Bellator’s Big Announcement
By Eddie Sanchez
The Light Heavyweight division is in the midst of a new era for the UFC. Jon Jones is off to tackle greater heights in the Heavyweight division and Israel Adesanya is hoping to swiftly replace his dominance, on March 6th, against the incumbent Jan Blachowicz.
A month later, Bellator has plans set in place to steal some of the residual-Light-Heavyweight-shine left over from Jon Jones former time in the class.
The UFC’s top North American competitor announced that Showtime will be their new broadcasting partner. They have set aside April for their public introduction on the network with a trio of events.
This is a definite buy for all you MMA fans! It will be $4.99 a month for each of the first six months after a 30-day free trial. Not to throw a quick promo out there, but let’s be honest, you can’t possibly beat that deal.
Patricio Pitbull vs. Emmanuel Sanchez will kick off the Showtime debut slate on April 2nd, but the huge news that has everyone excited is the Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix starting the following weekend.
This eight man tournament will feature UFC mainstays Yoel Romero and Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, the following who last fought in 2017, is making his much anticipated return to the cage in exhilarating fashion. Bellator just dropped the mic and the world is waiting in anticipation.
Showtime has always had high-level commentary and production and I absolutely can’t see how this tournament unfolds. The division is coming off an impressive title-winning bout for Vadim Nemkov over former champ-champ Ryan Bader.
With the division so open with top contenders and a tournament in place to settle-up, Bellator can make a legitimate claim to having the more interesting Light Heavyweight division over the UFC. Of course with Izzy expected to beat Blachowicz, they will surely get the bulk of the casual fandom, but Dan and company would be unwise to simply overlook their little brother.
Per MMAFighting, oddsmakers at Bet Online have Nemkov with 9-5 odds to leave the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix as champion, with Yoel Romero a close second at 4-1.
Arguably the most anticipated matchup out of the World Grand Prix is Yoel Romero versus-Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, which is the first bout for each of them with Bellator.
Selfishly, I am hoping for an emphatic victory for ‘Rumble’ Johnson over the favored-Romero. Regardless though, MMA fans will surely be treated to a world class tournament.
Still though, The Bad Promoter will be rooting for Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson to not only defeat Yoel Romero, but finish as the next Bellator Light Heavyweight champion.
Who do you think will win the Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix? Are you as excited as I am for Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson’s return to the cage?
