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Bracketing the Bellator Heavyweight Tournament

November 13, 2017 | Posted by Dan Plunkett

More than three years after Bellator MMA’s last heavyweight title fight, and more than one year after the promotion has officially recognized a heavyweight champion, Bellator is turning its wheels to begin the process of crowning a new heavyweight champion.

On Friday, Bellator announced a heavyweight tournament, planned to occur over several events throughout 2018 and culminate in a new champion before the end of the year.

News of the tournament did not come as a surprise. It had been rumored for months, and Bellator MMA president Scott Coker made a big splash in 2011 with the same concept when he headed Strikeforce.

Then, Strikeforce’s tournament included the world’s best heavyweights competing outside of the UFC, boasting multiple top ten fighters and eight relevant names in the field. It began as a big success, drawing a record television audience for the promotion and attracting more attention than ever before to Strikeforce. But the excitement unraveled quickly.

Strikeforce bracketed the tournament to set up a big second round match for Fedor Emelianenko, who ended up losing in the first round. Delays then set in, with four months separating the first pair of quarterfinal bouts from the second pair. Finally, the UFC, which purchased Strikeforce shortly after the tournament began, poached tournament favorite Alistair Overeem following the first round.

Bellator’s heavyweight tournament exists in a vastly different landscape. There are fewer top heavyweights outside of the UFC than there were in 2011. As a whole, rather than progress, the division has only gotten older. Lack of heavyweight talent is main the reason Bellator has gone without a title bout in the division these past few years, and this shallowness shows in the lineup for their heavyweight tournament.

Of the eight competitors, only four are full-time heavyweights. Of those four heavyweights, the youngest is 38-year-old Frank Mir, who has lost six of his past eight fights. The other four fighters are best known as light heavyweights.

For the lack of true heavyweights in their fighting prime, Bellator has done its best to compensate with name value. The eight competitors scheduled are: Ryan Bader, 34, the current Bellator light heavyweight champion; Fedor Emelianenko, 41, widely regarded as the best heavyweight of all-time; Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, 39, the former UFC light heavyweight champion whose last few bouts have been in heavyweight waters; Mo Lawal, 36, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion; Frank Mir, 38, the former UFC heavyweight champion; Matt Mitrione, 39, who knocked out Emelianenko in June; Roy Nelson, 41, the heavyweight slugger who enjoyed a seven-year UFC run; and Chael Sonnen, 40, whose best success occurred in the middleweight division.

Of the field, Emelianenko and Sonnen are likely the two biggest current attractions, with Jackson and Mir trailing behind them ahead of the rest.

When looking at which matches to make in the tournament, a few issues arise relating to past fights. Emelianenko lost to Mitrione earlier this year, and he should get one or two wins before fighting Mitrione again. Lawal and Jackson have already fought twice, and neither bout received strong reviews. Jackson has also fought Bader, which was a one-sided fight in Bader’s favor. Frank Mir defeated Roy Nelson in a bad fight in 2011. Reruns of any of these bouts should be avoided in the opening rounds.

Nelson knocked out Mitrione in 2012 in a solid fight. Much has changed with both fighters over the years, so a rematch would be acceptable.

According to a report from MMA Fighting, Bellator is targeting a first-round Emelianenko vs. Mir match, which is a battle of top Pride and UFC heavyweights from another era. Although both have seen their best days pass, there is a certain appeal to the fight because of the reputations they built years ago while never crossing paths.

My thought would be to match Emelianenko against Sonnen in the first round. On paper, it is the biggest match among the field, and promises that one of the two largest attractions will move on to the second round. Emelianenko could easily lose to any other fighter in the tournament, while Sonnen is likely the biggest underdog in the field.

On the same side of the bracket, I’d have Jackson fight Nelson. It would be a banger of a fight and set up a strong semi-final bout.

Bader vs. Lawal makes too much sense for them to not be matched against each other on the other side of the bracket, which leaves Mitrione vs. Mir to round out the tournament.

However, the news of Emelianenko vs. Mir changes things.

With that in mind, Sonnen should fight Jackson, which may be the second best drawing fight of the field.

Once again, Bader vs. Lawal, which was supposed to take place in June, is the most sensible fight for both fighters. If Lawal wins, it sets up a championship rematch with Bader at a later date. That leaves a rematch between Mitrione and Nelson as the last fight of the opening round.

With tournaments, something will inevitably go wrong. There will be delays, and there will probably be a replacement fighter or two. The best Bellator can do is to set up the biggest matches possible early on, leaving as little to chance as possible.

Dan Plunkett has covered MMA for 411Mania since 2008. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Dan_Plunkett.