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Bellator MMA * General News Thread


Egg Shen

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pre-fight i posted that Bellator should have put the debut of AJ Agazarm on the main card...well by all accounts its best they didnt because the fight was a disaster. Agazarm lost a split decision, failed to land a significant strike and them in some Diaz-esque mean mugging to boat. The reaction hasnt been kind.

I only really know of Agazarm because hes a polarizing figure on the BJJ scene, lots of shit talking and had a bit of a documented feud with Jake Shields.

That said, i do like Agazarm post-fight tweet:

Bellators high profile/prospects debuts dont tend to go well do they?

 

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Channel 5 showed the Agazarm fight. Yeah, certainly one to forget. 

The main event started with only 10 minutes remaining on Channel 5's delayed coverage. So I gathered that the fight had ended early. A small part of me entertained a Fedor victory: "Maybe he catches Bader earlier before he has the chance to be takendown". But it was wishful thinking. 

Bader is one of the best fighters in the world. Certainly in the top 2 or 3 fighters that Bellator have under contract. He was a much bigger ask than Fedor's previous Bellator opponents. So despite being a bit sad and disappointed when Bader clobbered him, it was inevitable really. The Fedor comeback tour was running on fumes as it was. Sonnen had him in full mount, Mir dropped him, and Meathead stopped him. But it was great fun while it lasted. 

 

Edited by jimufctna24
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yeh, its been an incredible run from Bader. There seems to have been a genuine shift in opinion of him too, there was always a feeling of indifference to him in the UFC but people do seem to recognising him as one of the top fighters in the world now.

What next for him though?

Cokers already said that the winner of Kongo/Minakov is next at heavyweight.

Lightheavy is as thin a division that Bellator have, but there is one obvious contender, Vadim Nedkov. Coming off wins over Liam McGeary and Phil Davis plus being a protege of Fedor, its an absolute no brainer except for the fact that Nedkov isnt a big name.

The other option at 205 is to do Bader/Sonnen which is bollocks because Sonnen hasnt really earned that shot, but i could see them doing it. Then there's Tito Ortiz who was at Bellator Saturday lobbying for a second fight with Sonnen, then wanting a rematch with Bader. If that scenario played out id have no issue with it. Bellator would like them numbers too.

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I half wish Tito would fuck off but the other half of me wants Bader to wreck him. If he’s too greedy to walk away on the Chuck win, which would’ve been as perfect a sendoff as he could’ve ever even fantasised about, then him getting obliterated by Bader would serve him right. 

Does Tito even do numbers now? Does anyone give much of a fuck in 2019? Obviously he’s better used on Bellator’s free TV model than bombing on a De La Hoya PPV, but it just feels like everyone’s pretty much moved on where Tito’s concerned. Did his last few Bellator fights do huge numbers? I’m not even disagreeing or being a smartarse, I don’t have a clue where or why there’d be much in the way of enthusiasm to watch him these days. The Chuck fight was kind of an exception because of the morbid curiosity factor of Chuck coming out of retirement but even that was looked at as a joke. I mean, I know he has wins over Bader (8 years ago, mind) and Chael but they’re not rematches where you think ‘I’ve got to see that’ are they? 

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Bellator provides me with a nice nostalgia fix 2-3 times a year. In addition to treating me to a bit of Mousasi, Pico, Swagger, etc. But Bader fighting Ortiz or Sonnen would do little for me. I would be amazed if either gave Bader a competitive round. Bader got a nice rub from Fedor. But I would rather he square off against fighters of his own generation from here on out. 

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Fuck it. I hope he comes back now and loses to Bader and then loses to Chael as well. Would be hilarious. Finally gets that win over Chuck, comes back, then swiftly gets beat by Bader and Chael, ruining two of Tito’s best career wins. Good. 

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Aye. 

Tito is a pain in the backside. But whatever you think about him as a person and as a fighter, he is still a big name. Jordan Breen told a story years ago where he was in a bar before a UFC PPV in Canada that had Jones, Ortiz, Machida, Mir, Big Nog on the bill. A group of people in the bar found out he was a MMA journalist. All they could ask him about was bloody Tito and what time he was fighting. 

Blame Tito's ex-wife. I believe it was her who convinced Dana to re-sign him in late 2005. Which resulted in his coaching role on TUF 3 and high-profile bouts with King Kenny, Griffin and Chuck. It's that run during the first MMA boom that he principally dines on today. 

Edited by jimufctna24
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4 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

that is tragic

Yeah. To fully highlight what a bomb the show was, Oscar said before it happened he expected the show to do 200k-400k buys. Bugger knows how much money Golden Boy lost on it. They were supposedly offering it for half price too.

Edited by ColinBollocks
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13 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

yeh, its been an incredible run from Bader. There seems to have been a genuine shift in opinion of him too, there was always a feeling of indifference to him in the UFC but people do seem to recognising him as one of the top fighters in the world now.

What next for him though?

Whatever is next for him, he's getting paid, which is the main thing in his opinion.

His current deal with Bellator pisses all over anything the UFC had offered him previously, with a six fight deal with a full purse and an inactivity clause, meaning that he has to get booked three times per year (injuries excepted) or Bellator still has to pay him his full yearly rate.

His mention of the sponsorship potential with Bellator was interesting as well, with current UFC champions able to earn $40,000 per fight, and title challengers earning $30,000 per fight. Bader claims that the lowest he ever earned on sponsorship with the UFC pre-Reebok deal was $35,000 and that was a prelim fight.

He claims he used to make upwards of 80 grand a fight on sponsorship alone before the Reebok deal, with it being cut down to $15,000 per fight afterwards. If he'd stayed with the UFC he'd have seen a $5,000 increase after his 21st fight with the company.

You have to think that his status as double champion is only going to see him earn even more, so a return to the UFC any time soon isn't looking too likely.

 

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Bader was on with Ariel last night and Ariel was kinda pushing for the Tito rematch. 

Makes sense for Bader. It's likely an wasy win (careful now) and proably the sweetest payday not named Chael Sonnen. 

Bader has earned his money. 

Edited by Silky Kisser
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