Bellator dropped some big news Tuesday with the announcement of a championship doubleheader at their May 9 show in San Jose.
The main event will feature promotional “champ-champ” Ryan Bader (27-5 MMA, 5-0 BMMA), who puts his light heavyweight title on the line against surging contender Vadim Nemkov (11-2 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) as he bids to maintain his position as a simultaneous two-division champion. But it’s the announcement of the co-main event that has really caught the imagination, with reigning welterweight king and grand prix victor Douglas Lima (32-7 MMA, 14-3 BMMA) stepping up to 185 pounds to take on former middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi (46-7-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) for the newly-vacated title.
The event represents Bellator’s biggest statement of 2020, as they stack the deck for arguably their most important card of the year so far. Here are four key reasons why the event is so important for the promotion:
It gives Bellator the chance to compete head to head with the UFC
When the sad news of Rafael Lovato Jr.’s brain condition was announced, his decision to relinquish the middleweight title was an unfortunate inevitability. But the recently-crowned champ did so with class, stepping down as champion to allow the division to move on. With such a blockbuster matchup waiting to be booked, Lovato’s decision not to sit on the belt any longer than necessary meant the organization could stack the deck for their May event, which will go head-to-head with UFC 250 in Brazil.
The UFC card for Sao Paulo is expected to feature a bantamweight title clash between champ Henry Cejudo and former titleholder Jose Aldo, but the presence of Bellator’s in-form Brazilian champion Lima would offer an interesting wrinkle to the direct comparisons between the two fight cards. The booking of two title fights, featuring three well-known names to U.S. fans plus a dangerous Russian contender, means Bellator will head into that weekend thinking they have a real chance to compete head-to-head with the UFC and come out on top.
Until the full fight cards are confirmed by the two promotions, it’s tough to compare the events side-by-side on star power, but one area where Bellator may hold the advantage is in their broadcast setup. UFC 250 will be an ESPN+ pay-per-view event, while Bellator’s show will simultaneously air on Paramount and stream live on DAZN, a platform for which regular MMA watchers will likely already have a subscription.
If it comes down to a straight choice, a solid event that airs on cable and streams on a service has already been paid for could end up getting the nod over the additional expense of a pay-per-view event in Brazil, especially considering the names already confirmed at the top of the card.
Twin title-fight booking shows 'champ-champ' narrative is alive and well in Bellator
