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Bellator MMA recently announced an 8-man tournament for its light heavyweight division, which features a number of ex-UFC fighters. The card, starting on April 9th, is stacked with 6 former UFC stars namely Yoel Romero, Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson, Lyoto Machida, Ryan Bader, Phil Davis and Corey Anderson.
The tournament's quarter-final rounds will take place over the course of two events, Bellator 256 (April 9th) and Bellator 257 (April 16th).
To start off the action, ex-UFC middleweight Lyoto Machida will face Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader at Bellator 256. Former UFC standout Corey Anderson will face Bellator newcomer Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov at the same event.
Former UFC stars Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson will make their Bellator debuts at Bellator 257 on April 16th. In another bout on the night, Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov will defend his title against ex-UFC star Phil Davis in a rematch from Bellator 209 that Nemkov won by split decision.
This will be Nemkov's first title defense since defeating former champion Ryan Bader via second-round TKO at Bellator 244. With its stacked 205 lbs division, Scott Coker's promotion is currently making headlines in the combat sports world.
Ex-UFC light heavyweights in Bellator
With a pair of ex-UFC stars making their Bellator debuts, there is certainly talk that the organization might have a deeper light heavyweight roster than their rivals, the UFC. However, the practice of poaching fighters from the UFC is not new to Bellator and many of these fighters compete at light heavyweight.
Ryan Bader moved to Bellator in 2016 once his UFC deal expired. He went on to win the light heavyweight championship against Phil Davies in a promotional debut. 'Darth' Bader has since lost his belt to current champion Vadim Nemkov but retains the heavyweight title, which he won against the legend, Fedor Emelianenko in the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix.
Bader will face former UFC star Lyoto Machida, who has jumped between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions over the past few years. Machida will come into the fight off back-to-back losses against Phil Davies and Gegard Mousasi.
Phil Davies has gone on a 5-1 record since his loss to Ryan Bader, only dropping a bout against current champion Vadim Nemkov.
Corey Anderson parted ways with the UFC after his first-round KO loss to current champion Jan Blachowicz. He made a successful Bellator debut in November with a second-round TKO win over veteran Melvin Manhoef.
With former UFC title challengers, Romero and Johnson joining Bellator, the promotion's 205lbs division gains a lot of credibility.
