Bellator is all in on the MMA tournament format of yesteryear, and it’s been pretty great to see.
Earlier this year, the promotion concluded its heavyweight grand prix, which saw Ryan Bader become a two-division champion by finishing Fedor Emelianenko in the finals to add to his 205-pound title. At the same time, the welterweight grand prix was still going on, and that tournament now has reached its final, a rematch between champ Rory MacDonald and Douglas Lima at a date and location to be determined.
Both heavyweight and welterweight were eight-man tournaments, but that’s all changing with the next one. On Monday, Bellator announced the field for its 16-man featherweight tournament, which gets underway in September with four opening-round bouts each at Bellator 226 and Bellator 228.
They are as follows:
Bellator 226
- Pedro Carvalho vs. Sam Sicilia – featherweight tournament opening round
- Derek Campos vs. Daniel Straus – featherweight tournament opening round
- Adam Borics vs. Pat Curran – featherweight tournament opening round
- Tywan Claxton vs. Emmanuel Sanchez – featherweight tournament opening round
Bellator 228
- Champ Patricio Freire vs. Juan Archuleta – for featherweight title, featherweight tournament opening round
- Georgi Karakhanyan vs. A.J. McKee – featherweight tournament opening round
- Darrion Caldwell vs. Henry Corrales – featherweight tournament opening round
- Saul Rogers vs. Daniel Weichel – featherweight tournament opening round
That’s a pretty good looking field, isn’t it? And the twist, as Bellator president Scott Coker announced, is that matchups will be redrawn after the opening round. It’s not a simple matter of advancing in a bracket; look at these like “play-in games,” if you will.
With that in mind, for our latest Daily Debate, we asked: Is this Bellator’s best gran prix offering so far?
The results (via Twitter) – and they were close:
To hear the MMA Junkie Radio crew weigh in on the topic, watch the video above.
For more on Bellator 226 and Bellator 228, check out the MMA schedule.
MMA Junkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Dan Tom. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio. You can also check out www.siriusxm.com/siriusxmfightnation.
