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On January 26th, Bellator 214 takes place live in Inglewood, California. While the show might be flying under the radar somewhat due to the publicity surrounding the UFC’s big move to ESPN – the new broadcasting deal starts a week prior to Bellator’s show – there’s a big argument to be made that Bellator 214 is one of the biggest shows in the history of the promotion.
The four-fight main card – which will be broadcast live on DAZN in the US – has a huge main event, and with the planned UFC 233 pay-per-view on the same night now being cancelled, the eyes of the MMA world should be solely fixed on Scott Coker’s promotion.
Here are 4 reasons why you need to watch Bellator 214: Fedor vs. Bader
#1 Bellator will finally have a new Heavyweight champion
Scott Coker has done plenty of good at the helm of Bellator since he took over there in 2014, but one thing he hasn’t done as of yet has been to fix up the Heavyweight division. Basically, Bellator hasn’t had a Heavyweight title fight since April 2014, and the title has been vacant since May 2016.
Why is that? Well, former champion Vitaly Minakov ended up in a contract dispute with the promotion and ended up jumping to the Fight Nights Global promotion in his native Russia. Ironically, most of his fights there actually ended up being broadcast on UFC Fight Pass – the streaming service run by Bellator’s biggest rivals!
Eventually, Bellator stripped him of his title, and we haven’t had a Bellator Heavyweight champion since. That will all change at Bellator 214 as the winner of the Ryan Bader vs Fedor Emelianenko main event will not only win the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix, but they’ll also be crowned the promotion’s new Heavyweight champion.
The best part of this? Minakov is actually back aboard with Bellator, having signed a new deal with them in August 2018. He has yet to re-debut, but naturally, whether Fedor or Bader wins, their title is automatically going to be disputed by the return of the unbeaten former champ. That means Bellator have an instant storyline to sell regarding a title fight down the line between Minakov and the new champion.
It’s smart booking, and should not only guarantee interest for this show but for a future Bellator ‘tentpole’ show somewhere down the line.
#2 It’s a chance to watch Fedor Emelianenko in action
The name of Fedor Emelianenko might not carry as much gravitas as it did a decade ago, but you’d still be hard pressed to find a lot of fans who would argue against him being one of – if not the – greatest Heavyweight fighter in the history of MMA. Whether you like him or not, the man ruled the division with an iron fist for the best part of a decade – it’s simply impossible to argue against that.
‘The Last Emperor’ is undeniably past his prime now, and despite his recent wins over Frank Mir and Chael Sonnen, there’s a big argument to be made that he should’ve stayed retired after initially hanging up his gloves in 2012. There’s a good chance in fact that he’ll lose this upcoming fight to Ryan Bader, something that would’ve been unthinkable in say, 2010. But that isn’t a reason not to watch the fight.
Essentially, Bellator are showcasing a true living legend in the Russian. It’s the equivalent of Roger Federer continuing to do his thing at Wimbledon, or if Michael Phelps randomly decided to return from retirement to compete in the pool at Tokyo 2020. Sure, you’d know they wouldn’t be as good as they were in 2008, but it’d still be worth watching them purely for the spectacle of seeing a true great in action.
The same can be said for Fedor. He’s not the fighter he once was but he’s still capable of flashes of the old magic, like his crazy fight with Mir last year showed. Win or lose to Bader, Fedor just won’t be around for much longer and so fight fans should treasure him while he’s here. That makes Bellator 214 practically unmissable.
#3 Jack Swagger is making his MMA debut
MMA and pro-wrestling have always gone quietly hand-in-hand, whether it’s wrestlers copying MMA submission holds, or MMA fighters looking to emulate the trash-talking promos of the larger-than-life wrestlers. That’s why it’s so fascinating when athletes from one side of the fence decide to jump to the other side. The mixed results we tend to see make it more fascinating still.
In terms of wrestlers moving into MMA in recent years, we’ve seen Brock Lesnar go all the way to the UFC Heavyweight title and Bobby Lashley carve out a solid run for himself in StrikeForce, but then we also saw CM Punk absolutely crash and burn in the UFC in two awful fights.
Bellator 214 though will see the debut of Jake Hager – formerly known as WWE superstar Jack Swagger – and there’s an argument to be made either way for how well he’ll do.
On the positive side, unlike Punk, Hager is coming from a legitimate athletic background. He was an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler out of Oklahoma University in his youth – and while he didn’t win the NCAA title like Lesnar did, anyone with that kind of wrestling background is usually going to be a difficult opponent in the world of MMA.
On the negative side, however, Hager is already 36 years old and has been wrestling with WWE and their developmental promotions for well over a decade. That means he’s likely already banged up and has probably suffered numerous injuries and potentially concussions too.
Let’s not beat around the bush; Hager should win his debut given the fact that he’s been matched with the unknown JW Kiser, who sports a 0-1 professional MMA record. But how good Hager looks in his likely win could tell us a lot about how successful he’ll be going forward – and that makes his fight a must-see.
#4 Aaron Pico is facing his biggest test to date
22-year old prospect Aaron Pico has often been pushed as a ‘blue-chipper’ by Bellator, and some observers have even suggested he could be the greatest prospect in the history of MMA. Pico is a former amateur wrestling standout who made it to the US’s Olympic trials as a teenager, and he’s also been training in boxing and pankration since his teens as well.
He was upset by journeyman Zach Freeman in his MMA debut at Bellator 180 in 2017, but since then he’s been perfect, ripping through 4 straight opponents, all by KO or TKO in the first round. Basically, Pico now looks every inch the red-hot prospect and it’s hard to see him not eventually winning Bellator’s Featherweight title.
At Bellator 214 though he faces by far his toughest test to date in the form of Henry Corrales. A pro fighter dating back to 2011, Corrales has an impressive record of 16-3 – meaning he’s got almost 4 times the experience that Pico does. And his losses are nothing to sneeze at – they’ve come to current Bellator Featherweight champ Patricio Freire, former champ Daniel Straus, and top contender Emmanuel Sanchez.
Corrales also has wins over very tough fighters like Noad Lahat and Georgi Karakhanyan. Not only is ‘OK’ the best opponent Pico has ever fought, but he’s also beaten fighters who are better than anyone Pico’s ever fought. That makes him a huge test for the youngster.
If Pico can blow Corrales out of the water as he did to Leandro Higo in September, then it’d be hard to deny him his spot as a true title contender at 145lbs, despite his lack of experience. It could be better for him if he’s pushed somewhat by Corrales, but whether that’ll happen is anyone’s guess. At any rate, a chance to watch a prospect as good as Pico simply can’t be missed.
