With big-name signings, an ongoing $1 million tournament and growing excitement around the future of the promotion, 2020 looked set to be a big year for Bellator MMA. But the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic placed the sporting world – including Bellator – on an enforced hiatus as social distancing and quarantine measures were introduced in nations across the world.
It meant that Bellator’s event schedule hit the brakes after just three shows in 2020. But in those three events, we witnessed six fighters deliver contrasting, yet decisive, statements as they looked to further their respective careers inside the Bellator cage.
We take a look back at six big statements made inside the Bellator cage so far in 2020…
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Cris Cyborg ascends the throne
Bellator 238, Jan. 25, The Forum, Inglewood
Reports of Cris Cyborg’s demise following her UFC title defeat to Amanda Nunes were grossly exaggerated, and the Brazilian women’s MMA icon emphatically proved that fact on her Bellator debut as she overpowered long-reigning champion Julia Budd to capture the promotion’s women’s featherweight title at Bellator 238.
Cyborg (22-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) put the pedal to the metal from the first round and kept her foot flat on the floor as she pushed a relentless pace on the Canadian before eventually breaking down the champion in the championship rounds for a fourth-round TKO finish.
The victory put Cyborg’s name into the history books as the first fighter to win titles in four major MMA organizations, having captured titles in Strikeforce, Invicta FC, UFC, and now Bellator.
Now, with the Brazilian back on top, but with a much deeper pool of 145-pound contenders to defend against, the challenges should come thick and fast once Bellator restarts its event schedule.
Next up: Bellator’s “super prospect” bounces back with big KO
Aaron Pico explodes back into the win column
Bellator 238, Jan. 25, The Forum, Inglewood
When a talented young prospect arrives in the professional ranks with the sort of fanfare that greeted Aaron Pico, naysayers are always waiting in the wings, ready to jump on them when they falter.
Sure enough, after suffering back-to-back stoppage losses to featherweight contenders Henry Corrales and Adam Borics in 2019, some observers started to question whether the early hype surrounding Pico was justified. But, after taking some time away from active duty to refresh and recharge, Pico returned against Daniel Carey at Bellator 238 and delivered a big statement to the doubters.
Pico showed off his power with a thumping left hand to starch Carey (7-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) in the second round as the Jackson-Wink prospect snapped his two-fight skid and returned to winning ways in spectacular fashion.
Still only 23, there’s no immediate rush to catapult Pico into the upper echelon of Bellator’s uber-talented 145-pound division. But he proved that he is learning from his defeats and improving his skills with each fight.
The ceiling remains sky-high for Pico, and he proved to those who doubted him that he’s anything but a busted flush, and still very much one to watch when Bellator returns later this year.
Next up: Undefeated welterweight shows he’s ready for a title shot
Yaroslav Amosov outwrestles the wrestler
Bellator 239, Feb. 21, WinStar World Casino, Thackerville, Oklahoma
He might not make too much noise on the mic, but Yaroslav Amosov let his skills do the talking as he dominated highly-touted prospect Ed Ruth to extend his perfect professional record.
Amosov (23-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) showcased his wrestling and grappling credentials as he beat Ruth (8-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) at his own game, then beat him up in the stand-up as he showed his full range of skills in the main event of Bellator 239.
Ruth was pegged as a future contender at 170 pounds but found himself outmatched by the Ukrainian, whose all-round MMA game proved to be just too good for the American, as he sent the three-time NCAA Division I national champion to the second defeat of his MMA career.
But for Amosov, who extended his remarkable undefeated record, it was another demonstration of his title credentials as he made clear his readiness to take on the reigning 170-pound champ, Douglas Lima.
Next up: Heavyweight veteran derails prospect’s hype train
Timothy Johnson slows the hype on Tyrell Fortune
Bellator 239, Feb. 21, WinStar World Casino, Thackerville, Oklahoma
Tyrell Fortune was looking every inch a future contender as he climbed the Bellator heavyweight ranks in impressive fashion in 2019. But the Florida-based heavyweight suffered an unexpected bump in his road to the top in the form of former UFC veteran Timothy Johnson, who knocked him out in stunning fashion in Thackerville.
Johnson had arrived in Bellator to little fanfare in 2018 after going 4-3 in the UFC, and began his tenure with back-to-back first-round losses to Cheick Kongo and Vitaly Minakov. Then he was handed a matchup against rising prospect Fortune in a bout that, it seemed, was designed to act as a yardstick for the rising prospect’s progression in the heavyweight division.
But the teak-tough Johnson wasn’t in Thackerville to be anyone’s stepping stone, and he produced a superb performance to demolish Fortune and warn anyone in the Bellator heavyweight division that you underestimate the 35-year-old at your own peril.
His performance also produced one of the commentary lines of the year from Bellator play-by-play man Mauro Ranallo, who exclaimed, “Fortune favors the bold, and Johnson has knocked Tyrell Fortune out cold!”
Next up: “The Curse” proves to be a blessing for Bellator’s European team
Leah McCourt becomes Bellator’s newest European headliner
Bellator Europe 7, Feb. 22, 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland
Bellator’s work to establish a solid presence in Europe over the last few years has been a real success story for the promotion, and nowhere is the Bellator cage more warmly welcomed than in Dublin, Ireland, where packed houses deliver a memorable atmosphere every time the promotion lands on the Emerald Isle.
After Dublin fan-favorite James Gallagher was ruled out of his main event fight with Cal Ellenor, Bellator’s European team had to scramble and find another main event, and called on Northern Ireland’s Leah McCourt to shoulder the responsibility.
“The Curse” proved to be a blessing for Bellator as, in her first big-time main event, she handled everything thrown at her with consummate ease. She was engaging with the media and warm with the fans in the lead-up to fight night, then she delivered an emotional victory to round off another entertaining night in Dublin as she outpointed Judith Ruis, then celebrated in the cage with her daughter, Isabella.
It proved that former amateur world champion McCourt is making great strides in her development in the pro ranks, but also showed that she’s more than capable of handling the pressure of the main event spotlight. McCourt’s star is growing on her side of the pond, and bigger fights are surely just around the corner.
Next up: Lightweight contender delivers emphatic statement
Brent Primus shows his class
Bellator 240, Feb. 22, 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland
Former Bellator lightweight champion Brent Primus may not have championship gold in his possession right now, but he remains an ever-present threat at the top of the promotion’s 155-pound division.
Primus was originally set to face Dublin’s Peter Queally in a battle of lightweight contenders, but after a knee injury forced the Irishman off the card, Scotland’s Chris Bungard was drafted in to offer a tricky substitute test for the American.
Despite the change of assignment and a fight with significantly less upside for him professionally, Primus stayed focused on the job at hand and did exactly what a top contender should do – finish his man in swift, clinical fashion.
Primus needed less than two minutes to fend off an early guillotine attempt from Bungard, then submit the Scot with a neck crank to deliver a statement to the Bellator matchmakers. Primus isn’t going anywhere, and he wants another shot at the gold.
