Here at MMA Junkie we love a good tournament, and Bellator has brought back the format with a fair amount of success.
It’s seen Ryan Bader become a champ-champ by adding the heavyweight strap to his light heavyweight title, while the welterweight tournament has now reached its finale, with Rory MacDonald and Douglas Lima set to face off for the Bellator 170-pound title and a $1 million prize.
So, with the start of Bellator’s 16-man featherweight grand prix – the promotion’s biggest tournament to date – set for Sept. 7, I was tasked with the job of coming up with a set of eight pairings that would make a fine first-round lineup for the tournament.
And so, with a respectful nod to my MMA Junkie colleague and author of “Sean Shelby’s Shoes,” Mike Bohn, I ease my size 10s into “Rick Chou’s Jimmy Choos” and try a bit of matchmaking of my own but – with a twist.
Here are my eight (seven actually) first-round matchup predictions for the Bellator featherweight grand prix. I’ve put together a slate of fights that would excite fans and create potentially interesting narratives as the tournament progresses. I’ve even thrown in a couple of wildcard selections to mix things up and keep things interesting, too.
So, without further ado, let’s present our entirely unofficial, fantasy featherweight grand prix draw …
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LEFT SIDE OF THE BRACKET: Top
The title fight: Patricio Pitbull vs Juan Archuleta
The first confirmed matchup in the tournament is also a battle for the Bellator featherweight title, as Patricio Freire puts his 145-pound strap on the line against the surging Juan Archuleta.
Bellator’s newest champ-champ will have the added pressure of putting his title on the line every time he competes in the tournament, but Freire (29-4 MMA, 17-4 BMMA) can’t afford to look too far ahead of himself. Archuleta (23-1 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is as dangerous a contender as he could face right now.
“The Spaniard” is riding a superb wave of form and has the tools to give “Pitbull” all the trouble he can handle in their first-round matchup. But whose power will prevail?
The fight for the right: Daniel Weichel vs Henry Corrales
The first fantasy match in the bracket is a huge one for the two participants, as it acts not only as a gateway to the quarterfinals but also as a world title eliminator.
And in Daniel Weichel and Henry Corrales you have two fighters with different motivations to get to the belt. For Corrales (17-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA), it’s simple – he’s on a five-fight winning streak (including three finishes), and wants to earn his shot with one more win. But for Weichel (39-11 MMA, 8-3 BMMA), it’s all about redemption.
The German contender came close to finishing “Pitbull” in the opening round of their first meeting in 2015, but the bell saved the Brazilian, who then came back to claim the knockout win early in the second stanza. Then, when they faced off for the belt a second time two years later, Weichel was edged out by the narrowest of split decisions.
In this scenario, one of them would face off against the champion, whomever that may be, in the quarterfinals. But which story will continue? The rising star or the two-time challenger looking to prove the third time’s a charm?
Next page – Left side of the bracket: Bottom
LEFT SIDE OF THE BRACKET: Bottom
The crowd-pleaser: Aaron Pico vs Robin van Roosmalen
Every tournament has one opening-round matchup that just screams entertainment, and the return of Aaron Pico against debuting kickboxing superstar Robin van Roosmalen would have just about everything.
Pico’s career momentum has slowed after suffering back-to-back stoppage losses. But he nonetheless remains an outstanding prospect, and a matchup against an elite striker whose MMA game won’t be as well rounded as his own offers intriguing possibilities.
Can Pico (4-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) implement a suitable gameplan to defeat the kickboxing ace, or will van Roosmalen (2-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) find Pico’s chin and claim a big-name victim on his Bellator debut?
It would be a timely test of Pico’s evolving fight IQ, while offering van Roosmalen the opportunity to arrive in Bellator with a bang.
Rising star vs hype killer: A.J. McKee vs Adam Borics
Fresh off his decision win over former champ Pat Curran, A.J. McKee’s stock is sky-high. But Adam Borics has already proved he’s more than capable of derailing a hype train – just ask Pico.
Both men are undefeated, which adds another layer of intrigue to this matchup. Borics (13-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) has only gone the distance three times in his unblemished career, while McKee (14-0 MMA, 14-0 BMMA) has an almost even split between KOs, submissions and points victories.
A matchup between the pair would present the American with a real test of his credentials while offering Hungarian grappler Borics a chance to catapult himself into contention with another high-profile scalp.
Next page – Right side of the bracket: Top
RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRACKET: Top
Old guard vs new blood: Daniel Straus vs Saul Rogers
Daniel Straus has been there, seen it, done it, and has a world championship belt on his wall to prove it. But after losing his title to “Pitbull,” then dropping a decision in his comeback fight, the former featherweight champ is now in a rebuilding phase as he looks to fight his way back to the belt.
Standing in his way in our fantasy featherweight tournament is British featherweight Saul Rogers. “The Hangman” should, by all rights, be in the UFC right now, but visa issues meant he couldn’t compete in the finale of a “The Ultimate Fighter” season he dominated, leaving him as the man on the outside looking in.
Now Rogers (13-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is a Bellator fighter, and he’s ready to jump into the featherweight tournament and make an impact. He’s strong at the weight and has excellent wrestling and grappling. In short, he’s just the sort of fighter to bring the best out of Straus (28-6 MMA, 12-5 MMA).
Victory over the former champ would announce Rogers’ arrival as a legitimate dark horse for the tournament, while a win for Straus would put him one step closer to the final and a shot at his old title.
Battle of the prospects: Tywan Claxton vs Gaston Bolanos
Both Tywan Claxton (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) and Gaston Bolanos (5-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) have made superb starts to their respective careers under the Bellator banner, with both men racking up a handful of victories apiece.
So, why not see who’s best prepared for a step up in competition by matching them together in the first round of the featherweight tournament? One man will fall by the wayside, but the other will head into the quarter-finals with real momentum as a dangerous new contender.
But will it be the American wrestler, or the Peruvian striker? It would be a lot of fun finding out.
Next page – Right side of the bracket: Bottom
RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRACKET: Bottom
Former champions collide: Darrion Caldwell vs Pat Curran
Two-time former featherweight king Pat Curran and recently dethroned bantamweight title-holder Darrion Caldwell feature in this intriguing first-round battle of ex-champions in our fantasy grand prix.
Curran (23-8 MMA, 13-4 BMMA) has plenty of history with other members of this tournament – he’s shared the cage with five of them through the years – but in Caldwell (13-3 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) he’s lining up against a new opponent.
Caldwell’s last appearance saw him leaving the arena in a rage after losing out to Kyoji Horiguchi at Bellator 222. But by giving him a spot in the featherweight tourney, “The Wolf” – a big bantamweight – would have the opportunity to compete at a more natural weight, without the strain of a big weight cut.
And if he has a chip on his shoulder, the chance to tear into a tournament and make his point would be both cathartic for him and enjoyable to watch for us.
The wildcard match: Emmanuel Sanchez vs Brendan Loughnane
As a British reporter, I’ve kept tabs on Brendan Loughnane’s career ever since his substitute appearance on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes. And when UFC president Dana White decided to use a last-gasp takedown as a reason not to sign the Manchester featherweight, I was legitimately stunned. Had I been in Bellator president Scott Coker’s shoes at that point, I’d have been on the phone with Loughnane (17-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) straight away, offering him a contract and the last spot in my tournament.
So, while we still don’t know where Loughnane will end up, for the purposes of our fantasy tournament we’ll assume Bellator has secured his signature and added him to the grand prix.
And we’re giving him a hell of a test on his (fantasy) Bellator debut, too. Emmanuel Sanchez (18-4 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) is a former title challenger whose only defeats since joining the promotion have come to fighters who have either held or challenged for a world title.
If Loughnane can step in and defeat Sanchez, who has never been finished in his 22-fight career, people will start to get very excited.
And if he went on to make a serious dent in the tournament, a few people in Las Vegas might end up scratching their heads thinking about the one that got away.
For more on upcoming Bellator events, check out the MMA schedule.
