Bellator parts ways with 15 fighters including A.J. Matthews, Mandy Bohm, Will Fleury, more

Over a dozen fighters are no longer with Bellator MMA.

Promotion officials recently informed MMA Junkie of 15 athletes who have parted ways with the promotion, though they didn’t specify if the departures are a result of contract termination, free agency or something else.

Twelve of the 15 names are fighters from the promotion’s European series, which has not held an event since October 2020.

Scroll below to see the names who have parted ways with Bellator.

Yannick Bahati

Weight class: Light heavyweight MMA record: 9-5 Bellator record: 1-1 [autotag]Yannick Bahati[/autotag] departs Bellator with a win and a loss in the promotion. In his promotional debut, Bahati submitted Amir Dadovic via kimura. In his sophomore outing, he lost to Melvin Manhoef by TKO via ground-and-pound.

Mandy Bohm

Weight class: Flyweight MMA record: 7-0 Bellator record: 1-0 In May 2020, [autotag]Mandy Bohm[/autotag] was scheduled to headline a Bellator card against former UFC women's flyweight champion Liz Carmouche. One year later, she is no longer on the roster. In her lone Bellator appearance this past September, Bohm defeated Griet Eeckhout by unanimous decision.

Justin Burlinson

Weight class: Welterweight MMA record: 5-0 Bellator record: 2-0 Undefeated and still only 23 years old, [autotag]Justin Burlinson[/autotag] won both of his Bellator appearances inside the distance. In his promotional debut, Burlinson choked out Maciek Gierszewski in Round 1. His second appearance only lasted nine seconds, as he pounded Wendle Lewis into submission. Burlinson was scheduled to fight Bobby Pallett in October, but the bout fell through.

Claudio Conti

Weight class: Middleweight MMA record: 7-5-2 Bellator record: 0-0 [autotag]Claudio Conti[/autotag] was released before he made his promotional debut. The Italian fighter hasn't competed since a 2018 loss to Fabian Edwards by TKO.

Ruben Crawford

Weight class: Welterweight MMA record: 16-4 Bellator record: 0-1 [autotag]Ruben Crawford[/autotag]'s first and only Bellator stint to date contained 119 seconds of in-cage time. In his lone Bellator appearance, Crawford was head-kicked and finished by Walter Gahadza at Bellator 217 in February 2019.

Zach Freeman

Zach Freeman

Weight class: Lightweight MMA record: 1-1 Bellator record: 9-3 On the main card of one of Bellator's biggest shows to date, [autotag]Zach Freeman[/autotag] shocked the world and forever made a name for himself. The supposed B-side, Freeman welcomed highly-touted professional debutant Aaron Pico to the world of MMA competition – in rude fashion. Freeman submitted Pico in 24 seconds. In his second, and final, Bellator fight to date, Freeman was knocked out by Saad Awad in November 2017. He hasn't competed since, but was booked to fight Zak Bucia on the Bellator 197 undercard – a bout that was later canceled.

Will Fleury

Weight class: Middleweight MMA record: 8-3 Bellator record: 4-2 Ireland's [autotag]Will Fleury[/autotag] became a staple of the promotion's trips across the pond as he competed six times under the Bellator banner. After a 2-1 start to his promotional tenure, Fleury alternated wins and losses over his next four. He most recently competed at Bellator Euro Series 8 in September when he defeated Kent Kauppinen by unanimous decision.

Constantin Gnusariev

Weight class: Welterweight MMA record: 4-0-1 Bellator record: 2-0-1 Undefeated in his professional MMA career, [autotag]Constantin Gnusariev[/autotag] had to lose in his three-fight Bellator tenure. The Moldovan SBG product drew with Kieran Listen before he won back-to-back unanimous decisions over Ian Coughlan and Kywan Gracie.

Malin Hermansson

Weight class: Flyweight MMA record: 5-3 Bellator record: 0-1 [autotag]Malin Hermansson[/autotag] hasn't competed for Bellator since her lone promotional appearance in March 2019. She's competed five times since then, outside the promotion. However, Bellator occasionally offers international fighters the ability to fight outside of the promotion, at times. So it's possible Hermansson was on one of those deals, but still Bellator property.

Jade Jorand

Weight class: Atomweight MMA record: 0-1 Bellator record: 0-1 Prior to her departure, [autotag]Jade Jorand[/autotag] was one of the youngest fighters on the Bellator roster. The French fighter made her promotional debut in September at age 19. She was defeated by Monika Chochlikova via a rare scorpion crunch submission.

A.J. Matthews

Weight class: Welterweight MMA record: 9-9 Bellator record: 5-7 Prior to his release, [autotag]A.J. Matthews[/autotag] was one of the longest-tenured fighters on the Bellator roster. He'd been with the promotion since Bellator 53 in 2011. Over his 12-fight career with the promotion, Matthews defeated the likes of Kendall Grove and Emiliano Sordi among others.

Karl Moore

Weight class: Light heavyweight MMA record: 9-2 Bellator record: 1-0 [autotag]Karl Moore[/autotag] was signed to Bellator after he lost a Cage Warriors title challenge in 15 seconds to Mauro Cerilli. In his lone Bellator appearance, Ireland's Moore defeated Lee Chadwick by unanimous decision. He was then booked to fight Arunas Andriuskevicus in February 2020, but the fight was canceled.

Pietro Penini

Weight class: Middleweight MMA record: 9-2-1 Bellator record: 1-1 [autotag]Pietro Penini[/autotag] is one of three Italian fighters to part ways with the promotion in the group of 15. Penini appeared twice in Bellator and split his appearances. Following a unanimous decision win over Charlie Ward in November 2019, Penini lost a unanimous decision to Mike Shipman in September 2020.

Giorgio Pietrini

Weight class: Welterweight MMA record: 16-5-1 Bellator record: 1-1 "The Italian Bear," [autotag]Giorgio Pietrini[/autotag] split his two promotional appearances with Bellator. After a 20-second knockout of Nemanja Milakovic in December 2018, Pietrini lost a unanimous decision to Jim Wallhead in May 2019. He was scheduled to fight Oliver Enkamp in October 2020 but was forced out due to an infection.

Bobby Voelker

Weight class: Welterweight MMA record: 33-14 Bellator record: 0-1 When [autotag]Bobby Voelker[/autotag] was released from the UFC in 2014, the end of his career looked near. However, he proved everyone wrong when he went 9-1 for Shamrock FC over the next five years. With his first title defense, he earned a Bellator contract. His lone Bellator appearance was unsuccessful, however, as he was knocked out by Sabah Homasi in October 2020.

1

1