Bellator president Scott Coker proceeded on Ariel Helwani’s ESPN MMA Show on Monday and revealed that his promotion is thinking about conducting a 16-man featherweight grand prix tournament. According to Coker, the tournament will start operating in October and will feature 16 of the best featherweights in Bellator, for example fighters in the division as well as bantamweights moving upward and potentially even lightweights moving down. The featherweight championship follows in the footsteps of the advertising’s heavyweight grand prix, which just watched Ryan Bader crowned winner, and also the welterweight tournament, which is still continuing.
Coker advised Helwani he wants the first round of eight fights in the tournament to take place on one night or about back-to-back nights in the fall. He also said he needs the tournament to conclude within a year, which nearly mirrors the heavyweight and welterweight championship timelines.
As far as who will be one of the 16 fighters at the championship, so far no one has been announced, but Coker did say he desires Bellator featherweight champion Patricio»Pitbull» Freire for part of the tournament. Pitbull is shooting on Michael Chandler in May for the Bellator lightweight name, so if he does take part in the tournament he’ll be the champion, meaning that his belt will be on the line in each round of the tournament like Rory MacDonald’s welterweight title is online every time he fights.
So far as some other featherweights who are expected to maintain the tournament, here are some who seem to be near locks: Rising prospect AJ McKee; top contender Henry Corrales; former champ Daniel Straus; former champ Pat Curran; former high prospect Aaron Pico; former title competition Emmanuel Sanchez; and former UFC fighter Sam Sicilia.
The fact there aren’t 16 featherweights ways that bantamweights will also be invited to move up, and Coker already said that James Gallagher and Darrion Caldwell is going to be asked to get involved in the championship. I would also anticipate Ricky Bandejas and Juan Archuleta to be requested, as well. So far as lightweights go, there could potentially be a couple of fighters who may make the cut down a weight class including Derek Campos, who simply fought at featherweight in his last fight, and Ryan Scope, who only lost a close struggle against Patricky»Pitbull» Freire.
It is fascinating to see Bellator continue to maintain these tournaments as the sport of MMA was build on the tournament format. The advertising’s bedrock back in the Bjorn Rebney days has been the tournaments but when Coker initially came in they began to go away in trade for superfights and legends fights. Nonetheless, it feels like Coker, Bellator, Paramount and DAZN love the tournaments since this is the next one the promotion will be running over the last couple of decades. Now, you need to wonder what the next tournament for Bellator will be, and if I had to guess that it could be something in the women’s divisions. For now, though, featherweight has become a fantastic set of fights.
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