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Over the past year, Bellator MMA has done a great job investing in younger free agents and building homegrown stars. Bellator president Scott Coker has stated he'd like to sign fighters that'll play a pivotal role in the promotion's success. To his credit, Coker has done just that.
Bellator has added a talented young group of fighters to their roster in recent years. The promotion is in the first year of their American TV deal with Showtime and has the ability to grow. Coker has an opportunity to replicate what he had a decade ago in Strikeforce with many fighters. Rather than fighters being identified as former UFC competitors, Bellator can produce stars that become synonymous with their promotion.
Many fighters have ended up signing with the promotion after excelling in other sports or martial arts disciplines. There are also many fighters that've made their professional MMA debuts in the promotion and are still going strong. This list will look at 5 Bellator prospects that MMA fans should keep an eye on.
#5. Diana Avsaragova - Bellator women's flyweight
Kicking off this list of Bellator prospects to keep an eye on is Diana 'Pantera' Avsaragova. The 23-year old competes in the women's flyweight division and has been impressive since her debut at Bellator 256 back in April. Prior to singing with the promotion, Avsaragova had a 2-0 MMA record. One of the wins was a first-round submission and the other was by unanimous decision.
'Pantera' didn't waste any time in her debut as she knocked out her opponent Tara Graff with a viscious right-hand. It took Avsaragova 29-seconds to show fans what she's capable of. After the fight, Avsaragova's popularity skyrocketed and her Instagram following rose by 288,000.
Avsaragova remained active after her debut and took a fight with Gabriella Gulfin at Bellator 262 in July. Her second bout was much closer, but she still got the win by split decision and improved her MMA record to 4-0.
#4. Dalton 'Hercules' Rosta - Bellator middleweight
Another Bellator prospect to keep an eye on is middleweight Dalton 'Hercules' Rosta. The 25-year old American Top Team representative has improved significantly with each fight. After an undefeated amateur career that saw him win all three of his bouts by KO/TKO, Rosta signed with Bellator MMA and made his professional debut at Bellator 219.
Rosta's debut was a lot like his amateur fights. He won by first round TKO after his opponent Cody Vidal sustained a knee injury. 'Hercules' followed up that performance with back-to-back TKO wins to improve to 3-0. In the bouts that followed, Rosta's wrestling and ground and pound were the difference-makers.
Rosta's striking has noticeably improved since he began training with American Top Team. Based on his progression, the best is yet to come for Rosta as he continues ascending the middleweight rankings. Rosta recently gained more exposure when he joined some of his American Top Team teammates and appeared on AEW: Dynamite!
#3. 'Master' Valerie Loureda - Bellator women's flyweight
Coming in at third is 'Master' Valerie Loureda. The fourth dan taekwondo black belt has had a meteoric rise to superstardom in Bellator. Loureda's background in taekwondo made her an exciting signing for the promotion and one that could provide highlight-reel finishes. Even going back to her amateur fights, Loureda was an aggressive fight who didn't hesitate in getting creative with her combinations.
Loureda lived up to the hype in her professional MMA debut against Colby Fletcher at Bellator 216. 'Master' Loureda dropped Fletcher with a powerful kick to the body and then finished the fight with ground strikes. Loureda went on to win back-to-back fights, which included a knockout over Tara Graff that ended up going viral.
After beginning her career 3-0, Loureda lost her most recent fight to Hannah Guy by unanimous decision. Although Loureda dominated the striking exchanges, she lost the grappling battle and it ended up being the turning point. It'll be interesting to see how Loureda responds to the defeat. One thing that is certain is that Loureda's precise striking will always make her a threat in the division.
#2. Aaron Pico - Bellator featherweight
Another Bellator prospect to keep an eye on is featherweight Aaron Pico. The 25-year-old made his debut to plenty of expectations due to his background in freestyle wrestling, pankration and boxing.
If there wasn't already enough pressure, Pico's professional debut took place at Bellator's event in Madison Square Garden. The fight didn't go Pico's way as he lost by submission in 24 seconds. Pico then moved to featherweight and put his debut behind him by earning his first win with a devastating knockout.
Pico went on to win his next three bouts by KO/TKO before hitting a rough patch in his career. The exciting prospect lost back-to-back bouts to top featherweights Henry Corrales and Adam Borics, before turning things around. Pico has continued to evolve and is now starting to find the right balance between his striking and wrestling. Currently on a 4-fight winning streak, Pico is now ranked 5th and could close in on a featherweight title shot soon.
#1. Usman Nurmagomedov - Bellator lightweight
Topping this list of Bellator prospects to keep an eye on is Usman Nurmagomedov. The younger cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib 'The Eagle' Nurmagomedov has been a fighter on the rise in Bellator. Nurmagomedov hasn't shown interest in taking a gradual step up in competition. After his dominant win at Bellator 269, Nurmagomedov expressed interest in fighting ranked opponents going forward.
Nurmagomedov has been excellent so far in his young career and currently sits 7th in the lightweight rankings. The 23-year-old has a 14-0 MMA record, with three of those wins coming inside the Bellator cage. As Nurmagomedov continues to evolve as a fighter, fans may begin to see him distance himself from the division. Nurmagomedov has the tools to not only be champion, but also dominate the division for years to come.
There have been many comparisons to his cousin Khabib and rightfully so. A comparison that stands out in particular was made by their manager Ali Abdelaziz. Their longtime manager has gone on record multiple times to say Usman is a better version of Khabib. This is high praise considering Khabib is one of the greatest lightweight fighters of all time and retired at 29-0.
