#rizin-and-bellator-championships

#rizin-and-bellator-championships

"I do hate him," Morales told Alvaro Colemenoro. "We don't have a very good vibe. But at the end of the day, he's still a fighter. I'm not gonna get overconfident if I had to prepare myself to fight him... That fight is gonna be intense if it happens... I think that if I were to fight him, it would be the first time that I would fight in a very aggressive way."

Makhachev's cryptic response to a photo of Morales and Topuria, featuring a telephone emoji, hints at a potential matchup with one of them next.

'Our new rules, 'Stand and Bang,' between Materla and Jungwirth, that would be something special. Now it's basically gonna be boxing with small gloves, with elbows also, clinch on the fence, but no takedowns, no kicks. And I believe this will be something special.'

"About the decision, about the fight, nobody stay happy. I think the only people who stay happy about the decision is my opponent and his team. The president is making the right choice with that, that's protecting the image of the company and not tainting their legacy and the sport."

If you want to make money, fight. One year ago, Tom was saying things like, 'I'm the active champion. I don't care about Jon Jones. I just care about the belt.' We all supported that because Tom was completely correct. And now one year later Tom is the one that appears to be holding out.

"This belt will be special if I win it, God willing. It's the belt that Laila Ali, Holly Holm and Amanda Serrano have held. They are legends of the sport."

The high-profile 135lb match-up takes place at PFL Brussels at the ING Arena in Brussels, Belgium on May 23, 2026. It marks the first time the promotions have collaborated.