Lyoto Machida to Bellator

Wild said:

Thanks for the info.

Couple of serious questions for the Bellator haters/detractors.

What should Coker/Viacom do? Close up shop and go away? Should there be no competition for the UFC?

They’ve signed some very good young talent (Pico, Ruth, Storley, Cotton, Fortune, Joey Davis, etc). They’ve signed free agents like Macdonald, Mousasi, Bendo who were at the top of their divisions in the UFC. And they’ve signed some older guys for name value, so people that tune in to watch them will see the young guys & they’ll get some exposure.

Outside of their shitty TV deals (which they’re working to fix), I honestly don’t know what you all want or expect.

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A submission win over Thatch and a split decision win over Masvidal did not put Bendo anywhere near the top of his division (welterweight)

I don't think you're being fair highlighting certain good things Bellator did while overlooking all the godawful events they've put on like Royce vs Ken, Kimbo vs Dada etc. Then there's the fact they can't actually afford to give guys like Macdonald more than 1-2 fights a year, something he's already complained about himself. They are overreaching, and now that fighters can see that, this mass exodus that seemed inevitable has only led to a handful of UFC fighters making the jump across.

Bellator has more 40+ year olds with a much smaller roster.

5 pages of silliness just to prove my point.

conor mcgregor nut hugger said:

Bellator has more 40+ year olds with a much smaller roster.

5 pages of silliness just to prove my point.

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In 1 years time they won't even be close

TheEmperorRises said:

In 1 years time they won't even be close

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Jehannum said:

A submission win over Thatch and a split decision win over Masvidal did not put Bendo anywhere near the top of his division (welterweight)

I don't think you're being fair highlighting certain good things Bellator did while overlooking all the godawful events they've put on like Royce vs Ken, Kimbo vs Dada etc

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Benson wasn’t getting a title shot but He was top 15 in 2 divisions when he left

January 2016 rankings





Also Ken vs Royce and Dada vs kimbo was the same event. In 200 events you can probably name 3 that were subpar. Should we try that with the ufc?

MMAHAWK said:

Benson wasn’t getting a title shot but He was top 15 in 2 divisions when he left

January 2016 rankings

Also Ken vs Royce and Dada vs kimbo was the same event. In 200 events you can probably name 3 that were subpar. Should we try that with the ufc?

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3 subpar Bellator events out of 200?

we're never going to be on the same page mate, your obsession with literally anything that resembles MMA is too extreme for me

Jehannum said:

3 subpar Bellator events out of 200?

we're never going to be on the same page mate, your obsession with literally anything that resembles MMA is too extreme for me

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I’m saying I doubt you can name them. Obviously they’ve had some bad events but the go to for everyone that is bashing Bellator is. “ they put on shitty events like Tito vs Ken and kimbo vs dada” . It was one event and the most watched in their history.

MMAHAWK said:

I’m saying I doubt you can name them. Obviously they’ve had some bad events but the go to for everyone that is bashing Bellator is. “ they put on shitty events like Tito vs Ken and kimbo vs dada” . It was one event and the most watched in their history.

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Ken vs Kimbo and Ken vs Royce then

and the thing is, I've sat there and watched so many Bellator events and I can't name the shit ones off the top of my head but I know quite a few were abysmal because watching cops afterwards was actually the highlight and I remember it. I don't like squash matches and felt Coker lined up too many of those when he ran Strikeforce, and I feel he still does it. He seems to care far more about one guy knocking out another than he does about making competitive matchups, and they milk the regional guys along the way.

I can understand Bellator events being considered decent at the level they're supposed to be at, but too many try to convince us that these events are better than the UFC events and I'm just not seeing it. Not in the quality and not in the matchmaking, plus they've pretty much ditched the tournament format that many fans felt put them alongside the UFC at least as a quality alternative. We got a retarded HW tournament with career middleweights competing against overblown LHW's, and with most of the notable HW's left out entirely.

MMAHAWK said:

“ they put on shitty events like Royce vs Ken and kimbo vs dada” . It was one event and the most watched in their history.

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That's probably part of why the stigma is what it is though.

Wild said:

Thanks for the info.

Couple of serious questions for the Bellator haters/detractors.

What should Coker/Viacom do? Close up shop and go away? Should there be no competition for the UFC?

They’ve signed some very good young talent (Pico, Ruth, Storley, Cotton, Fortune, Joey Davis, etc). They’ve signed free agents like Macdonald, Mousasi, Bendo who were at the top of their divisions in the UFC. And they’ve signed some older guys for name value, so people that tune in to watch them will see the young guys & they’ll get some exposure.

Outside of their shitty TV deals (which they’re working to fix), I honestly don’t know what you all want or expect.

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I think a lot of the assumed Bellator "hate" is just a way to get a rise out of "UFC haters"
I don't know about this board as much as others, but some hate UFC so much that they get blinded & say incredulous things about Bellator in return & become targets to troll.

As far as what Coker can do?
Be better at money management & realize it is not the same industry as it was 10 years ago.

Any true MMA fan (even if they lean UFC) should want Bellator to do well because it will push UFC to do better & it creates an over-all healthy scenario.

Wild said:

He was a UFC champion at LW and top 5 at one time in WW. I don’t think I’m exaggerating his accomplishments at all.

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I'm a big fan, I'm just highlighting that beating an unranked WW and a chubby LW doesn't put you near the top of that division, and in the UFC those are his 2 welterweight fights.

willthiswork said:

It's basically impossible to pick an age.

If you ask me who the more over the hill fighter is between Overreem and Romero then I'm picking Reem even though he's 3ish years younger. Same with Arlovski and Romero.

In battle years, Robbie Lawler is probably as old as Machida. Rory is probably as old as GSP. Cowboy is definitely over 40 in fight years even if he's 35.

Guys like Jeremy Stephens and Max Holloway will be "old" long before they're even close to being old.




That said... If a fighter is older is than me then they're generally too damned old to still be fighting. So 38+ fighters need to sign up for AARP.

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Good points. But we're basically picking a number here, not regarding the outliers here. And with fighters fighting much longer these days, I think that number needs to be placed higher. For instance, GSP aged 37 just took a belt, from a guy 39 of age, Michael Bisping, a champ up until that point. Romero is also a good example. So I think the "aged" fighter, or at least the number we use, should be over 40. After that age, we start to see most guys declining and can be considered "old".

But I agree totally that the "age" of a fighter is determined by his or her "mileage".

He will revive his career. Smart move.

What Divison?

I like Light Heavy Lyoto more than Middle Wieght.

His counter striking style suits him better with a little more weight on him.

He obviously still has knockout power
(ask vitor) but at middle weight he would have to push more and be more active.

Light heavy he can pick his shots. And opponents.

Plenty up and coming light heavy's in Bellator he can face.

I hope he takes that route and not Top 5.

Either way i'll always route for The Dragon.

I wish him the best!

FrankieNYC said:

some hate UFC so much that they get blinded & say incredulous things about Bellator

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This is 100% true. I'm blown away by some of the shit these guys say.

Any true MMA fan (even if they lean UFC) should want Bellator to do well because it will push UFC to do better & it creates an over-all healthy scenario.

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I've always said that I want Bellator around. Competition is healthy for pretty much every industry.

But let's not kid ourselves here. From forcing fighters to sell tickets to signing up more 40 year olds than Rogaine, bush league gonna bush league.

I claim this thread in the name of Asgard.

Since it is currently about Machida’s career going to die in Bellator, this thread is now about Hela, the goddess of death.

Wild said:

This is rich.

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ever hear the story of the boy who cried wolf?

Wild said:

This is rich.

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conor mcgregor nut hugger said:

This is 100% true. I'm blown away by some of the shit these guys say.

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I want to clarify what I meant (not that you misunderstood)

On SD & social media, you see things like "Bellator is taking over", "Bellator is about to be #1" etc.
Those are the type post I refer to.

Opinions about Coker vs Dana, production, sponsors, etc are valid
Some go overboard, but some do the same from the reverse side

I think Bellators presentation is better than UFC's.
I liked UFC's bare bones feel, but after 15+ years of seeing the same look I am bored by it
I also like how on bigger events Bellator throws to panels to discuss (in between fights) & of course goldy blows Anik away

conor mcgregor nut hugger said:

I've always said that I want Bellator around. Competition is healthy for pretty much every industry.

But let's not kid ourselves here. From forcing fighters to sell tickets to signing up more 40 year olds than Rogaine, bush league gonna bush league.

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I've always liked Conor McGregor. He's one of my favorite fighters.

But let's not kid ourselves here. He has no ground game, no gas tank, never defended a title, and arguably never beat Nate Diaz. His time is finished, he's just waiting for Khabib to put a stamp on it.

Again, big fan.

TheEmperorRises said:

I've always liked Conor McGregor. He's one of my favorite fighters.

But let's not kid ourselves here. He has no ground game, no gas tank, never defended a title, and arguably never beat Nate Diaz. His time is finished, he's just waiting for Khabib to put a stamp on it.

Again, big fan.

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I don't understand this "arguably never beat Nate Diaz" unless you scored it a draw

I have the fight on my HD because Mike Perry debuted on the main card and I watch it again and again to see what ya'll are talking about. Conor clearly took rd1, he also clearly took rd4 when Nate slowed after beating the fuck out of Conor during the second half of rd3. rd2 Nate had a strong final minute but it doesn't overcome being dropped twice and tagged at will for the previous 4, and Conor was firing back in that final minute too anyway.

No fucking way should rd3 be a 10-8 because Nate didn't dominate for the entirety, and while I would've scored it 10-8 under the new rules I definitely wouldn't under the old ones that applied to that fight, and even if we do it still only leaves Nate a chance at a draw unless he scored another 10-8 rd ... he didn't.

Aggression and octagon control aren't taken into account if one fighter clearly does more damage than the other fighter in a round in the eyes of the judges, so Conor running or Nate pursuing had no value in regards to the scorecards.

edit: Nate clearly took the 5th, forgot to mention that rd.

the 2 judges did a great job, 48-47 twice to McGregor, but carry on clinging onto that 3rd judge's 47-47 for dear life lol

FrankieNYC said:

I want to clarify what I meant (not that you misunderstood)

On SD & social media, you see things like "Bellator is taking over", "Bellator is about to be #1" etc.
Those are the type post I refer to.

Opinions about Coker vs Dana, production, sponsors, etc are valid
Some go overboard, but some do the same from the reverse side

I think Bellators presentation is better than UFC's.
I liked UFC's bare bones feel, but after 15+ years of seeing the same look I am bored by it
I also like how on bigger events Bellator throws to panels to discuss (in between fights) & of course goldy blows Anik away

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I am quoting the wrong post but.. Too lazy Frankie ;-)
Competition is great. But honestly overpaying older UFC fighters are not the way to compete in my opinion.

Hows the marketing and visibility for the Bellator fighters?
I dont follow MMA much on news sites and other medias, I will be the first to admit that.
But I kinda feel when UFC fighters such as Rory and Benson left for Bellator they kind of fell of the map.
I rarely see any buzz or talks about them.

Signing the old UFC fighters and hiring Goldie (I love Goldie btw) leaves me with the feeling Bellator is trying to be a UFC clone.
Doing our own thing (Cokers SF and Bjorns tournament style) did not pan out hey lets clone the UFC!!!1

Cynic and one track minded look at it? Maybe but I am not really impressed with it.

Bellator is not really a competitor to the UFC at this point.