By The Numbers: Bellator MMA in 2022

Bellator MMA has turned the page on yet another eventful calendar year, though it will handle co-promoting duties with Rizin Fighting Federation on Dec. 31 in Japan. What began with Bellator 273 on Jan. 29 concluded 314 days later with Bellator 289 on Dec. 9, as the Scott Coker-led organization crowned new champions, made inroads in untapped markets and continued to broaden its international presence. Bellator now turns its eyes towards 2023, which offers the promise of its own twists and turns, jaw-dropping knockouts, breathtaking submissions and unexpected power shifts.

With Bellator 290 a month and some change away, a look at some of the numbers the California-based company generated in 2022:

17: Events staged by Bellator in 2022. All told, the company did business in five different countries: the United States, Italy, France, England and Ireland.

213: Fights promoted by Bellator over the past 12 months. Nearly half of them (102) concluded without a true finish: 79 unanimous decisions, 19 split decisions, three no contests and one draw.

76: Bellator bouts ended by knockout or technical knockout in the last year, accounting for 68% of the finishes within the organization.

12: Seconds needed for Ayoub Nacer to punch out Cherif Ba Pape at Bellator 287 on Oct. 29. It was the fastest finish via KO/TKO under the Bellator banner in 2022.

604: Days covered by Gegard Mousasi’s second reign as undisputed Bellator middleweight champion. He reclaimed the title with a five-round unanimous decision over Douglas Lima at Bellator 250 on Oct. 29, 2020 and successfully defended it on two subsequent occasions before surrendering it to undefeated American Top Team export Johnny Eblen at Bellator 282 on June 24.

35: Bellator bouts ended by submission in the last year, accounting for 32% of the finishes within the organization.

36: Seconds needed for Pat Downey to dismiss Keyes Nelson with an arm-triangle choke at Bellator 284 on Aug. 12. It was the fastest finish via submission under the Bellator flag in 2022.

1,000,000: Banked by Vadim Nemkov for winning the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix. He completed his run through the eight-man draw with a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 19 winner Corey Anderson, as their tournament final headlined Bellator 288 on Nov. 18.

2: Victories by Patricio Freire in 2022, extending his all-time Bellator record to 22. Freire reclaimed the featherweight championship with a five-round unanimous decision over A.J. McKee in their Bellator 277 rematch on April 15, then retained it by outpointing Adam Borics to a unanimous verdict in their five-round Bellator 286 main event on Oct. 1.

22: Consecutive calendar years in which French heavyweight Cheick Kongo has fought at least once. He made one appearance in 2022, as he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Ryan Bader in a failed bid to capture the heavyweight crown at Bellator 280 on May 6. Kongo turned 47 just 11 days later.