Bellator FC is MMA's Little Engine that Could

By Elton "Hobbie" Hobson

Bellator is actually a word in Latin. It means “Warrior”.

I’m telling you now because far and away, the question I get most whenever I mention Bellator FC is “what does that word even mean?” So now you know. And if you haven’t been keeping up with MMA’s little promotion that could, well, it’s time to start.

It wasn’t so long ago that mentioning the name “Bellator FC” to your casual MMA fan elicited a blank expression. But over the course of 2 seasons spanning 19 events and counting, Bellator is showing signs of stability and staying power, rare traits indeed in the often chaotic MMA business (Shine Fights, anyone?). They have TV deals on Fox SportsNet, NBC, and The Score here in Canada - a pretty impressive feat for a promotion with less then 20 live events to it’s name.

They also happen boast some of the most exciting, competitive MMA action to be found anywhere.

I know most fans get their full MMA fix from the UFC juggernaut, and with the promotion averaging 3 events a month now, it’s no surprise. As the saying goes, if you’re going to watch one MMA promotion this summer - make it the UFC.

But if you’re going to watch two MMA promotions this summer - it’s time to give Bellator a look. Still on the fence? Here are 3 reasons this upstart, throwback, Latino-oriented promotion is worth a look from every MMA fan.

Tournaments are Back, Baby!

Ok, technically Japanese promotion like Pride and it’s successors DEEP, DREAM, Sengoku Raiden et al. never abandoned the traditional single elimination tournament format. They have ran well publicised and successful tournaments to crown divisional champions, #1 contenders, open weight grand prix winners and whatever a “Super Hulk” is. The old school tournament is alive and well in the land of the rising sun.

Stateside, however, the tournament has long been forgotten, abandoned by the UFC when Zuffa bought the promotion. Which is a shame, because the entire MMA scene in North America was built on the success of the early UFC tournaments. They almost always had a wild west sort of feeling to them, but no one can deny they were also alluring and intriguing. Tournaments just seem to sit the into the cultural martial arts zeitgeist - Think of Enter the Dragon, Mortal Kombat, Bloodsport etc.

In the modern era, it seemed as though tournaments were consigned to the history books. They were too risky for promotions to put on, it was believed. What if a fighter pulls out with an injury last minute? Who do you get to replace him? Or what if a fight results in a Draw or a No Contest? Do you put the whole tourney on hold to do a rematch, of just advance one fighter for the sake of brevity over another (see Emelianenko, Fedor).

And so tournament style MMA in North America went the way of the Dodo, replaced by a rotating, divisional “ladder” similar to Boxing. But like the scientists from “Jurassic Park”, Bjorn Rebney and the guys behind Bellator have brought tournaments back from extinction.

Bellator has used it’s tournament format to compliment it’s broadcast schedule, which runs in “seasons” instead of year round. This let’s them keep fighters fresh while also building prospects up over the course of the tournaments run. The simplicity of this strategy is a large part of the reason for Bellator’s success and ability to make headway in a crowded market. It also proves tournaments are a viable form of promotion for any major MMA company, Japanese or otherwise.

Best Highlight Reel in the Sport

Without a doubt, the largest ingredient in Bellator’s remarkable success is their incredible library of highlight reel finishes - and their ability to use viral media to promote those highlights in turn.

Chances are you’ve seen Tony Imada’s unbelieveable reverse triangle on Jorge Masvidal somewhere on the internet. The submission won Imada the 2009 Submission of the Year award, and was a viral marketing sensation. Or maybe you’ve seen Yahir Reyes’ incredible spinning backfist KO of Estevan Payan, a punch out of a Bruce Lee movie. You might have seen Nick Pace go air Jordan on Colin Tebo with a flying knee, or Pat Curran curl Mike Ricci’s toes with a devastating right hook, or Bao Quach collapse in the clinch against Georgi Karakhanyan. The list goes on.

Unlike most MMA promotions, who attempt to restrict or tightly control their content online, Bellator took the opposite approach and promoted all these videos heavily on YouTube and on social networking sites, to big exposure. Of all the MMA promotions today, they may be the most forward thinking in terms of marketing and exposure.

It also helps that they have a crazy library of highlight reel finishes to fall back on. I know there’s no guarantees when it comes to MMA, but you can almost always bank on a Bellator event dropping your jaw somehow - be it thundering KO or mind bending submission. If you haven’t seen these videos and don’t know what I’m talking about - well, what are you waiting for?

Deep Roster of Prospects

For many MMA promotions, the biggest challenge (and ultimately, the one that dooms them) is properly developing prospects and young talent. The UFC has the marketing apparatus to properly “push” up and coming talent through their many television and PPV vehicles, but outside of the Zuffa empire it’s a much tougher go.

The sport of MMA is fickle and fast changing, and a prospect can go from white hot to DOA in a single night. Promotions run the risk of bringing someone along who proves to be a flop, or pushing someone into the main event role before they are ready for it (the recent Gegard Mousasi vs. Mohammed Lawal fight is a good example of both, respectively).

As a result, promotions tend to rely on old, proven stars rather then take a chance on the new guy. This can lead to short term success but ultimately leaves promotions with few options in the future. Promotions build around one or two big names almost always go under, while those that stay on do so because they were able to generate new, and not just capitalize on existing, fan interest.

Bellator gets this. They went the opposite way from most start up promotions and focused most of their energy on developing their own roster of stars. Instead, they focused on young, talented prospects across a range of disciplines and backgrounds. They didn’t seek out only former UFC champions or PPV level fighters to build their promotion around. Even their “big name” stars and champions, like Eddie Alvarez and Hector Lombard, are young guys with years left in front of them.

The result is that Bellator has possibly the deepest list of prospects in the sport right now outside the UFC - and maybe including it. When 2 time D-1 NCAA wrestling champion Ben Askren made his long awaited turn to MMA, it was in Bellator. When the UFC released popular lightweight Roger Huerta, it was Bellator who scooped him up. Then there’s Greco-Roman national champion Joe Warren, or Sengoku phenom Dan Horbuckle, or rising star Jacob McClintock. And that’s just a start.

For a sport always on the lookout for the “next” someone - the next GSP, the next Anderson Silva, the next BJ Penn etc. - I’d be willing to bet they’ll find at least one of them here. If Bellator continues to show patience and foresight in bringing their stable of fighters along, and they continue to impress like they have been, don’t be surprised to see a Bellator champion on the P4P list sooner rather then later.

So there it is, folks. Tournaments combined with awesome finishes combined with some of the hottest prospects in the sport today. Seems like a simple combination to me. In a sport so known for it’s chaotic, changing nature, Bellator is slowly emerging as the safest bet in MMA.