Fueled by the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, the deepest divisions and a president who will stop at nothing to put on the best fights available, UFC stops at nothing to separate themselves from the pack.
But just because they have their cl…
Fueled by the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, the deepest divisions and a president who will stop at nothing to put on the best fights available, UFC stops at nothing to separate themselves from the pack.
But just because they have their claws secured around the market’s throat doesn’t mean other emerging promotions like BellatorMMA can’t carve a noticeable mark in the sport’s history books.
With top-flight fighters like Alexander Shlemenko, Michael Chandler, Douglas Lima and even Emanuel Newton, the Spike-charged dynamo has more to offer underneath its soft shell, which looks something like a scripted wrestling promo between ex-UFC standouts Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar.
So with respectable names at there disposal, who may very well fight inside the Octagon one day, what would happen if Bellator‘s most prized possessions got their hands on Dana White‘s henchmen?
Look no further. Here are five dream fights between the UFC and Bellator‘s finest.
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is on a mission to bring the middleweight championship back to Brazil.
On Friday, the former Strikeforce titleholder submitted Gegard Mousasi. The victory improved Jacare’s UFC record to 4-0, putting him at the front o…
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is on a mission to bring the middleweight championship back to Brazil.
On Friday, the former Strikeforce titleholder submitted GegardMousasi. The victory improved Jacare’s UFC record to 4-0, putting him at the front of the line for a shot at the winner of a December championship bout between Chris Weidman and VitorBelfort.
Sitting at No. 4 among 185-pound contenders heading into UFC Fight Night 50, Souza did his best to improve his positioning. Was it enough to surpass fellow Brazilians Anderson Silva, LyotoMachida or Belfort, though?
Here are the latest official UFC rankings via UFC.com, which are voted on by various members of the MMA media.
Welp. There goes Labor Day. And there goes the summer. Time to crack the books, roll out the footballs and get back to business.
But first, what did you do for your summer vacation?
Everyone loves a little time off. And the hard-working folks in mixed …
Welp. There goes Labor Day. And there goes the summer. Time to crack the books, roll out the footballs and get back to business.
But first, what did you do for your summer vacation?
Everyone loves a little time off. And the hard-working folks in mixed martial arts are no exception. In fact, according to myself and my own imagination, several prominent MMA fighters enjoyed totally made-up summer vacations, participating in totally made-up activities for totally made-up reasons.
Here are seven reports to the metaphorical class, which are not real and were made up by me. What were the highs of the summer? The lows? The middles? These are the questions before us. Do you have the inside scoop on another completely fictional MMA summer vacation? If only there was a way, like a special discourse area or something, for you to share that. Ah well.
It was a tough night for Gegard Mousasi at Fight Night 50. He walked to the cage as a UFC title hopeful, then left with a loss on the ledger and a much tougher road to gold at the end of the night.
The loss was particularly stinging in that it came aga…
It was a tough night for GegardMousasi at Fight Night 50. He walked to the cage as a UFC title hopeful, then left with a loss on the ledger and a much tougher road to gold at the end of the night.
The loss was particularly stinging in that it came against a man he’d beaten once already, Ronaldo Souza, and it was violently one-sided. Souzaragdolled him with relative ease, disrespecting his stand-up and romping to a guillotine choke in the third round.
Even with that considered, though, the UFC seems keen to have Mousasi fight as a middleweight. Though the results have been mixed, it would likely be worth his while to stick it out for at least one more fight to see if he can’t get back on track at 185.
With that in mind, here are three possibilities for his next time out.
Thales Leites
Leites is enjoying something of a resurgence since rejoining the UFC. He’s won four straight there, and seven in a row overall, and would very likely be interested in trying to add a scalp of Mousasi‘s name value to his collection.
For Mousasi, it would be a step down from the Souzas and LyotoMachidas of the world, the ultra-elite talents that have troubled him to this point in time. He needs that right now—not because he doesn’t have elite skill but instead because he needs to find his footing to stay at the top of the division.
Either way, a contender is born out of this one.
CB Dollaway
Dollaway is a similar option to Leites, a developing contender who could use a true test against a man on the fringes of the middleweight elite. That’s what Mousasi is, and he needs a fight to test his mettle himself, so it’s a reasonable option.
Mousasi has also shown a continuing issue with being outwrestled, and a training camp devoted to improving his takedown defense and ability to get up from the canvas might serve him well on the road back toward the top of the heap.
Another one that helps create a contender regardless of the outcome.
CostasPhilippou
Noticing a theme here?
With so many middleweights booked for fights, the options for Mousasi are in the lower half of the top 10 or even the fringes of that list, and most of those guys are coming off of wins.
The caveat is that, though they’re winners, they’ve never been in there with men on Mousasi‘s level, and Mousasi needs a man on his level to prove he’s not on the way down. That’s why Philippou, much like the other two suggestions, makes some sense.
Stylistically, the Long Island native is an excellent matchup for Mousasi thanks to years of boxing and an improved grappling game. Though he’s only 1-2 in his last three fights, he’s coming off of a very impressive win over Lorenz Larkin and could lay claim to a bout with a bigger name as a result.
Mousasi is that name should the UFC be interested in booking him in such a bout.
King Mo is back!
As back as he can be, at least.
After months of controversy centered around what his former boss may or may not be riding, a loss to Quinton Jackson he felt was a win and a Bellator regime change that gave him a new lease on life,…
King Mo is back!
As back as he can be, at least.
After months of controversy centered around what his former boss may or may not be riding, a loss to Quinton Jackson he felt was a win and a Bellator regime change that gave him a new lease on life, Muhammed Lawal starched Dustin Jacoby at Bellator 123.
It was something of a return to form for the former Oklahoma State wrestling standout, though the knockout win was a departure from his mat-heavy tendencies.
With a great showing and a few Bellator 205ers out there keen to throw hands, here are three fights for Mo to consider in his next bout.
Tom DeBlass
Lawal was supposed to match with DeBlass at Bellator 123, but a knee injury kept the jiu-jitsu ace off the card. The bout is theoretically competitive based on style and Mo’s occasional penchant for inconsistency, so there’s reason to book it again.
That said, it’s not the most easily sold of fights for Bellator. DeBlass is a UFC washout who isn’t overly well-known and certainly isn’t going to blow the doors off the sport with his capacity to promote a bout. He’s just a tough guy who’s pretty good at MMA.
If challenging Mo on competitive merit is the goal though, there’s a lot to like here.
Tito Ortiz/Stephan Bonnar Winner
If the goal of new Bellator boss Scott Coker is to build a division, a logical bout to make for Lawal is against whoever comes out of the November meeting between Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar.
In-cage promotional absurdity aside, those two are among the more relevant guys the promotion has at light heavyweight on its roster, and they’d fall right in between “tuneup fight” and “plausible test” for King Mo.
Sometimes you have to play the hand you’re dealt, and this potential scrap would be Bellator and King Mo doing exactly that in terms of an opponent.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Though Mo and Jackson’s meeting in May was a tournament win for Rampage, Bellator has since abolished the tournament format, and that may free it up to do some more interesting things with its roster.
One such thing? Well, that would have to be rematching the two, as they headlined a pay-per-view together and generated some legitimate heat in the process—heat that only grew after the controversial decision of the bout.
In terms of fights to garner interest for the promotion, there’s almost nothing Bellator could do that would be bigger than this one.
UFC champions are stoic creatures by nature.
They inhabit the most treacherous atmosphere in sports, exploring the intricacies of natural human war in the process.
Throughout time, these polarizing figures have prolonged success like a shark in a pond….
UFC champions are stoic creatures by nature.
They inhabit the most treacherous atmosphere in sports, exploring the intricacies of natural human war in the process.
Throughout time, these polarizing figures have prolonged success like a shark in a pond.
But as it is in anything, especially an entity as unpredictable and fast as mixed martial arts, nobody is safe. There is always something or someone out there with the recipe to give the champs trouble.
Here are those recipe holders who are capable of dethroning some of the UFC’s most prized champions.
It was a tough night for