Bellator's MW division

[tehMoose]

Mousasi 47-7
Tokov 29-2
Salter 18-4
Costello 13-2
Vanderford 10-0
Ed Ruth 8-3
Fabian 9-1
Shipman 14-3
Aguiar 17-1
Murtazaliev 14-2
Milliard 12-5
Bozinyan 10-4
Kapel 16-7
Darpinyan 17-9
Jasper 13-6
Eblen 7-0
Rosta 4-0
Cotton 5-0
Novenyi Jr. 5-0
Johnson 6-2
Gwerder 5-2
Penini 9-2
Fleury 8-3
Creer 7-2
Fryer 8-3
Ward 9-4
Newman 2-0

And more guys with shittier records. I mean the division is not so bad, it has some decent prospects and some good already established fighters. How would you improve it? What fighters would you sign?

My pick would be Ismailov 16-2 who recently beat Aleks E. I mean if he beats Shtyrkov next, this would be a really good pick for Bellator, imo.
Another one would be: Theodorou 17-3 @Hellowhosthat idea

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Depends who wants to come really. Ismailov would be very hard to sign.

I'd make a push for Vladmir Mineev who is imo maybe the best MW outside the UFC.

I'd also try for Aaron Jeffrey who I think is very good.

Try and beat the UFC to Josh Fremd too.


There's a lot of good MWs in ACA but like Ismailov I don't think it would be easy to get them and I don't think KSW guys would be easy to get either.

 

[careto]

Depends who wants to come really. Ismailov would be very hard to sign.

I'd make a push for Vladmir Mineev who is imo maybe the best MW outside the UFC.

I'd also try for Aaron Jeffrey who I think is very good.

Try and beat the UFC to Josh Fremd too.


There's a lot of good MWs in ACA but like Ismailov I don't think it would be easy to get them and I don't think KSW guys would be easy to get either.

Why do you say ACA guys are hard to sign?

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Why do you say ACA guys are hard to sign?

They're just under contract that's all. A lot of promotions have fighters on a fight by fight basis or at least have an agreeement that they can leave if they get an offer from a bigger org. ACA, PFL, KSW, Rizin and ONE all have guys tied to contracts with them so if you want them you have to wait for their deals to expire.

 

[careto]

MW worldwide is a bit lacking tbh. The UFC is lucky that Adesanya turned into a star because otherwise the division would mediocre at best.

The story of MW between the UFC and Bellator is the same as with every other division, the UFC just has a bit more depth than Bellator. The UFC has Adesanya, Whittaker, Romero (who is like 40), Costa, Cannonier, Hermanson, Till, Brunson, Vettori, and Hall. Edmen and Heinish are solid too, I guess. Jacare, Gastelum, and Weidman are done tbh. No disrespect but, save for Adesanya and Whittaker, the rest are middle of the pack guys in a very shallow division.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

MW worldwide is a bit lacking tbh. The UFC is lucky that Adesanya turned into a star because otherwise the division would mediocre at best.

The story of MW between the UFC and Bellator is the same as with every other division, the UFC just has a bit more depth than Bellator. The UFC has Adesanya, Whittaker, Romero (who is like 40), Costa, Cannonier, Hermanson, Till, Brunson, Vettori, and Hall. Edmen and Heinish are solid too, I guess. Jacare, Gastelum, and Weidman are done tbh. No disrespect but, save for Adesanya and Whittaker, the rest are middle of the pack guys in a very shallow division.

I really like Brendan Allen, I think that kid is great and there's a lot of potential with Rodolfo Vieira. Tavares, Shoeface, Akhemdov, Holland and Strickland are all solid too imo.

 

[Deleted member 580830]

That division need at least 3 years to be very competitive, new blood is needed.
I think if they recruit prospect and take care of their owns, it can be quite something in the future.

 

[careto]

I really like Brendan Allen, I think that kid is great and there's a lot of potential with Rodolfo Vieira. Tavares, Shoeface, Akhemdov, Holland and Strickland are all solid too imo.

Yes, I forgot Holland and Allen. I guess the UFC's MW division is shaping up nicely after all. TBH, as much as I like Rodolfo Vieira for his BJJ accolades, he will never amount to much; his striking is awful and he does not take getting hit in the face very well. I'm not very impressed by Akhmedov, good grappling, awful striking, 0 power.

 

[tehMoose]

Let's see if he will return. I hope they can get Yoel also

 

[careto]

With Lovato in the mix and if Polizzi drops to MW, which is where he belongs, the MW division could be rejuvenated. You would have: Mousasi, Lovato, Tokov, Salter, van Steenis, Vanderford, Edwards, Aguiar, Murtazaliev, and Polizzi. Plus good depth with guys like Johnson, Shipman, Fleury, Kapel, and Creer then Eblen, Rosta, Cotton, and Novenyi, making their way into the mix soon.

If they could throw instant contenders like Romero or Mineev into the mix, it would certainly make it legit in the short run. Or if they could snatch some up and coming guys like Aaron Jeffrey and Josh Fremd that would be good long term.

 

[tehMoose]

With Lovato in the mix and if Polizzi drops to MW, which is where he belongs, the MW division could be rejuvenated. You would have: Mousasi, Lovato, Tokov, Salter, van Steenis, Vanderford, Edwards, Aguiar, Murtazaliev, and Polizzi. Plus good depth with guys like Johnson, Shipman, Fleury, Kapel, and Creer then Eblen, Rosta, Cotton, and Novenyi, making their way into the mix soon.

If they could throw instant contenders like Romero or Mineev into the mix, it would certainly make it legit in the short run. Or if they could snatch some up and coming guys like Aaron Jeffrey and Josh Fremd that would be good long term.

Yeah. I'm curious to see Cotton fight in 2 days, too bad the Aguiar fight got canceled but a fight against Jasper wasn't that interesting tbh. The first time he was booked against Tokov.

I'll keep updating their records here and will add to the list when they sign someone.