By Michael Owens
Bellator MMA CEO Bjorn Rebney says his promotion has not finished trying to prize talent away from the UFC.
The promotion sent shockwaves around the sport when it announced it had agreed terms to a multi-fight and multi-year deal with top UFC lightweight contender Gilbert Melendez on Friday. The former Strikeforce champ is not definitely leaving the world’s biggest MMA promotion just yet, but this was major news that meant Dana White and co. will have to match an offer to keep a fighter for the first time since Dan Henderson got itchy feet in 2009.
Not content with poaching one of the UFC’s best and most respected fighters, Rebney said there was more to come from the Viacom backed #2 MMA promotion. He talked about his plans to MMAFighting’s Dave Meltzer:
“We’re going to continue to sign the best fighters, whether they are from a favela in Brazil, the frozen tundra of Siberia, or they are fighting in the UFC,” he said. “That’s the mission.”
“We’re going after everybody, more-and-more often. I think there’s a bigger picture issue. The biggest thing is there are two major players in MMA. It’s far and away better for the fighters. When a fighter has one option, he has no power at the negotiating table. But when he has two options, the fighter has all the negotiating power. That’s actually counter intuitive, coming from the CEO of a fight company. But that’s the truth. And my checkbook may take a shot because of it. But if the fighters can earn what they feel they deserve, overall we and the sport will be in a better place. You’re going to see much more of this as we move forward, guys coming from the smallest regions where we find undiscovered talent, to the superstars from the UFC and other guys we find in the United States.”
It’s going to take a lot of financial muscle to compete with the UFC’s huge coffers. Up until now, the only fighters that have switched promotions have been has-beens on losing runs who were not worth the hefty price tag to the UFC anymore. However, if Viacom are really serious about backing Bellator then maybe there is a chance we might see some top talent making the move.
From my point of view, I sincerely hope Melendez decides to stay with the UFC. I have absolutely nothing against Bellator. It has some great fights and a potential match between ‘El Niño’ and Eddie Alvarez or Michael Chandler is positively mouth watering. On the other hand, I want to see the very best fighters in the world fight each other and the only place for that is the UFC. It could well be the best ever era for 155 pound competition in MMA right now and Melendez has hardly fought any of the top guys after spending years in Strikeforce. I want, no, demand that he gets the chance to fight Anthony Pettis, Ben Henderson again, TJ Grant, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Donald Cerrone, Jim Miller and even José Aldo. He has had a claim to be the best lightweight on the planet for years and he deserves the chance to prove that he is. He has to try and prove that he is and again, the only place to do that is in The Octagon.
The UFC has always promised to deliver the best fights and after the acquisition of Strikeforce they reiterated that promise. It’s time to deliver, match Bellator’s offer to one of the best competitors the sport has ever seen, put him in the cage with a fellow killer and watch the fireworks.
