Michael McDonald Signs With Bellator

Fairly obvious signing. McDonald is young, and still has a huge upside to his career. Only 26.

Warren as his debut would be my guess.

Duffy is the next guy to jump ship is what my money is saying. I could also see mousasi jumping ship. Ufc mw has a ton of viable contenders, yet they are all getting shafted. Moose saucey is on his last fight (that's what I've heard). Could see him making the jump for sure. He was a SF fighter as well
 
cade187 said:
Pretty sure Gaethje is going to the UFC.
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Branch is already signed by the UFC and is debuting vs Krysztof Jotko ( Jotko is going to smash Branch and is a contender at Middleweight, you heard it here first).

Gaethje I haven't listened up on, Gaethje has the athleticism, power, youth, tenacity, toughness, chin and heart to be a champion in MMA but he's wild, sloppy and hasn't improved his skills for years now. I honestly expect a Will Brooks level bust from Gaethje, I think he's better suited for Bellator but who knows.

Moraes is the crowned jewel of the 3, he's young, super talented and elite without a doubt. Branch is old and Gaethje fights like an idiot in a way no one can sustain at the higher levels. Moraes has been open that he will go where the offer is best and Bellator has a stacked division at 135lbs for him.

At the end of the day, a lot of guys will be signing with Bellator. Think about this, Bader was making 80k+ in sponsors each fight before Reebok, he made 5k after Reebok. Schaub retired from MMA because of the Reebok deal, Schaub was making 150k a fight off sponsors. GSP was making millions of sponsors and wanted that added into his contract on the UFC's dime because of the Reebok bullshit, that's why the negotiations took so long. Bellator will allow their fighters sponsors, that's a huge deal in a world where young fighters in the UFC can file for foodstamps they're being paid so little after taxes, gym fees, medicals, travel expenses etc. Look for Bellator to get to Strikeforce level, maybe even better.
 
Just when the bantamweight division is getting slim...you get this shit....
87XXO.gif
 
Ufc hemorrhaging talent, putting on mediocre fight cards, middle finger to deserving contenders, stalling divisions, reebok rags, not giving a flippity shit what dedicated fans thinks.

Doomed
 
Good for him. I hope he puts on a good run there and gets a title shot.
 
UFC making it so they don't look like a monopoly. Save themselves some cash in the long run.
 
Yetian said:
Ufc hemorrhaging talent, putting on mediocre fight cards, middle finger to deserving contenders, stalling divisions, reebok rags, not giving a flippity shit what dedicated fans thinks.

Doomed
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They're letting good fighters get better deals in Bellator. That said they're mainly letting guys go that aren't very popular. McDonald is a beast and is only 26 but he's not loaded with fans. If they get Moraes and lose McDonald at BW that's a good trade off. Moraes is a bigger star for sure. Larkin isn't a star yet either but he could be and is only 30 so that may be a bad loss. Bader's kinda popular because TUF so another not great loss. I like that Bellator is making moves but let's not act like this is going to take down the UFC, it won't at all.
 
CC27 said:
WME really making dumb moves. Credit to Bellator for paying these guys.
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Good on Bellator to scoop him up.

I'm not sure its so much WME as it might be letting these guys go to Bellator as way to help there lawsuits. They can now say Bellator has multiple fighters in various weight classes ranked top 10 in the world.

Also believe its UFC's way of hurting Bellator from the inside out with the salaries some of these guys will be making. Facts are many of the guys they let go are legit guys but at the same time none of them are rating busters. Look at Strikeforce, everything seemed to be going great until they collected a few too many of these high cost guys and the business started costing more and more to run yet the wasn't making enough money to keep investors happy. Bean counters at Spike/Viacom have to waiting patiently for the ratings to increase to justify the increase of spending on Bellator over the last year or two. If the ratings don't start showing a good movement in the right direction my only fear is how long they stay in the MMA game.
 
Very good signing for Bellator and probably better for mcdonald aswell
 
Unfinished Sentenc said:
Maybe u haven't seen what happened to benson
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Pretty sure he was losing decisions when he was still in the UFC, and since when is Benson Henderson the measuring stick for the UFC WW division?

His only relevant win in the UFC WW division was a split decision win over Masvidal that many people thought he lost (I wouldn't call it a robbery/controversial, but it was a close fight that could have gone either way).

I'd take Woodley and Wonderboy over their whole division.
 
skylolow said:
Good on Bellator to scoop him up.

I'm not sure its so much WME as it might be letting these guys go to Bellator as way to help there lawsuits. They can now say Bellator has multiple fighters in various weight classes ranked top 10 in the world.

Also believe its UFC's way of hurting Bellator from the inside out with the salaries some of these guys will be making. Facts are many of the guys they let go are legit guys but at the same time none of them are rating busters. Look at Strikeforce, everything seemed to be going great until they collected a few too many of these high cost guys and the business started costing more and more to run yet the wasn't making enough money to keep investors happy. Bean counters at Spike/Viacom have to waiting patiently for the ratings to increase to justify the increase of spending on Bellator over the last year or two. If the ratings don't start showing a good movement in the right direction my only fear is how long they stay in the MMA game.
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That is a theory some people have, Bellator sees the guys out there and a chance to build their roster but in doing that they are taking on fighters who are paid alot.

They then need to produce. Why they are trying PPV, think having to pay these guys they are thinking we might have to try this PPV to thing to make money. Or at the very least maybe they are fine with paying guys they have to fight on tv but thinking on PPV they could make more.

And lets look at the facts here, most of the guys they are signing like a Bendo, Meathead, Davis arent really making them more money. They are doing same ratings as homegrown cheaper guys. It beefs up the div but its gonna cost Bellator money to pay these guys. They need to produce.

That NY card with all the guys on it and what they are likely making that card needs to do a big gate and good PPV numbers.
 
AGEZ909 said:
Fairly obvious signing. McDonald is young, and still has a huge upside to his career. Only 26.

Warren as his debut would be my guess.

Duffy is the next guy to jump ship is what my money is saying. I could also see mousasi jumping ship. Ufc mw has a ton of viable contenders, yet they are all getting shafted. Moose saucey is on his last fight (that's what I've heard). Could see him making the jump for sure. He was a SF fighter as well
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Mayday is young but he's got miles on him, has been fighting since a young age. Also been inactive and has had injuries. He's also a small camp guy who hasnt really gotten better in recent years. 5 fights in last 4 years, injuries, hopefully he can stay healthy and go on a run here.

Bellators div is a good fit for him, its basically Caldwell, Dantas, Higo and Warren.
 
CC27 said:
That is a theory some people have, Bellator sees the guys out there and a chance to build their roster but in doing that they are taking on fighters who are paid alot.

They then need to produce. Why they are trying PPV, think having to pay these guys they are thinking we might have to try this PPV to thing to make money. Or at the very least maybe they are fine with paying guys they have to fight on tv but thinking on PPV they could make more.

And lets look at the facts here, most of the guys they are signing like a Bendo, Meathead, Davis arent really making them more money. They are doing same ratings as homegrown cheaper guys. It beefs up the div but its gonna cost Bellator money to pay these guys. They need to produce.

That NY card with all the guys on it and what they are likely making that card needs to do a big gate and good PPV numbers.
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All very true....though if there looking to make good on the gate they should've never done MSG. That complex is notorious for raping the hell out of promoters of anything. I'm sure the gate number will good on paper but not behind the scenes. In the music world you play MSG to say you played MSG not to make money and that has been well documented for decades. For many walks of life to say you held something at MSG is huge check mark off on the old bucket list and that is about it.

Either way we get to enjoy a good night of fights.
 
gimp0 said:
UFC making it so they don't look like a monopoly. Save themselves some cash in the long run.
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The time period covered in the antitrust lawsuit goes back to 2010, when the plaintiffs were actually UFC fighters. So the UFC changing its business practices in 2016 and beyond doesn't really help their defense against Cung Le, Fitch and Quarry, and could actually be taken as an admission of guilt.
 
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