How can Bellator improve?

cyrusthevyrus

cyrusthevyrus

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with non-UFC guys?

Lets combine Rizin, One FC, KSW, FNG, M1 and ACB. Important fighters:
HW: Vitaly Minakov, Amir Aliakbari, Satoshi Ishii, Mariusz Pudzianowski, Sergei Kharitonov, Brandon Vera, Benjamin Adegbuyi(if moving to MMA)
LHW: Tomasz Narkun, Sokoudjou, Attila Végh, Emanuel Newton, Roger Gracie, Thiago Silva, Gadzhimurad Antigulov
MW: Mamed Khalidov, Luke Barnatt
WW: Ben Askren, Rousimar Palhares, Brett Cooper, Vladimir Mineev
LW: Shinya Aoki, Eduard Folayang
FW: Tatsuya Kawajiri, Marat Gafurov
BW: Kyoji Horiguchi, Ali Bagautinov, Takafumi Otsuka, Bibiano Fernandes

Which ones will be ok for Bellator?
 
I'm seriously hoping they're willing to get Ben Askren. He's the original Bellator champion and has 2 wins over the last two champs (Koreshkov and Lima) in fights that were not at all close.

It's like a Jones/DC thing. The current title will not be fully legitimized until both of those lineages are unified.

The last time Askren fought in Bellator was 4 years ago though. I would love to see how he stacks up against Rory, Larkin, MVP, and current Lima/Koreshkov
 
They should jump on the Boxing VS MMA fad. Sign some big named boxers to one off fights and put them against some of their aging stars.
 
HW: Amir
LHW: Rashid Yusupov?
MW: Mamed
WW: Askren
LW: Diego Brandao
FW: Levan Makashvili
BW: Renan Barao
 
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I thought this might be a serious thread, withserious ideas, but I see it's just more of " should sign fights X, y, and z...."
 
TheBrownRanger said:
I'm seriously hoping they're willing to get Ben Askren. He's the original Bellator champion and has 2 wins over the last two champs (Koreshkov and Lima) in fights that were not at all close.

It's like a Jones/DC thing. The current title will not be fully legitimized until both of those lineages are unified.

The last time Askren fought in Bellator was 4 years ago though. I would love to see how he stacks up against Rory, Larkin, MVP, and current Lima/Koreshkov
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure Rory would beat him with ease (right now)
That's probably the worst matchup for him in any org at WW. Either him or Wonderboy
 
Sergei's already in Bellator


Most of the rest aren't that helpful.

Guys like Hoger, Funky, and Aoki and some others have modest name value to hardcores.
Minakov would be nice
Amir has a bit of upside

Really improving themselves involves more catching dynamic young guys on the way up, though.
 
Create their own stars.

None of those vets are going to do anything for the company as they don't have the "it" factor.
 
Better cards. Kongo vs. Tony Johnson, Girtz vs. Campos, and Melvin Gulliard shouldn't be headlining while top guys are doing nothing.
 
I have two main issues with Bellator. I think they can improve by doing two things. The 1st being higher base pay. Those 1k/1k bellator contracts are no longer acceptable when you have to money to greatly outspend the UFC on talent. If you can afford Rampage,Kimbo,Fedor and Rory/Moose on those big contracts your min pay should at least be 5k/5k.

Bellator also needs to know when to stop feeding cans to their prospects. Early in a prospects career feeding them cans is acceptable, but there comes a point when they need to be tested. Some prospects will fail but some will also thrive with the increased difficulty. Those prospects who thrive will be the ones who can become stars. After awhile prospects become a joke if they are never really tested. I think Bellator is doing fighters like MVP a disservice.
 
Sign Charles Bennett and give the man a chance. He is a character. That's one small improvement they could make I believe. Win or lose just always have Charles in there fighting
 
ThunderL1ps said:
Create their own stars.

None of those vets are going to do anything for the company as they don't have the "it" factor.
Click to expand...
Using vets from other companies is the easiest way to create their own stars though. In pro wrestling its called a rub or putting someone over.

The problem they have is using these old vets vs one another. Don't do Chael vs Tito. Pay Chael to fight someone you think you can make a star and give them some exposure + a win over a recognizable name.
 
Rampage_Jackson said:
Using vets from other companies is the easiest way to create their own stars though. In pro wrestling its called a rub or putting someone over.

The problem they have is using these old vets vs one another. Don't do Chael vs Tito. Pay Chael to fight someone you think you can make a star and give them some exposure + a win over a recognizable name.
Click to expand...

I mostly agree with your position. The problem is that some of these older fighters won't put these younger fighters "over" - they would rather fight those more established fighters as the pay day will be greater. Also they cannot keep up with the younger fighters, so why would they risk devaluing themselves?

If you regularly read the posts in the forums, it is almost always old washed-up vet vs. old washed-up star for Bellator event matchups. They almost all seem to be living 10 years in the past.
 
ThunderL1ps said:
I mostly agree with your position. The problem is that some of these older fighters won't put these younger fighters "over" - they would rather fight those more established fighters as the pay day will be greater. Also they cannot keep up with the younger fighters, so why would they risk devaluing themselves?

If you regularly read the posts in the forums, it is almost always old washed-up vet vs. old washed-up star for Bellator event matchups. They almost all seem to be living 10 years in the past.
Click to expand...
Like I said you would have to incentive the vets with big paydays (as if they were fighting another vet) to get them to fight younger guys.
 
Steady overseas expansion of Brand. Sign talent from other orgs that have a following if reasonably affordable. Let their fighters compete in other promotions like RIZIN. Try and cross promote etc... Bellator is managing prudently milking UFC vets while bringing up new talent. More of the same just broader overseas.
 
They need to get casual fight fans to mentally and emotionally invested in the fighters. People don't know most of the Bellator (non-UFC) fighters. When I watch 24/7 shows for boxing matches on HBO or face to face it gets me hyped.

Another way would be more competitive matchmaking. If there are typically 2-3 good fights per Bellator event people would be more likely to tune in for sheer entertainment value even if the guys aren't "names". I watch largely unknown fighters on ShoBox when it comes on because usually there is a good competitive fight per show.

I dunno, if I had a magic answer I would hope Coker would have already had it seeing that's his job.
 
They need to plan ahead and actually put together meaningful matchups. Right now it seems like they randomly pit two fighters against each other and fill an event with random matches. In 99% of the fights there's no history between the fighters, no title implications, and in heavyweight they don't even have a championship.

They also need to stop relying on squash matches and old fading stars fighting each other.
 
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