How much is a UFC belt worth relative to a Bellator/Strikeforce/Pride belt?

[WHITE ANDERSON]

bader won a HW belt in a tournament where half fighters were not even natural HWs
Bellator actually has legit HW guys who could have competed in the tournament but they are not known draws

while i enjoy seeing fedor get knocked out by a TUF fratbro, that belt isn't worth shit until he fights vitaly minakov

 

[Medical Marijuana Man]

WWF
WCW
PRIDE
ECW
Strikeforce
WEC
UFC

 

[ferrisjso]

Pride and Strikeforce belts = UFC
Bellator belt = #5 ranked fighter in UFC
OneFC = irrelevant

Agree with Bellator and I know Pride was equal some divisions Pride was superior(HW) and others UFC(LHW). But I'm surprised about Strikeforce I guess thinking it's more Bellatorish and was never an equal or superior promotion to the UFC? I think Bellator sadly is going to win in the end and the UFC will die just based on ownership if nothing changes tbh but right now I agree. For Strikeforce I guess there's a lot of one time title challengers for UFC belts but the only two champs for the men are Frank Shamrock from the pre Zuffa days and Rockhold(they were a near monopoly for the women I think). I think they are higher than #5 but I wouldn't say those belts are equal lots of those champs like Cavalcante and King Mo in big decisions kind of drag the average down IMO.

 

[Sweater of AV]

Nothing.

Pride > Strikeforce > Bellator >>>> UFC.

 

[djason1988]

That was more true in the past than it is now. Slowly more top guys are choosing Bellator over the UFC for better pay days because they have been forgotten in the marketing.

Mousasi and Rory Macdonald could easily compete for titles in the UFC. Bader's career in the UFC was similar to Bisping's in that he always seemed to lose the key fight that would get him to the next level. However, he is talented and looks better and better as time goes on. There is no reason to believe he couldn't be a force in the UFC (but not against Jon Jones.)

While I agree that more talent is heading to Bellator now, I couldn't see Rory or Moose getting the belt. Robbie took years of Rory's life, and Moose is inconsistent at best with a few glaring holes. Machida absolutely dissected him. Not a knock, per se, machida is one of the best strikers ever, but he was also ko'd rather brutally by the divisions elite.

 

[justbetter]

"One day... I'm going to be a Bellator champion!"
-nobody

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

About........

First post son I am impressed

 

[kingjim]

That was more true in the past than it is now. Slowly more top guys are choosing Bellator over the UFC for better pay days because they have been forgotten in the marketing.

Mousasi and Rory Macdonald could easily compete for titles in the UFC. Bader's career in the UFC was similar to Bisping's in that he always seemed to lose the key fight that would get him to the next level. However, he is talented and looks better and better as time goes on. There is no reason to believe he couldn't be a force in the UFC (but not against Jon Jones.)

Good post. Their is a few high level guys over in Bellator like Mousasi, Rory, Chandler, Bader are all top 5 in ufc if they were still there I am pretty sure (maybe not chandler but more than likely)
Then there's a sprinkling of talent (untested) that could get there like Venom etc but overall the depth is terrible in each division. Also the majority that went across did so because they were on losing streaks in the ufc. Bellator is nowhere near the ufc and wont be in the near future.

 

[Quietus]

UFC belts are not created equal.. someone who had to run through the whole division to get it is >>>>>>>>>>>>>> someone gifted a title shot like Conor or GSP recently.

 

[Greco_Wiz]

More than any by a fair margin.

Pride was corrupt and had rigged fights

SF had a good HW division, but the others were watered down relative the UFC divisions

And lol at Bellator

 

[TheEnder321]

"One day... I'm going to be a Bellator champion!"
-nobody

This is truth (wish I could double like his post just because of his av)

 

[LetThemBleed]

I could see a fight between Bader and Ngannou going either way. Sure Ngannou could knock him out quickly ... but you can say that about anyone he fights and he has lost 2/3. Bader is an extremely smart fighter and I think it very likely he would be able to avoid him and/or take him down and hold him there until he wore out.

Maybe. Sure as shit didn't work with Rumble though and Ngannou hits harder. Not sure Bader would do well against Stipe either, he's not getting Stipe down easily and Stipe's significantly better on the feet. Think Volkov's boxing could also hurt him, he was comfortably beating Lewis till he got caught at the very end of their fight. Bader and Blaydes would also be close as their wrestling would be nullified.

 

[gono btw]

More than any by a fair margin.

Pride was corrupt and had rigged fights

SF had a good HW division, but the others were watered down relative the UFC divisions

And lol at Bellator

Tell us more about these rigged fights, which ones besides the obvious Takada ones?

 

[thobra]

In terms of skills/accomplishment, it is about the same. However, in terms of marketing value, it is not even comparable. All casuals, media and even a lot of long time fans "believe" that everyone outside the UFC are on a lower level. Sites like Sherdog are terrified of ranking guys outside the UFC too high, and guys like Bader will never get the credit he deserves.

 

[Isthat-yo bop]

These dudes all train with each other. UFC is the most prevalent company . So the belt is worth more culturally . But respect to anyone who can become a world champion . Shit in my opinion wec lw division was better then what the UFc had to offer . Doesn’t mean bj wasn’t a champ . Shit especially strike force heavy and middle weight we’re superior . Shit Randy couture is a champ , and has he beat any pride heavy ?

 

[Typrune Goatley]

Openweight: PRIDE, RINGS
Heavyweight: PRIDE, RINGS, SF
205: PRIDE
185: UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce
170: UFC
160: PRIDE
155: UFC, WEC
145: WEC, UFC
135: WEC, UFC
125: UFC

 

[ferrisjso]

What would opinions be about Strikeforce, Pride and WEC belts being considered UFC ones since they are owned by the same company(imagine WME still owns the rights to all that stuff?).

 

[King Koopa]

When most people (even those who aren’t even really fans) think of “the heavyweight champion of the world” they think of UFC in regards to mma. So id say ufc>everything else. Being a bellator champ however still is legitimate too though.

But when we go by when pride was around, then pride > ufc and everything else.

Pride also has the best belts - way better than the ufc ones or bellator. You can see in shogun’s pic that the pride belt looks much nicer than the ufc one.

 

[LetThemBleed]

In terms of skills/accomplishment, it is about the same. However, in terms of marketing value, it is not even comparable. All casuals, media and even a lot of long time fans "believe" that everyone outside the UFC are on a lower level. Sites like Sherdog are terrified of ranking guys outside the UFC too high, and guys like Bader will never get the credit he deserves.

To be fair Bader deserves credit but it’s not like he was ever going to win a belt in the UFC

 

[thobra]

To be fair Bader deserves credit but it’s not like he was ever going to win a belt in the UFC

With Jones around, you are probably right, but Bader has changed a lot as a fighter. He has much, much better standup than in his UFC days, is smarter, takes little damage, and still has great ko power.

Jones has been out on suspension for a long time, and during that time, Bader sure could have been champ. At HW he could also have had the belt with the right matchups (like DC got).

He makes more money in Bellator, so that was a good choice.