Bellator champs in the UFC where would you rank them?

Some people think UFC talent is the only legit fighters while others think Bellator holds a couple world champion level fighters. Where would you rank the champs?

HW - Bader: I'd place him at top 5 Kongo and Meathead are legit heavyweights with solid takedown defence and Bader destroyed them both on the feet and ground

LHW - Bader: Top 3, he's always been a top 5 talent but has seemed to get even better in Bellator and honestly I always thought he'd beat Gus, the biggest question mark is would he have the confidence to fight a rumble like guy again or would he break before the fight even started.

MW - Mousasi: (Not fan boying, just haven't seen the champ fight) but i'd think Mousasi is in or just outside the top 5, he's got the skills to compete with everybody but he's also got holes in his striking in grappling that can and have been exploited by top talents in the past

WW- Lima: Top 5, this one is based up on match ups though there's still a question mark against true wrestlers like Maia, Woodley, Colby and Usman but I think he can strike with anybody in the division with calculated strikers like Thompson and Edwards being his toughest stand up test.

LW - Chandler: (Pitbull would be a FW in the UFC) Honestly I think kind of low of Chandler and don't think he's that good. Maybe put him just a #15 because Hernadez is a winnable fight. I don't see him doing much unless he can out wrestle his opponent, his striking is quick but limited and basic.

FW - Pitbull: Easily top 5 and earning a title shot, Pitbull has fought legit fighters and beat them all. Straus in his prime was insane and as good as any grinder in the world. I think he matches up well with Volk but would get chewed up by Holloway and rangy strikers would give him fits. A fight with Jung would be crazy.

 

HW - Bader: top 5-7, his chin will make him lose some fights at HW but his wrestling is much better than almost everyone at HW and he has good cardio and good striking.

LHW - Bader: top 3, he left when he was in the top 5 and hasn't lost since and has improved.

MW - Mousasi: Top 4-7, he's still very good and hasn't taken much damage in his career or had many injury issues.

WW - Lima: Top 4, only guys I would favor over him are Usman, Colby and Maia. Woodley doesn't really wrestle anymore and is 36+.

LW - Chandler: Top 10 maybe top 7, he's not as good as he was a few years ago but he's still very good, has top lvl wrestling, big KO power and good striking.

FW - Pitbull: Number 1, I think he is the best fighter in Bellator would beat Volkanovski and Holloway.

 

It's so hard to say as many of the champs in the UFC and the top contenders have been been put through the ringer match after match year after year to get to the point they are at. In Bellator that path is much easier in most cases. So it's very hard to say how they would do when facing top comp over and over and how that would play out in the rankings. I think most of champs in Bellator outside of Bader at HW would be top 10 and maybe two of them crack top 5. I don't think any of them would be champ.

 

I also think Pitbull has a shot to beat Volkanovski

 

I'm on board with this. I think pitbull beats volk but Max chews his ass up for a few rnds and puts him away

 

Bellator's FW and WW divisions are full of top talent comparable to the ufc
FW has Pitbull, Sanchez, Weichel, Mckee, Cadwell, Straus (at the time) would be top 15 while guys like Corrales, Carvhalo wouldn't be contenders but are certainly good enough to hang in the UFC
WW has contenders like Lima, Larkin, MVP (hate him but he looks good and looked good against Lima) Andrey and many WW like Daley who can hold their own and also crack top 15

 

I think Pitbull would be able to follow the gameplan Volkanovski used against Max only Pitbull has a lot more power in his hands than Volk does.

 

Id LOVEE to watch it!!

 

Same, I also think Pitbull vs Korean Zombie would be great like TS mentioned.

 

Askren pretty much answered that question. Not at top 10.

 

That was a ton of stick and move. Pitbull seems to be more of a in the pocket counter/pressure puncher.
I think the first 2 rounds would be hell for both with Max eventually establishing his jab to take over the fight

 

HW: Bader is not a top 5 HW imo. Sure the UFC division is shallow but he als rather small and i see Stipe, DC, Francis, Curtis, Jarzinho, Volkov and Overeem beating him with relative ease.

At LHW: that should def be his better weight class, but depending If Gus comes back and how, i still see Jones, Reyes, Santos, Smith (not sure), Corey and Jan beating him.

MW: Lovato is pretty tough but also rather one dimensional. He could be a top 10 fighter. But most contenters would beat him quite comfortably.

WW: Lima is a tough one, since im very high on him, but WW is pretty deep rn. I think he could def hang with the top 5 but to really tell if he could be champ, is too early rn imo.

LW: Pitbull gets demolished by Khabib and Tony and pretty easily besten by DP and Gaethje. Other than that he could propably bei competitive with a lot of guys even tho he might be undersized for the division.

FW: i dont think he beats Holloway, but Volk might actually be a pretty good matchup for him. FW is a shark tank rn with KZ, Zabit, Yair etc. But i believe he might be able to hang with most of them.

 

I think both of you are way too high on Pitbull. But that being said I haven't watched a ton of Bellator recently, but I did watch a lot back when it was the Alvarez/Chandlers/Pitbulls/ then Benson, etc.

I think it's very reasonable to think every single one of these guys: Bader, Mousasi, Lima, Chandler, Pitbull - would all be top 5-10 in their divisions.

To say anything more is too speculative imo, we've seen guys come over from Pride, Strikeforce, Bellator, and ONE/WSOF (Askren) and have success but also seen a lot just fall flat.

Bader already was in the UFC, he reached ~top 5-6 level in a weak division but never really was elite...but was top 5 caliber at a point. I don't put a ton of stock into him probably taking steriods freely and beating up on King Mo + Matt Mitrione + an old, washed Fedor. I'd feel the same about Bader assuming he's clean and can transition to USADA testing or beat the testing, I'd have him around top 5 in a weak LHW division.

Pitbull is a classic PRIDE / other org type fighter, like an Askren. He's winning a ton of fights but how good really is his competition? I know Strauss and Curran and Weichel were all talented and supposed to be "good" but how good are they really? This is the problem with non UFC fighters...there's just a ton of can crushing and weak comp that pushes decent - pretty good guys up the top elite levels.

Who's to say Franke Edgar or Chan Sung Jung for example, wouldn't just go over there and destroy everyone. They aren't even top featherweights in the UFC or haven't really been lately. So "easily top 5" or ranking him 1 is a bit much for me, I'd say yeah around top 5 probably but let's see him fight real fighters besides Chandler and a few others we don't really know the talent level of.

 

BELLATOR CHAMPS VS UFC CHAMPS


Bader vs Stipe is 50/50

Bader vs Jones I’d favor Jones 100%

Rafael Lovato vs Adesanya 60/40 in favor of Lovato. He’s a grappler who knows his bread and butter (ie Maia, Usman, Colby, DC) and that’s a dangerous thing

Lima vs Usman 50/50 fight. Lima is the most well rounded WW since GSP and he has knockout power in every limb. Usman doesn’t fool around with striking, he knows he’s a grappler which is a huge strength.

Chandler vs Khabib 100% favor Khabib. Chandler is a chinny wrestler who crumbles when he doesn’t have the significant wrestling advantage.

Pitbull vs Volk 60/40 favor Pitbull. Volk is very athletically limited and he doesn’t have one shot KO power. His basic gameplans or outside striking + Wall n Stall is gonna catch up with him

 

Yeah, I didn't necessarily mean the same amount of low kicks but what Volk did when Max tried to close the distance. Every time Max tried to close the distance Volk would counter with a hard overhand or a hook and land clean then Max would back off again. I could see Pitbull doing the same but with more power and Max has been taking a lot of damage in recent years, so I think a counter shot TKO/KO would be likely.

If Max were to win, I think you're right about how, I would expect it to be competitive though.

 

Ryan Bader lol

He has gotten worse if anything

Top 10 probably but not Top 3

 

I'll bite

How exactly does Bader have a 50% chance vs Stipe?

 

HW - Bader, 5- 10. Just based on how bad the division is. Guys like Ngannou and Blaydes would smoke him.
LHW - Bader, top 5. He was a gatekeeper when he left and the division has gotten worse since then. He still has nothing for Jones though.
MW - Mousasi, 5-10. I have not been impressed with him outside the UFC. I think he is out of prime.
WW - Lima, top 5 if they keep him away from wrestlers. He's probably the best striker in that division. I would favor him over Masvidal but Colby and Usman would be tough matchups.
LW - Pitbull - 10- 15. This division is stacked and he'd be undersized. Also not everyone fights with their hands down like Chandler.
FW - Pitbull. lower top 10. He's had some great performances but also some fights where he's struggled against guys who I wouldn't put in the top 10

 

How has he gotten worse? His striking is better, and he's gotten better at using his striking to set up his grappling and vice versa.

 

Yes those two divisions are the few in Bellator that does have some quality depth and the guys at the top have had a lot of tough competition.

UFC I think Lima has a tough time getting in top 5. Pitbull a much better shot.