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The UFC is undoubtedly the world’s number one MMA promotion, but when it comes to its nearest competitor, Bellator MMA is clearly the standout.
While not as deep as the UFC’s, Bellator MMA has a relatively strong roster, but do they have any fighters who could compete with the UFC’s best?
We have seen Bellator champions fail in the UFC before – Hector Lombard and Will Brooks come to mind – but equally, others such as Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler have succeeded.
Right now, though, Bellator has a particularly strong crop of fighters who would be fascinating to see in action inside the UFC octagon.
So with that in mind, here are five Bellator fighters who could become title contenders in the UFC.
#5. Vadim Nemkov – current Bellator light heavyweight champion
The light heavyweight division is often seen as an aging one in the UFC and beyond. Although young stars like Jiri Prochazka and Johnny Walker have broken through recently, older fighters like Glover Teixeira, Jan Blachowicz and Phil Davis are still around the top of the 205-pound mountain.
That’s why current Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov would be a hugely interesting addition to the UFC roster if they could sign him. At 29 years of age, Nemkov is still young for a 205-pounder, and his record is stellar.
The Russian hasn’t lost a fight since 2016, and since arriving in Bellator, he’s built a perfect 6-0 record in the promotion since his 2017 debut.
More impressively, Nemkov has also finished the majority of his opponents, with Davis, who the Russian has defeated twice, being the only man to last the distance with him.
A well-rounded fighter, Nemkov hits incredibly hard on the feet, has excellent technical skills, and is highly accomplished on the ground too.
His 2020 finish of Ryan Bader, who was at the time considered the best light heavyweight outside the UFC by some distance, opened everyone’s eyes to his talents, and he’s now poised to really break out as a star.
So could Nemkov mix it up with the UFC’s best? Despite a 2015 loss to Prochazka, the answer is almost certainly yes.
He’s got all the tools needed to make it to the top of the UFC, and with much of the promotion’s light heavyweight division getting older, he’d almost certainly become an instant title contender.
#4. Tyrell Fortune
Genuinely talented heavyweight prospects are few and far between in MMA, let alone outside of the UFC, and so Bellator’s Tyrell Fortune is a fighter who’s well worth watching. With his athletic gifts, he could almost certainly become a future UFC heavyweight title contender.
Like former UFC heavyweight stars such as Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez, Fortune’s background is in collegiate wrestling. Doing so out of the Grand Canyon University, Fortune was an NCAA Division II champion and narrowly missed out on a spot on the U.S. Olympic wrestling team in 2016.
And since arriving in Bellator that year after his wrestling dream didn’t pan out, he’s parlayed those skills in tremendous fashion and put together an impressive record of 11-1-1.
For a relatively inexperienced fighter – he made his professional debut in Bellator – Fortune is a remarkably composed fighter who blends his wrestling and striking together excellently. And unlike other athletically gifted heavyweights, such as, Greg Hardy, he doesn’t appear to have a penchant for gassing out.
Fortune’s most recent win, which was a crushing victory over UFC veteran Matt Mitrione, was arguably his most impressive, and it’s likely that he’ll be considered a Bellator heavyweight title contender soon.
So could he make the same noise in the UFC? Almost certainly. He’d be considered a blue chip prospect, if not a high-level contender in any promotion, and that includes the UFC. Hopefully he can make his way there in the future.
#3. Ryan Bader – current Bellator heavyweight champion
It almost seems odd to suggest that a man who left the UFC with little fanfare just a handful of years ago could return and be considered an instant title contender, but that’s definitely the case when it comes to Ryan Bader.
The winner of TUF 8’s light heavyweight bracket, Bader put together an impressive run in the UFC from 2008 to 2016, beating the likes of Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans, and only losing on five occasions.
In fact, he actually left the UFC off the back of two TKO victories, beating Ilir Latifi and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in vicious fashion. Few fans raised eyebrows when he jumped to Bellator, but since then, ‘Darth Bader’ has improved dramatically.
Bader has always had heavy hands and knockout power, but from a technical perspective, his stand-up is now far better than it was during his UFC run. Add in his already powerful wrestling, and he’s a dangerous fighter for any opponent to face.
More to the point, though, thanks to his wins over King Mo Lawal, Matt Mitrione and the great Fedor Emelianenko, Bader has proven that he can also compete at heavyweight, and so if he were to return to the UFC in that weight class, he’d almost certainly be an instant contender.
Could he now win a title in the UFC? It’s doubtful, but Bader was a title contender in his initial run with the promotion, and now he’s improved, he’d definitely be able to reach those heights again if he made the switch from Bellator.
#2. Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire - Current Bellator lightweight champion
Patricio 'Pitbull' may no longer be the Bellator featherweight champion after he was dethroned by A.J. McKee last weekend, but the Brazilian is still definitely one of the best fighters outside the UFC, and could be a title contender if he was there.
Prior to his defeat at the hands of McKee, 'Pitbull' had not lost a fight since August 2016, and even that loss, which came against former UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson, came via an injury.
The Brazilian’s list of victims includes tremendous fighters such as Daniel Straus, Juan Archuleta and even Michael Chandler, who was knocked out by Freire in 2019 in a fight that saw him become Bellator’s second double champion.
With absolutely deadly striking skills, brutal knockout power, a solid chin and a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the Brazilian essentially has no weaknesses. Is he invincible?
Well, no, as his loss to McKee has proven. However, he’s also shown time after time that he’s more than capable of beating any 145-pounder on the planet, and despite the UFC’s featherweight division being stacked, he’d definitely be a dangerous addition to it.
Fights against the likes of Max Holloway, Zabit Magomedsharipov and Brian Ortega would be fantastic, and what’s more, who would be victorious would be up for question, meaning 'Pitbull' could almost certainly be a UFC title contender.
#1. A.J. McKee – current Bellator featherweight champion
Arguably the jewel in Bellator’s crown right now is the new Bellator featherweight champion A.J. McKee. ‘Mercenary’ pulled off one of 2021’s most stunning results last weekend when he defeated longtime champion Patricio Freire for the title and, in doing so, extended his perfect record to 18-0 in the process.
The son of one-time UFC veteran Antonio McKee, A.J. has the same solid wrestling base that his father boasted, but inside the cage, he couldn’t be further from him in terms of fighting styles.
Antonio McKee was often derided as one of MMA’s most boring fighters, as he preferred to simply hold opponents down rather than look to finish them. His son, in contrast, has finished 13 of his 18 fights and is one of Bellator's most exciting names..
And it’s not like he’s been fighting scrubs, either. Tough fighters like Darrion Caldwell and Pat Curran, as well as arguably the best fighter outside the UFC in 'Pitbull', have fallen to ‘ Mercenary’.
A true mixed martial artist, McKee has a tremendous submission arsenal to go along with his wrestling, and while his striking isn’t the greatest from a technical standpoint, he hits incredibly hard, as 'Pitbull' found out when he was dropped with punches early in their fight at Bellator 263.
At the age of 26, McKee may not have even reached his prime yet, making him one of the scariest prospects in the entire sport. Would he be an instant title contender in the UFC? Almost certainly. Could he even be a future champion? If he continues on his current path, it seems highly likely.
