7 former Bellator champions who jumped to the UFC - and how they fared

#3 Lyman Good

Lyman Good has become an exciting fighter to watch in the UFC

Most fans would probably have forgotten Lyman Good’s Bellator Welterweight title reign – it came in the very early days of the promotion, as he claimed the title in 2009 by winning the inaugural Welterweight tournament in the very first season of Bellator, defeating Omar de la Cruz in the final match.

Unfortunately, Good then ran into Ben Askren for his first title defense and was easily beaten, losing his title without ever successfully defending it. The rest of his Bellator career saw him go 5-2 before leaving the promotion in 2013, and from there he reeled off 3 wins on the regional circuit before signing with the UFC in 2015.

Good did well in his UFC debut, stopping Andrew Craig, but after more than a year on the shelf with injuries, he tested positive for a banned substance in the build to a 2016 fight with Belal Muhammad. Despite eventually being cleared – the drug apparently found its way into his system via a tainted supplement – he still didn’t return until a 2017 loss to Elizeu Zaleski.

2018 saw him stop Ben Saunders in an impressive showing, but he’s since lost to Demian Maia earlier in 2019 – meaning he’s probably not going to vault himself into UFC title contention any time soon. Still, he’ll probably stick around as a reliable action fighter for some time – meaning his move has been a moderate success.