third round.”

Turn it on he did, delivering the knockout blow just over two minutes into the round. The standing approach was interesting, given the usual game plan against Schilling is to double leg him all day.

“If you’ve watched me fight, I don’t wrestle,” Johnson pointed out, before adding that “I can wrestle. I come from American Kickboxing Academy, where it’s the land of wrestlers. So I’m forced to wrestle.”

“But I wanted to stand with him,” he continued. “I wanted to prove that I can stand with anybody. I respected him as a competitor, so I was like ‘man I wanted want to see who has better standup for MMA.’ Little gloves change everything.”

After being snubbed on the Contender Series — Johnson won his fight, but didn’t get a UFC contract — it feels like he’s sent a message to that other organization. Johnson downplayed it, however. “I’m happy. I’m happy that I came over to Bellator. Attention Bellator middleweights, man. Guess who’s here?!”

Bellator middleweights will have to wait just a little, however, as AKA’s Tony Johnson will return to the boxing world next, with a bout scheduled next month.

Watch our full Bellator 229 post-fight interview with Tony Johnson above!

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Joe Schilling is a guy that fans of MMA and kickboxing, and followers of Bellator, are very familiar with. The 35-year-old has a 23-9 professional kickboxing record, competing in GLORY from 2013-2016 and Bellator Kickboxing from 2016-2017. His professional MMA career began in 2008, but didn’t resume until 2014, when he joined Bellator MMA. He’d fought five times for the MMA portion of the promotion ahead of Bellator 229, going 3-2 and winning his last two bouts.

Challenging Schilling was former Dana White Contender Series victor Tony Johnson. The 36-year-old upset Alton Cunningham in June, but didn’t earn a UFC contract on the night. The UFC’s loss is Bellator’s gain, as Johnson returned to middleweight in his promotional debut. Johnson’s previous three bouts, all victories, came at light heavyweight. He’d also competed at welterweight and middleweight throughout his 10-fight, eight-win career.

The duo traded leg kicks to start the bout, with Johnson pushing to control the center of the cage. Schilling had the first flurry of note, forcing Johnson against the cage and looking to strike fast from the clinch after 40 seconds. Shortly after the one-minute mark, a Schilling leg kick dropped Johnson, but Schilling was unable to capitalize. Schilling kept the kicks coming, landing a handful of leg and body kicks quickly afterward.

The pace slowed a bit after the opening minutes, with both fighters landing some strikes and gauging their striking ranges. Schilling worked hard for the clinch, showcasing a diverse and aggressive striking style that kept Johnson guessing. With a minute left, a right hand from Johnson dropped Schilling, and Johnson pounced. Landing several heavy shots, Johnson worked for an anaconda choke, but Schilling was able to escape and survive to the bell.

Schilling kept the leg kicks coming early in round two, as Johnson continued to march forward. The first strike of significance came after about a minute, when a Schilling left hand right down the middle cracked Johnson. While Johnson continued to try to press, his nose began to bleed. The first half of the second round was fought in Schilling’s striking range, and Johnson responded by landing a takedown. Schilling responded well, getting the fight back on it’s feet in no time.

Back on the feet, Schilling continued to throw kicks from distance, while Johnson controlled the center of the ring and countered with right hands. As the round came to a close, we were likely looking at even scorecards.

It was more of the same to open round three: leg kicks from Schilling and pressure from Johnson. Schilling circled the outside, finding less openings than he had in the past. The fight was paused after about a minute, when an accidental eye poke from Schilling’s left thumb landed in the right eye of Johnson. The fight quickly resumed, and the crowd ooh’d and ahh’d over some spinning strikes from Schilling that barely missed.

After two minutes, Schilling threw a right elbow that missed, and Johnson countered with a huge left hook than clipped the kickboxer right on the chin. Schilling was out instantly, as his legs gave out and he crumpled to the floor. Johnson landed one more strike before the official jumped in the way and ended the bout.

.@JoeSchilling187 with the mean straight left in round two!#Bellator229 pic.twitter.com/EKjW3LfLRQ

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 5, 2019

Result: Tony Johnson def. Joe Schilling by KO (punch) in Round 3 (2:07)

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Call it the season three curse. The season opener of Dana White’s Contender Series had a fight drop off the card last minute, when Leon Shahbazyan had to stop his weight cut. Well, here we are at week two, and a fighter missed weight badly enough for the show to shuffle the deck. That came when Victor Reyna tipped the scales at a whopping 178lbs for his main event fight against Miguel Baeza.

Baeza made weight, but the promotion opted to move the bout, making it the card opener, instead of the closer. At least the bout was saved.

With the switch-up, Alton Cunningham vs. Tony Johnson at light heavyweight becomes the new headliner for Dana White’s Contender Series Season 3 Week 2.

For a full breakdown of all the fights on Tuesday’s card, check out our Week 2 breakdown. For full results, check below throughout the event, where Cageside Press will be on hand.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 3 Week 2 Results:

Alton Cunningham vs. Tony Johnson

Tony Johnson (@tjohnsonboxing) def. Alton Cunningham (@altonthebo_man) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in Round Three

Zach Zane vs. Justin Gonzales

Michael Lombardo vs. Kyle Daukaus

Kyle Daukaus (@kyle_daukaus) def. Michael Lombardo (@michaelvlombardo) via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 29-27) in Round 3

Richie Santiago vs. Miles Johns

Miles Johns (@milesxjohns) def. Richie Santiago (@ricardomiguel1010) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) in Round 3

Miguel Baeza vs. Victor Reyna

Miguel Baeza def. Victor Reyna in Round 3 via Unanimous Decision (29-29, 29-28, 29-28)

CONTRACT WINNERS: Miguel Baeza and Miles Johns

The post Dana White’s Contender Series Season 3 Week 2 Live Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Welterweight: Victor Reyna vs. Miguel Baeza

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Victor Reyna

Miguel Baeza

Who has the Advantage?

Striking: Baeza
Speed: Baeza
Knockout Power: Baeza
Chin: Baeza
Kickboxing: Baeza
Footwork: Baeza
Wrestling: Reyna
Grappling: Neither
Submissions: Neither
Cardio: Baeza

Prediction

Miguel Baeza, from the tape I’ve watched, looks impressive. The thing is, he doesn’t have much footage available. Baeza did go from fighting an excellent prospect in Ramiz Brahimaj to now fighting Reyna. With all due respect, as much as Baeza is unknown, I’m not impressed with Reyna. Reyna has lost to Kevin Holland but also to competition with records of 2-3, 20-10, and a 16-10 (as that fight was later switched to a no contest). While Baeza hasn’t fought good competition yet, this is a winnable fight for him.

Next: Alton Cunningham vs. Tony Johnson

The post DWCS 2019 Week 2 Breakdown and Predictions appeared first on Cageside Press.

The Contender Series was back this Tuesday with the second installment of its third season. Which meant that Monday was weigh-in day. Week 1 say the first time a fight had been scratched from the show, so fingers crossed that no hiccups come this week.

Among the fighters appearing, Alton Cunningham (7-1), getting his second look on the show since losing to Bevon Lewis on the Contender Series last year. Since that defeat, Cunningham has bounced back with two wins, both finishes.

Opposite Cunningham, Tony Johnson — a fighter who turned pro over a decade ago, and who has appeared in both Strikeforce and Bellator. However, Johnson has fought infrequently to say the least, and enters the fight at 7-2.

In the featured fight, meanwhile, welterweight Miguel Baeza (6-0) was putting his perfect record on the line against the more experience southpaw Victor Reyna (10-3).

Check below for live results from the official weigh-ins for week two of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 3!

Dana White’s Contender Series 2019 Week 2 Weigh-In Results:

MAIN EVENT – Light Heavyweight: Alton Cunningham (205.5) vs. Tony Johnson (203)
Featherweight: Zach Zane (146) vs. Justin Gonzales (146)
Middleweight: Michael Lombardo (185.5) vs. Kyle Daukaus (185.5)
Bantamweight: Richie Santiago (135.5) vs. Miles Johns (135.5).                      Welterweight: Miguel Baeza (169.5) vs. Victor Reyna (178)*

* Reyna missed weight by 7 lbs *

Miguel Baeza vs. Victor Reyna has been moved from the main event to the opening bout. Alton Cunningham vs. Tony Johnson is now the main event for Contender Series Week Two.

https://twitter.com/RodneyJames138/status/1143188385994948609?s=19

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The big hit show, Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, is back for a third season this summer. Contracts have been sent out to fighters and fights are already being booked. Sources have now confirmed to Cageside Press that a light heavyweight bout between Alton Cunningham and Tony Johnson will go down on June 25.

Alton Cunningham is 7-1 as a professional fighting out of Madison, Wisconsin. He has had three appearances for Legacy Fighting Alliance going 3-0 for the promotion. In October of last year, Cunningham moved up to light heavyweight from middleweight and is 2-0 in the division.

Cunningham appeared last season on the Contender Series but came up short to current UFC fighter Bevon Lewis. He’s only 25-years-old and trains out of Pura Vida BJJ/MMA. Cunningham has a perfect finish rate as a pro and an amateur.

Standing across from Cunningham will be 35-year-old Tony Johnson. Fighting out of San Jose, California, and 7-3 as a professional. He’s currently on a three-fight win streak after a loss to former UFC fighter Clifford Starks.

Tony Johnson hasn’t been too active fighting five times from 2007-2008 and then didn’t fight again till 2011. After another fight in 2013 he didn’t fight again until 2017. Johnson has fought once for Strikeforce and also once for Bellator.

Alton Cunningham was featured in Cageside Press’ 10 light heavyweights the UFC should sign in 2019 article.

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