Recently, there have been plenty of Bellator athletes transitioning over to the UFC. Considering the neglect Dana White had shown towards his competitor business-wise, it is interesting the amount of respect its former fighters are getting at the early stages of their promotional runs.
Arguably the greatest fighter in Bellator history, Patricio Pitbull Freire, is debuting this week at UFC 314 against the number-five-ranked Yair Rodriguez. The first fight in the league facing a former interim title-holder is already a big rarity.
Adding to this is the fact that in the main event of the night, Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes will decide the new champion of this weight class after Ilia Topuria vacated the belt in February this year. It seems that the UFC is putting Freire in a position where, with a good performance on Saturday, he could slide right into title contention.
During his 30-fight, 14-year career in Bellator, Pitbull has won the featherweight strap astonishingly three times and even got up in weight to defeat the lightweight champion. Freire’s situation is somewhat similar to that of Dan Henderson in 2007 when the PRIDE FC double-champ received a title shot in his UFC debut.
Bellator homegrown Aaron Pico has decided to leave the league for good following its merger with the PFL. Much like Freire and several other Bellator athletes, Pico isn’t satisfied with the number of fight deals he is getting.
“I don’t want to fight for the PFL. If that means me sitting out, then I’ll do it. Yes, [I will never appear under their banner again],” Pico told ESPN in February.
Not official but heavily rumored throughout the past week is Pico’s debut in the UFC being opposite the number-four-ranked Movsar Evloev. If true, it would become an unprecedented case, as Pico, unlike Freire, has never been a Bellator champion or title challenger.
Former two-time Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez made his UFC debut on a pay-per-view card, facing the number-five-ranked at the time Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Sounds familiar?
What about the former three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler, who fought the number-five-ranked Dan Hooker on the main card of UFC 257 for his first bout in the organization?
Alexander Volkov and Ben Askren also received ranked matchups for their UFC debuts after both having title-winning careers in Bellator.
Michael “Venom” Page, much like Pico, was always associated with Bellator’s brand, yet never captured the belt. However, Page got the number-14-ranked Kevin Holland in his UFC debut.
Dana White might be hotheaded and straightforward at times, but when it comes to business decisions, the UFC CEO knows what he is doing.
Having fighters with already established fan bases come in is great for the promotion. Additionally, those guys aren’t fighting for the usual $12k to show and $12k to win, so they might as well just put them in big fights right away. If they win, they will generate way more revenue, and if they lose, there will be a reason for fans to say that the UFC has superior fighters.
Organizational moments aside, it is clear that the biggest MMA promotion in the world sees great value in Bellator’s roster. The last Bellator bantamweight champion, Patchy Mix, has been vocal about his contract disputes with the PFL. It seems like the UFC is likely to pick up the 31-year-old standout as soon as it is an option (no one knows when it is going to happen, considering PFL’s right to match any offer coming their biggest stars’ way).
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