Bellator Heavyweight Division Breakdown

FKA

FKA

AZ Hotshots/OAK Raiders/That Bellator guy
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I'm going to breakdown the overall talent level and place fighters in 1 of 3 categories(top 5,top 10,and up and comers) to try and analyze the depth Bellator has and bring discussion on who your favorites are,who you'd like them to go after,etc.

So lets dive in!!



Bellators Hw division has never been its deepest division but watching since Coker took over it has evolved quite a bit so lets start from the top down...


BELLATORS TOP 5 HWs(no particular order)

1)Cheick Kongo (27-10-2)
2)Vitaly Minakov (20-0)
3)Bobby Lashley(15-2)
4)Matt Mittrione(12-5)
5)Frank Mir (18-11)

Kongo has been a top Hw since signing with Bellator he has earned a top spot by winning....may not always be pretty but he imposes his will and will look for a title shot with another win or two.

Minakov......yeah im well aware he hasn't fought in Bellator in years but I've been hearing he will return soon and he's listed on their roster.Minakov is a straight beast,solid standup and sambo that is to die for lol if and when he comes back it should be for nothing short of a title shot.

Lashley is evolved into a pretty solid hw.He has addressed his cardio and continues to work on it and his submission and bixing game are coming along to compliment his strong wrestling.He wants Fedor or a title shot next fight so he is poised to go for the top.

Mittrione has finished all his opponents since leaving the ufc as a top 15 ranked guy.He had some rough fights but has propelled himself to the upper echelon with his latest ko over fedor.

Mir is a legend of the sport and is for sure a tough fight for many hws.He wants fedor we shall see.


BELLATORS TOP 10 HWs(no particular order)

1)Javy Ayala(10-5)
2)Augusto Sakai(9-0-1)
3)Sergei Kharotonov(26-6)
4)Roy Nelson(22-14)
5)Fedor Emelianenko(36-5)


Javy is a homegrown Bellator guy who has flashed greatness but struggled with consistency.He has the tools to surprise the top guys if he can keep his mental game sharpe.

Augusto is another Bellator homegrown guy with a great skillset but still searching for the right way to showcase his style.Could be a real threat once he makes the next leap in progression.

Sergei is a legend and had a rough debut against Javy but rebounded with a finish in his last Bellator fight showing he still has some fight left in him.

Big country is a fan favorite but is going through a rough patch,perhaps fresh scenery can help him.his fights are fun to watch win or lose and if he gets reinvigorated he could climb the ranks quick.

Fedor is the hw goat but got properly ktfo by meathead his last fight.Fedor could easily jump back up rankings with a win but needs to show consistency.


BELLATOR HW UP AND COMERS(no particular order)

1)Justin Wren(13-2)
2)Tyrelle Fortune(3-0)
3)Oli Thompson(17-10)
4)Alex Huddleston(6-2)
5)Ernest James(0-0)


Big Pygmy u can't help but love....once he gets fully in shape people are in trouble hes a sleeper hw.

Fortune is the future of the division once he gets his boxing going a bit more but his gnp is coming along great.Still young but he will be doing big things.

Thompson is a tank of a man former strongman bangs til he drops or drops you lol.A gate keeper for sure but always fun to watch.

Huddleston has alot of growing to do he has good power and decent wrestling but tends to brawl instead of implementing gameplan.With some work he could be a solid mid tier guy.

Ernest James.......fuck if i know lol
 
My assessment.......

Hw is still far from stacked but the sheer name power at the top has made big strides.The middle has some intriguing guys but I'd love for more focus on this division.

From what i hear a Hw tourney for the strap is still in the works which would be cool especially if they brought in some more talent.
 
Bellator needs a title for that division, no matter how much they try to ignore it. They probably don't know what match-up to come up with for the title.

- Nobody wants Cheick Kongo as champion. His fights are awful and if he wins the title, he could retire with it considering his age. That would bring the whole division back to square one.
- Minakov is on a can-crushing tour in Russia. Needs the right amount of money to come back to Bellator. Simple.
- I don't think Lashley is serious about challenging for the title or fighting the best guys. He has the opportunity to carry two belts in pro wrestling and MMA simultaneously and he fights Josh Appelt. Fucking shameful.
- Fedor, Nelson, Kharitonov, and Ayala are not at championship caliber, even in Bellator.

Matt Mitrione is basically good to go for a title fight, he just needs the right dance partner. I have no faith that Bellator will set up a fight or tournament for the title by the end of 2017.
 
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Tbh i think i mixed him up in my lhw group lol

I heard he was thinking of dropping down but his last fight was his debut in Bellator at hw.


Yeah id put him in the middle category hes a solid young dude with alot of potential but still proving himself.
 
Please, someone, anyone, get Cheick Kongo out of there.. His fights have been almost torturous to watch

Minakov shouldn't be on this list. He's the reason why the division has no belt, and why the division is a complete clusterfuck atm

Bobby Lashley is the one content on crushing cans, not Minakov. He gets way easier fights tbh

Frank Mir's suspension isn't over 'till spring of next year, again, there is no point in putting him on the list right now

Mitrione is fun to watch and has been doing good, I'd give him a title shot, tbh

Roy Nelson has seen better days.. I don't think he will touch gold here at Bellator MMA

Javy might be the dark horse of the division. He smoked Sergei and might even beat Roy.. I'd love to see a fight with him and Mitrione eventually

Sergei beat, umm, who was that guy? Gormley.. He got rocked by that guy too and that was probably one of the easier fights Bellator could've gave him, easy to say that was a squash match


All in all, I'm gonna put my chips on Mitrione
 
@FKA , thank you for compiling the list and analyzing these guys. I think Coker, even in his Strikeforce days, had a talent of making interesting match-ups with a small roster. I think he has enough talent to make HW interesting again, but it has to be difficult with guys like Fedor and Lashley, who, while they offer star power , are not going to take on just any opponent.

If he does organize a tourney, hopefully it'll take less than 18 montgs to complete.
 
Ernest James is an NCAA D1 wrestler, he trains at Dethrone and with some of the AKA guys. Really good wrestler, but he hasn't fought in awhile and I've heard nothing about him actually fighting in ages. He's in the same likeness as Tyrell Fortune, just not as good wrestling credentials obviously.
 
If you don't count Minakov, Mitrione and Kongo are waaay higher than the others
They should make the rematch for the title and pray for Mitrione victory
 
I'm not sure how you came up with those rankings, but Nelson has 1st round KO wins over Kongo and Mitrione. Would he beat them in a rematch? Who knows. All of them are old (Nelson-41, Mitrione-39, Kongo-42) which makes it even more uncertain. Nelson is the slowest/fattest of the bunch and has taken a lot more beatings/damage (though he's only been KO'd twice in his career). I realize he's also on a losing streak, but look who he's been fighting (the likes of Overeem, Hunt and Barnett). It comes down to styles and psychology. Kongo fought very scared against Nelson and Hunt a few years ago--both were short guys who pack a huge punch. Will he do better in a rematch? Or will the memory of Roy's big right hand paralyze him? Hard to say.
 
Big country beat them back in 2012/2013 since then he's gone 3-7.......

Meanwhile Kongo went 9-2 facing solid competition and they even have a common opponent in Volkov where Kongo won,Nelson lost.

Mittrione went 7-3 was top 15 when he left UFC and is undefeated in Bellator including the ko of Fedor.


Mitrione and Kongo are definitely above roy nelson who is in the middle of the pack.

Nelson is being given Ayala as a first test who has played spoiler on numerous occasions and is on a surge himself,If Big country can get by Ayala he can make a case for a top 5 spot ,if Ayala wins he should get one of the top 3 next.
 
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May as well do Mittrione vs. Kongo for the belt. Their fight fight sucked but Mittrione has evolved since then. I think he'd get the knockout
 
Bellator needs to host a WORLD HW GRAND PRIX



MOSCOW CARD
Vitaly Minakov -- Sergei Kharitonov
Blagoi Ivanov -- Bobby Lasley
Ivan Shtyrkov -- Augusto Sakai (alt bout)
Sergey Pavlovich -- Shawn Jordan (alt bout)


SAN JOSE CARD
Matt Mitrione -- Rampage Jackson
Fedor -- Frank Mir
Cheick Kongo -- Roy Nelson 2 (alt bout)
Javy Ayala -- Baby Fedor (alt bout)
​

...
 
@pizzle and whoever else..

Frank Mir is not on suspension.
No State Athletic Commission has "suspended" Frank Mir, for the record.

The idiots at USADA fcuked up on Frank's test. And besides that, USADA has no official capacity, no jurisdiction in MMA.

It was just part of Frank Mir's agreement with the assholes at the UFC to not fight until that made-up "suspension" date.
 
I have read some nice ideas here... Would go with Mittrione vs Kongo for title before 2018 and Lashley vs Wren or the winner of Ayala vs Nelson for next challenger....
Would love to see a breakdown of WW or FW
 
fermaPY said:
I have read some nice ideas here... Would go with Mittrione vs Kongo for title before 2018 and Lashley vs Wren or the winner of Ayala vs Nelson for next challenger....
Would love to see a breakdown of WW or FW
Click to expand...


Since there has been a generally positive reaction i will continue to do breakdowns in every division.

I actually like to go more in detail with fighters but i don't want things to get too long and boring lol.

Thx for everyones responses and encouragement i absolutely love doing these things.

(Mr.Coker I'd love a job :) )
 
CoffeeAndBeer said:
@pizzle and whoever else..

Frank Mir is not on suspension.
No State Athletic Commission has "suspended" Frank Mir, for the record.

The idiots at USADA fcuked up on Frank's test. And besides that, USADA has no official capacity, no jurisdiction in MMA.

It was just part of Frank Mir's agreement with the assholes at the UFC to not fight until that made-up "suspension" date.
Click to expand...

CSAC just declared Jones/DC a NC based off USADA test so pretty sure no other commission in US would grant him a license while under USADA suspension.

He could have fought overseas but not in US unless Bellator went to some rinky dink ass backwoods commission but that would make them look bad.
 
CC27 said:
CSAC just declared Jones/DC a NC based off USADA test so pretty sure no other commission in US would grant him a license while under USADA suspension.

He could have fought overseas but not in US unless Bellator went to some rinky dink ass backwoods commission but that would make them look bad.
Click to expand...
So exactly when can he fight?
 
pizzle said:
Please, someone, anyone, get Cheick Kongo out of there.. His fights have been almost torturous to watch

Minakov shouldn't be on this list. He's the reason why the division has no belt, and why the division is a complete clusterfuck atm

Bobby Lashley is the one content on crushing cans, not Minakov. He gets way easier fights tbh

Frank Mir's suspension isn't over 'till spring of next year, again, there is no point in putting him on the list right now

Mitrione is fun to watch and has been doing good, I'd give him a title shot, tbh

Roy Nelson has seen better days.. I don't think he will touch gold here at Bellator MMA

Javy might be the dark horse of the division. He smoked Sergei and might even beat Roy.. I'd love to see a fight with him and Mitrione eventually

Sergei beat, umm, who was that guy? Gormley.. He got rocked by that guy too and that was probably one of the easier fights Bellator could've gave him, easy to say that was a squash match


All in all, I'm gonna put my chips on Mitrione
Click to expand...
Now that's my issue with skill assessments on here. Chase gormley is no squash match. A huge 265 pound guy who's fast and has good hands for his size.... if you don't know what your looking at just leave your opinions to yourself
 
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