Sources close to the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting that several fighters from the roster are no longer under contract—including former two-division world champion Joe Warren, bantamweight Ricky Bandejas and longtime promotional veteran Derek Campos. MMA reporter Jason Floyd was first to report the news.
Per sources, it’s important to note that not all fighters on the list were not released from the promotion. While that is the case for some, others are currently renegotiating for a potential return to the Bellator cage.
Warren hasn’t competed in the Bellator cage in almost two years and dropped three of his last four, including a first-round TKO loss to Shawn Bunch in his most recent fight at Bellator 210 in November 2018. Warren captured the featherweight title with a second-round finish of Joe Soto at Bellator 27 in September 2010, and became the 135-pound titleholder with a decision win over Eduardo Dantas in October 2014 at Bellator 128.
Bandejas was widely considered one of the promotion’s top bantamweight prospects following his first-round finish of James Gallagher at Bellator 204. Since then, the 28-year-old compiled a 2-4 record, including losses in his last two fights to Sergio Pettis and Leandro Higo.
Campos, one of the promotion’s action-packed fighters who competed in the lightweight and featherweight divisions, is 1-5 in his last six and was finished in his last two appearances by AJ McKee and Keoni Diggs.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir was also revealed to be off of the roster, which was to be expected after he signed a multi-fight deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. In addition, Roy Nelson, another UFC turned Bellator fighter, is on the list.
Additionally, former champions Pat Curran and Rafael Lovato Jr., along with Jon Fitch have officially informed Bellator that they have retired.
Here is the full list of Bellator fighters who are no longer on the roster:
Joe Warren
Ricky Bandejas
Derek Campos
Frank Mir
Roy Nelson
Vinicius Zani
Manny Vazquez
Shawn Bunch
Mike Kimbel
AJ Agazarm
Adel Altamim
Adil Benjilany
Daniel Crawford
Cris Lencioni
Jeremiah Labiano
Salim Mukhidinov
Mihail Nica
Haim Gozali
Richard Kiely
Ion Pascu
Mateusz Piskorz
David Rickels
Joe Schilling
Tuco Tokkos
Rafael Carvalho
Rudy Schaffroth
Kristina William
Hatice Ozyurt
Fighters to officially inform promotion of retirement:
Rafael Lovato Jr.
Jon Fitch
Pat Curran
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