Bellator should have champions headline its MSG pay per view

Crunch Time

 

Last updated 6/15/2017 at 12:50pm



By AL STOVER

Staff Reporter

Bellator MMA’s is putting on its biggest fight card in less than two weeks.

The organization is pulling out all the stops for its June 24 pay per view event at Madison Square Garden — which they have dubbed “Bellator: NYC.” To say Bellator has a stacked card for the event is a bit of an understatement. Two of the five fights on the card are title bouts, one featuring lightweight champion Michael Chandler defending against upstart Brent Primus while the other is welterweight titleholder Douglas Lima against former UFC fighter Lorenz Larkin.

The main event is highly anticipated grudge match between MMA legends Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva, while the co-headlining bout is a clash between Matt Mitrione and the legendary Fedor Emelianenko.

I think Bellator: NYC is going to be a good event and I’m thrilled to see athletes like Silva and Sonnen compete in Madison Square Garden — except I have an issue with the promoters choosing to put two non-title bouts above the championship matches.

I understand that the top two fights feature athletes who are legends in the sport, but a title bout — or in this case two — should always have top billing over non-title matches.

This move on Bellator’s part harkens back to 2013 when the organization was set to have its first pay per view with a bout between former UFC stars Tito Ortiz and Quinton Jackson — headlining the event, while the rematch for the lightweight title between Chandler and Eddie Alvarez — a sequel to what was the greatest fight in the organization’s history — got the co-main event spot.

Bellator wanted to break into the pay-per-view game and having Jackson and Ortiz as top billing generated a lot of buzz from the MMA community. However, Chandler and Alvarez were already established stars in the company and known to Bellator fans.

Later, Ortiz had to withdraw from the fight, resulting in the lightweight title bout moving up to the main event. The event was removed from pay per view and broadcast on Spike TV for free.

Bellator would go on to have its first pay per view in May 2014, which was headlined by a bout between Jackson and “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal — with an interim title bout between Chandler and Will Brooks as the co-main event. The event drew 100,000 buys, and Bellator president Scott Coker is hoping the MSG card draws at least 200,000.

Putting non-title bouts above championship matches was a frequent move MMA promoters did in the past, but is not really something we see today.

The last time the UFC did this was in March 2016 at UFC 196. In the main event, then-featherweight champion Conor McGregor fought Nate Diaz in a welterweight contest while the title bout between women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm’s and Miesha Tate got the co-main event slot. To be fair, McGregor was supposed to face Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight title before the bout was scrapped because of dos Anjos’ injury.

Both Chandler and Lima are Bellator mainstays who have spent years with the company. Then you have their opponents. Larkin is coming in with a lot of momentum and is getting a chance to add his name to the Bellator record books. Primus, who has racked up a five-fight winning streak in the Bellator cage, is getting his first shot at Bellator gold.

As for the four headliners, not one of them have the time and experience in Bellator as the other four fighters.

• Sonnen has only had one fight in Bellator – a first round submission loss to Ortiz in January.

• Silva has not fought a professional MMA bout in four years.

• Emelienanko’s last fight was in June 2016, a majority decision against Fábio Maldonado.

• Mitrione is only 2-0 in Bellator.

The two champions and their challengers might not have the name recognition as the main eventers, but if Bellator is going to put title implications on both of these fights, they should be moved to the top of the card.

A promotion’s championship picture should be more important than an attempt to generate headlines.

I want Bellator’s second attempt in pay per view to succeed because it gives the organization a chance to grow, and fighters another place to compete and make money.

But the promotion needs to invest more time in their champions, not just fighters who come in with a lot of hype. Otherwise those champions might decide to go to another organization when their Bellator contract is finished.

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.

 

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