Brock was done at that point though and I don’t think Overeem could of beaten a prime Velasquez back then.
He gassed against Werdum in a 3 round fight in Strikeforce and we saw how Fedor struggled and lost against Bigfoot silva and how Cain completely annihilated him twice.
I’m no fan of the UFC as an organisation but I feel their champions are on a higher level compared to other organisations. Since the end of Pride at least.
Nope.
All of this.
There’s something I can’t fully put my finger on other than to say “everything” about the production, but I cannot watch Bellator at all.
There’s nothing about the experience I find enjoyable.
Fights should be fights but somehow Bellator manages to present them in a way that I don’t care to watch them at all.
To @Bignightmare2’s point about local talent. It is cool to get a chance on a bigger stage but if you’re a local Bellator undercard guy who is even watching you fight for $500? Literally nobody. Probably bigger audiences at the small local shows for their fights.
I can’t agree with that. Strikeforces was top heavy. They had no depth but they had 10-15 of the best fighters on the planet, all championship caliber.
They had around 8-10 people (don’t feel like counting) go on to become UFC champs, probably another 10 title challengers.
In terms of winning the UFC title obviously Rockhold and Cormier spring to mind but Werdum was in the UFC before he went to Strikeforce.
Can’t remember if Woodley had joined the UFC before or after the Strikeforce merger. Can’t think of anyone else off the top of my head.
Agree to disagree I guess…
Ronda, Tate, Cyborg, Cain also fought in Strikeforce before they went and became UFC champs.
Lawler like Werdum was in UFC before he went to Strikeforce and then back to UFC.
UFC also got fighters like Jacare and Romero.
I’ll be honest, I’d rather see UFC buy Bellator and the roster and bring the talent over as they did with Strikeforce.
Besides the 40+ Fight Nights and PPV’s a year UFC does they also have DWCS now and those are solid shows as well so the point is UFC is a machine that is pumping out like 50 cards a year now.
If there was a PRIDE or DREAM around I would not want to see UFC get that talent but I’d much rather see UFC get the Bellator talent than PFL, fuck PFL.
I didn’t include the women because there was no women’s division in the UFC before they brought Strikeforce.
Cain was in the UFC for about 3 or 4 years before the merger I think?
Lawler yes that is one I forgot but like you say he was in the UFC first before Strikeforce.
Conflicted as to whether I would like the UFC to buy out Bellator or not.
On one hand talent wise it’s better to have everyone in the same organisation.
However I do like having the variety of watching different organisations and the opportunities given to fighters who wouldn’t necessarily get the same attention if they were in the UFC.
Also a monopoly probably isn’t in the fighters interests given how poorly the UFC have paid them over the years.
Cain , cormier, Woodley, rockhold, Werdum, Lawler, rousey, cyborg, Tate
All fought in strikeforce before becoming UFC champions.
Fedor didn’t fight in UFC but he was the consensus #1 ranked HW in world for 7 years and was still #1 ranked while in strikeforce until losing to Werdum.
$500? I have never heard of Bellator tix being that much. I have cornered in Bellator a lot and mostly the tix were cheap and affordable. $60-70 at most. The venues are always a lot smaller than they try to make them look. I agree with all of your other points. It’s not anywhere near the UFC as a league or event.
Like I just said to Bj Penn forever I didn’t include the women because there was no women’s divisions before the merger.
Cain was in the UFC about 3 or 4 years before the merger and Werdum and Lawler had both been in the UFC before Strikeforce. Can’t remember when Woodley joined the UFC if it was before or after the merger.
So that leaves Rockhold and Cormier as the only Strikeforce champions who won the title in the UFC without previously being in the organisation.
Am a huge Fedor fan and he is easily one of the greatest in history.
However it’s evident (IMHO) in his losses to Werdum, Bigfoot and Henderson in Strikeforce that he would not have enjoyed the same degree of success at the highest levels of the UFC post 2009 that he did in Pride back in it’s heyday.
You’re throwing so many conditions and exclusions…
Strikeforce was stacked… who cares if those people fought for other orgs before we are talking about quality of talent.
No depth but absolutely top heavy.
Was talking about the payouts.
I may have over-exaggerated but the lowest pay I’ve seen out of Bellator is $1,500.
I wish Bellator was better, I don’t know why they don’t change it up. It’s not even a “not the UFC” thing. I absolutely love watching One. Even the weekly fights on Friday. A bunch of guys I’ve never heard of I find far more entertaining than huge legacy names in Bellator.
That production…man it’s unfortunate.
Someone was right calling it a UFC knockoff.
)And what the fuck is a “Bellator” again?
EDIT
My original comment which you replied to…
I was making the point that Bellator today do not have the caliber of fighters that Strikeforce had before the UFC brought them.
You replied that there was no shortage of talent outside of the UFC to which I replied that I should of worded it better by saying ‘‘Championship level talent’’. I.E those capable of challenging the current UFC title holders.
I stand by my opinion but anyone is free to disagree of course.
Sorry for misinterpreting. I agree with you. The backstage is well run but I cornered in a HS gym at Bellator in Hanford, ca.before. I was like “ wtf?”. Even the shows at some of the casinos are small as can be.
Meh
Bellator 300 finally has a date and location, as well as a historic main card.
The event is set for Oct. 7 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego and will feature four title fights. The promotion is saying Bellator 300 will have four main events, but atop the card will be heavyweight champion Ryan Bader against challenger Linton Vassell.
In addition, women’s featherweight champ Cris Cyborg takes on challenger Cat Zingano, lightweight titleholder Usman Nurmagomedov meets former champ Brent Primus, and in a long-discussed matchup, women’s flyweight champ Liz Carmouche will put her title on the line against her good friend, training partner and former champ, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.
I still think over half the top talent exists outside the UFC.
I’d bet money if you had everyone in world compete in tournament, 80% of the top 10 would be outside the UFC.
UFC has no feeder system and talent get locked into contracts elsewhere.
Almost everyone who is top talent in UFC right now was probably a killer before they came into the UFC.