ONE Championship’s Pieter Buist Transitions to Bellator

ONE Championship’s Pieter Buist transitions to Bellator MMA.

This news was originally reported by @TjinMMA on Twitter.

Buist posted about this next step in his mixed martial arts career on his personal social media to confirm the crossover between companies.

Pieter Buist ended off his journey in the ONE Circle on a two-fight losing skid.

He dropped a pair of unanimous decision losses to former ONE lightweight title challenger Timofey Nastyukhin and rising star Ruslan Emilbek in November 2020 and November 2021, respectively.

Pieter Buist Transitions to Bellator

In Buist’s full IG caption, he stated, “Alright everyone the (cat) is out of the bag & the rumors are Tru, after 2 years of kicking ass in Asia( @onechampionship crew and old manager @richardeddycoutinho THQ for the journey) it’s time for a new chapter!! @bellatormma , @bellator.europe is my new home/family and I’m hungry and on a mission, I have a new fire that’s bigger than ever & I will claim that lightweight mma world title within 2 years. The competition is tuff but I don’t give a f#ck. I believe in myself and will do everything within my power to achieve my goals.”

“Shout-out and THQ to my team: @combat_brothers Team @mousasi @neems01, @moments_mgmt And my sponsor’s.  And of course a shout-out to: @bellatormma , @bellator.europe @therealscottcoker thq for welcoming me with open arms !!! Now let’s do this !!! Stay tuned fight. News coming very soon.”

The veteran of The Netherlands regional MMA scene debuted with ONE Championship in May 2019. He finished Kota Shimoishi via second-round grounded knees at ONE: Warriors of Light. A fight that kicked off an eventual three-fight winning streak.

Buist’s biggest name-value win during his run with the company was his split decision victory over former ONE lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang at ONE: Fire & Fury in January 2020.

The Archangel has an overall mixed martial arts record of 17-6 and went 3-2 specifically under the ONE banner.

What are your feelings on Pieter Buist moving from the ONE Circle to the Bellator cage?

Dylan Bowker

I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.

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