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Jeff Wagenheim, ESPN
Once again, it's back to the starting line for Bellator MMA. Second Fiddle Fight promotions always seem to be starting over, redefining, or resurrecting themselves. The latest bout takes place on Friday at Bellator Belfast, with the championship belt on the line for the fight in Northern Ireland's capital.
That's the matchmaking plan for all future events now that Bellator's promotion is owned by its former rival PFL. Each year he has eight events held around the world, and in each event he has two title fights. That's why they call it the Bellator Champions Series.
Friday's main event pits title fight veteran Corey Anderson against local up-and-comer Carl Moore for the vacant light heavyweight title. In the co-main, Jeremy Kennedy will take on Bellator's winningest fighter, featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Freire has been on the company's seesaw for a long time and has been through most of Bellator's ups and downs.
Freire did not participate in the first Bellator event in 2009, but he made his debut a year later as part of a tournament that followed founder Bjorn Rebney's format. Freire reached the finals of the 2010 featherweight tournament, and although he lost in the finals, he won the tournaments held in 2011 and 2013. He is currently in his third reign as featherweight champion, and his first at lightweight. Please call him Mr. Bellator.
'Pitbull' first won the Bellator belt in 2014, a few months after Scott Coker replaced Rebney. With the change in leadership, Bellator evolved from tournaments to more traditional matchmaking, and then to booking headliner spectacles (perhaps more It would be more appropriate to evolve properly). Freire championed Bellator through the Back to the Future Grand Prix tournament era, never missing out on the Beatles, until he was finally acquired by the PFL last fall. I got over it like that.
Now, we're at the beginning of the Bellator Champions Series, which continues with an event featuring a title defense between lightweight Usman Nurmagomedov and bantamweight Patchy Mix on May 17th in Paris. These and this weekend's championship match are the only headline games booked at this time, but the remaining games for 2024 are: June 22nd in Dublin, September 7th in San Diego, and September 14th. London, Chicago on October 12th, return to Paris on November 16th, and venue to be determined on December 31st.
“We are very excited to officially launch the repositioned Bellator facility,” PFL CEO Peter Murray told ESPN this week. “We're excited about the format, which will have two title fights and one big contender fight at the top of each card, with the rest of the card drawn from the best members of Bellator's roster.”
Matchmakers will have to make some smart calculations to include two title matches on each of this year's eight fight cards. Bellator has nine weight classes, but the winners of both women's divisions are not eligible to compete. Flyweight titlist Liz Carmouche will compete in the 2024 PFL season, and the expanded company's biggest star, featherweight champion Cris Cyborg, will appear on PFL pay-per-views.
“Women will actually play a role in the Bellator Champion Series,” Murray said. “We're going to sign more women and emphasize that.”
Another detail that was missing in the days before fight night was where fans in the United States could watch Bellator. The company finally announced the TV deal on Tuesday: Bellator will appear on Max.
However, in terms of matchmaking, it will be up to the seven men's weight classes to fill the 16 title spots for the year. Does it add up?
That calculation will be solved another day. For now, the focus is on Friday's light heavyweight and featherweight title fights, both of which have storylines. We will introduce the drama that will unfold from now on.
Will the third time be a talisman or a curse for Corey Anderson?
In April 2022, Anderson was on the verge of becoming Bellator champion. He was in complete control of his challenge to Vadim Nemkov, but seconds before the end of the third round, an accidental clash of heads prevented the Russian from continuing. The match was a no-contest, and Nemkov retained the belt.
The two met again seven months later, this time on Nemkov's night. He dropped Anderson with a spinning head kick in the first round, negated his challenger's wrestling attacks throughout, and walked away with the belt and the $1 million Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix championship prize.
So the stakes behind Friday's fight are something Anderson (17-6, 1 NC State) has been thinking about for a long time, dating back long before his near miss at Bellator. During his five-year run in the UFC, Anderson lost a bout to No. 1 contender Jan Blachowicz in 2020 while then-champion Jon Jones sat cageside. It's very close.
“This is all I've always strived for,” Anderson told reporters last week. “Everyone who has followed me since I started fighting in 2014, every time I finish a fight, they tell me, “I'm happy to win, but I'm just here to get the belt.'' I kept saying, “That's it, money and everything.'' Accessories are great, but the main focus is getting the belt. At the end of the day, when it's all said and done, I'll be able to say I was walking around with a belt around my waist. sunset. “
And while Friday's opponent, Moore, 12-2, is a relative unknown outside of Northern Ireland and has only four Bellator fights under his belt, Anderson will be waiting for that golden sunset until the job is done. I know from experience that you shouldn't stare at someone. “I don't look past anyone,” he said. “For every fight, I go into training camp like I'm fighting the best guy in the world. The one time I didn't, I paid for it. That was Nemkov's last fight. I was sure it was my bag, and I was relaxing a bit at camp when it fell victim. I won't do it again. ”
Hometown hero Carl Moore's “dream come true”
Moore has fought 14 times as a professional, but never in his hometown of Belfast. He competed there in his third amateur bout many years ago, and after winning he celebrated by jumping on top of the cage, thoughts of a fantasy world running through his head.
“At that age I had dreams of competing in front of a crowd in Belfast and winning a world title,” he recalls. “But when are Bellator coming to Belfast? When are they going to put me in the main event for a world title? ” people. “
Moore doesn't mind the added pressure of fighting 20 minutes from home. He believes Anderson is someone to worry about.
“It's not like I haven't fought in Belfast before,” Moore warned his opponent on a joint call with reporters.
“That's fine,” Anderson countered. “You've never fought someone like me.”
Anderson has enjoyed riding into enemy territory several times over the years. During his time in the UFC, he fought twice in Brazil, facing Fabio Maldonado in his hometown of Sao Paulo, and then facing Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in Curitiba, where the former champion was born and is still based. After moving to Bellator, Anderson faced Ryan Bader in his hometown of Phoenix. Anderson won two of those three matches.
Well, this time I visited Belfast. “The energy will be electricity, and I feed off of it,” he said.
Will Patricio “Pitbull” be able to stand up after falling twice?
The pursuit of greatness comes at a price for Freire.
Last June, the 23-year-old fighter, who has more wins than anyone else in Bellator, attempted to accomplish his first MMA feat: winning championships in three weight classes. 'Pitbull' was (and still is) the featherweight champion, previously reigning at lightweight, but vacating the title in 2021 to make room for his younger brother Patricky to take the belt. . In pursuit of his third title, Patricio dropped down to flyweight to take on Sergio Pettis. He lost by decision.
Six weeks later, Freire (35-7) was rushed into a fight in Tokyo in a cross-promotion between Bellator and Japanese promotion RIZIN, but it didn't go well. Chihiro Suzuki was knocked out in the first round.
The Brazilian tried to right the ship with last month's PFL Champion vs. Bellator Champion fight, but his 2023 PFL Featherweight Champion Jesus Pinedo was canceled the night before the fight due to Pinedo sustaining a lower back injury. it was cancelled. PFL season finalist Gabriel Braga was brought on as a substitute, but withdrew on weigh-in day.
So Freire accepted an impromptu title defense against Kennedy, who had lost just once in his past eight fights. “This is the perfect match to show that I'm really back, that I'm completely back,” Freire said through a Portuguese interpreter.
Freire was unfazed by the change of opponent again. “We trained for southpaws, we trained for orthodox, we trained for tall athletes, we trained for wrestlers, we trained for short athletes. We cover scenarios so we are always ready for anyone,” he said. “I've never said no to a fight before, and I didn't want to start playing now.”
Additionally, the most decorated fighter in Bellator history feels it's a natural fit to be on the promotion's first card under its new manager. “Bellator is my home,” he said. “I've spent most of my career here, so defending this belt means a lot to me.”
The wait for Jeremy Kennedy is over
“This has been a long time coming,” President Kennedy said. “I've been chasing this guy all my life.”
“Chasing” means that he is standing still. Kennedy (19-3, No. 1 North Carolina) hasn't fought since February 2023, when he defeated Pedro Carvalho to win three straight. He waited because he believed a victory would give him Freire's belt. And he waited.
“I know he was busy with other things, but he could have fought me instead of fighting in Japan,” Kennedy said.
When “Pitbull” booked a fight on the recent PFL vs. Bellator card, Kennedy decided he had waited long enough. He accepted a Bellator Belfast bout against James Gallagher.
And after last month's match against Freire didn't take place, matchmakers called and quickly arranged the fight Kennedy had been waiting for. Perhaps there is a lesson there.
“The circumstances surrounding this, the last-minute changes, don't faze me. I was training for a fight, he was training for a fight, so this is perfect.” Kennedy said. “It's just a matter of changing opponents quickly, which gives you greater opportunities and greater rewards.”
