Bellator Fighting Championships is an interesting concept for Mixed Martial Arts fans both new and old. It provides us with a weekly format (not something any different than ESPN's Friday Night Fights), tournaments (a throwback to the days of Pride and currently, Strikeforce with the "Grand Prix" concept), and young hungry prospects as well as journeymen, more than willing to try to prove themselves. Most importantly, before this upcoming season set to begin Saturday on MTV2 (The Score in Canada beginning at 10pm EST), it had its own night (Thursdays).
Here are 5 questions I'd hope to be answered when that season starts :
1) Is their Television deal a gamble? - Before MTV2, Bellator had a reported deal with American Fox Cable outlet FX on the table before being left at the altar. Bjorn Rebney, as suave and calculated almost every bit as that other bald MMA exec, promptly turned around and got a deal with MTV2. MTV2 is catered more to younger audiences, where as Bellator is catered to that coveted male 18-34 male demographic. It will be interesting to see how many sons will hang out with their old man to watch fights on Saturday night. Plus, MTV2 has stiffed us with combat sports being watered down in the past (anybody remember Wrestling Society X?) and bouncing that aformentioned show all over the schedule -- something that happened to Bellator in seasons 2 and 3 with their deal with Fox Sports Net, after being promised events will air live. MTV2 says these events will air live in their entirety due to their 3 year pact. We'll See.
2) Which one of their established veterans step up or get robbed trying? -- In season 2, Toby Imada made it to the lightweight finals for the second straight tournament, only to lose a title shot to Lightweight kingpin Eddie Alvarez due to a controversial split decision loss to Pat Curran. Season 3 saw Jessica Aguilar lose her spot in the woman's title finals to Zoila Frausto, even though many people thought that like Imada, she got robbed. With Lyman Good losing his Welterweight title to Ben Askren in season 3, he's entered as in the tournament along with veterans like Dan Hornbuckle and "Judo" Jim Wallhead (gotta love the name). Will any of those 3, along with the veteran Imada, get to the finals? or will they get conned out of an opportunity to fight for the title based on a judges decision?
3) What crazy moments will happen in these tournaments? - In Season 1, we got the spinning back fist knockout courtesy of Yahir Reyes, and a standing triangle choke courtesy of Imada on Jorge Masvidal. Season 2 provided us with highlight reel KOs from Pat Curran, and spinning back fists from Alexander Shlemenko. Season 3 saw something that was away from the cage, as Roger Huerta had his biggest win outside the cage (outside a Dallas nightclub) and hot water abound as the UFC sued Bellator for some legal issues. From all these moments, can we expect something off the wall for season 4?
4) Is Marcin Held more BJ Penn or Jake Shields? - Well, one thing nobody can dispute about Rebney is that he has a knack for finding talent. He's always been able to take the fringe fighters who are in relative obscurity (Canadians Sean Pierson and Nick Ring to name a couple) and showcase them on a grand stage. Megumi Fujii was the showcase for the women's season 3 tournament. Unfortunately she lost to Zoila Frausto in the finals. Now, comes the "Prodigy of Polish MMA", Marcin Held. At 19 years old, he's 10-1 and in the process of being the youngest BJJ black belt in his country's history. I've only ever seen a few of his fights on youtube, and from what I've seen he's got some decent standup and great Jiu-Jitsu. Does that mean he has the tools to challenge Eddie Alvarez? We'll have to wait until Saturday to find out when he has his first round match against Michael Chandler.
5) Is the move to Saturday's necessarily a good thing for MMA - Bellator for 3 seasons dominated mid to late week. Going to Saturdays, according to Rebney, provides a "lead-in" for cards such as Strikeforce and the UFC. But does that mean its necessarily a good thing to get exposure if you're not competing directly? Will fans care? Rebney thinks so. And based on what he's done for the first 3 seasons, there might not be any reason to doubt him.
Tune in Saturday nights on MTV2 in the United States and the Score in Canada.
Until next time, fight fans.
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