Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Bellator MMA Fighters

Welcome again folks, this time to Sherdog's list of the ten greatest Bellator MMA fighters ever. This was compiled as an average of many different Sherdog contributors' lists, and I will note where my own views deviated considerably. Personally though, the appeal of any such lists isn't the exact ordering, or who was included versus excluded, but the actual discussion below each entry. Anyone can come up with a list with no further commentary and it's not any more “right” than another. However, the best such lists have entertaining and informative explanations, which is a goal I hope to accomplish.

Now, a word about criteria. These rankings are based solely on a fighter’s achievements in Bellator, and my main measure was greatness for one's era and how long it lasted. I believe the majority of other contributors used a similar rubric. Ranking historical fighters based on who would beat whom doesn’t make sense, since fighters keep improving and evolving. Nevertheless, fighters from earlier eras may be penalized for how uncompetitive their division or era was. That is especially relevant for Bellator, which has been in operation since 2009 but has seen a large influx of quality talent in the past few years.

By way of honorable mention, our men’s flyweight poll featured a number of current and former Bellator champs who received at least one vote, but not quite enough to crack the Top 10. In descending order, they are: Phil Davis, Douglas Lima, Hector Lombard, Eduardo Dantas, Sergio Pettis, Cole Konrad, Joe Warren and Johnny Eblen.

Continue Reading » Number 10

10. Will Brooks

Brooks is a curious inclusion. Some respondents had him as high as fifth. Others, myself included, left him off entirely. This dichotomy is perfectly understandable given the nature of his career in Bellator. There are two ways to frame his career. One is positive, noting that he was a ridiculously athletic, high-level wrestler who developed good striking. Brooks had a tremendous 9-1 record in Bellator, including going 2-0 with a decisive knockout of Michael Chandler, one of the greatest champions in promotion history, whom we will see later in this list. That also included gaining revenge for his lone loss, two successful title defenses, and leaving Bellator for the UFC as its champion. The more negative framing would note that Brooks had porous striking defense and suffered from lapses in concentration. His one loss, a 43-second knockout by Saad Awad, is a very ugly one for an all-time great. In fact, I can't think of a worse loss in Bellator by anyone else on this list. Aside from the two Chandler fights, his opposition was fairly weak. His best after that was a decision win over Marcin Held and after that, decision triumphs over Dave Jansen and Alexander Sarnavskiy. Good opponents certainly, but not exactly world-class elite. Even the two triumphs against Chandler aren't so simple upon closer examination. Brooks won the first encounter via split decision, but virtually everyone aside from the cageside judges had it as either a Chandler win or a draw. The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle. Brooks was an all-time great in Bellator, but perhaps not to the degree he would appear at first glance. With that in mind, 10th place seems fair.

Continue Reading » Number 9

9. Ben Askren

Another interesting inclusion, just like Brooks. I also left Askren off my list, as did a few others, while others had him fifth. Askren certainly has a lot going for him. He was a perfect 9-0 in Bellator, including four welterweight title defenses. He utterly dominated everyone he faced in the organization with the exception of Jay Hieron, whom he won a split decision against. Aside from that, he has dominant decisions over Dan Hornbuckle, Lyman Good for the title, Nick Thompson, Douglas Lima, and even finished Karl Amassou and Andrey Koreshkov in his last two outings with the promotion. My problem is his lack of competition at the time. I've been accused of being a Bellator homer, but believe it or not, I didn't think much of the promotion in the early 2010s, considering its roster weak overall. On paper, Askren's victories over future welterweight champions Lima and Koreshkov are very impressive. Trouble is, those were baby versions of both men, shadows of what they would later become. Lima was only 24 and had yet to perfect his striking, on top of having far weaker takedown defense and BJJ than what he would later develop. Koreshkov was a mere 22 and couldn't wrestle at all, an area that would later become a major strength of his, even using it to utterly dominate Benson Henderson, one of the best grapplers in UFC lightweight history, among others. Personally, I would much rather have this spot taken by Phil Davis or Johnny Eblen. The latter is a modern-day, far superior version of Askren, an elite wrestler with endless cardio who can actually strike—and very well at that—on top of having far more impressive wins in Gegard Mousasi and John Salter as part of an 8-0 record in Bellator.

Continue Reading » Number 8

8. Cristiane Justino

“Cris Cyborg” is unique for two reasons. Firstly, she is the only woman to make the Top 10. Secondly and more interestingly, she has by far the fewest fights in the promotion of anyone here, having notched a perfect 5-0 mark since joining Bellator. By contrast, the second-fewest number of fights in the promotion for an inclusion is nine. And yet, one can't ask more of “Cyborg” than what she has done. She began her time in the promotion with her biggest win, defeating long-time Bellator featherweight queen Julia Budd, whom I had as the 10th greatest female ever pound-for-pound, via fourth-round knockout. It was a sensational triumph, especially as Budd fought the best she ever has and Justino still finished her. “Cyborg” has defended her title four times, with two wins over very tough challenger and skilled striker Arlene Blencowe, once by the first submission of her career and the rematch by easy decision. She also had a brutal 92-second knockout of Irish striker Sinead Kavanagh and beat up Leslie Smith in a rematch of their UFC bout, stopping her in the fifth stanza. In terms of ability, Justino possesses underrated grappling skills, with solid wrestling and BJJ, while being exceptionally hard to take or keep down herself. However, her main skill is her phenomenal seek-and-destroy muay thai striking, which calls to mind the golden days of Chute Boxe, drawing comparisons to Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio Rua. It's hard to see her much higher on this list even with more title defenses given the lack of competition at featherweight, and at 37 years old and with a growing interest in boxing, with her last two appearances being wins in that sport, she may not be around for much longer. Still, she has left a mark in Bellator already as its greatest female fighter ever, surpassing Budd, Ilima Lei-MacFarlane and Liz Carmouche, among other fine champions.

Continue Reading » Number 7

7. Eddie Alvarez

The great “Underground King,” who finished as Sherdog's sixth greatest lightweight ever, was a champion in numerous major promotions around the world. That of course includes the UFC, where despite being a big underdog against reigning champion Rafael dos Anjos, he needed less than four minutes to dethrone him with a series of brutal punches. Yet, Alvarez's prime, from 25 to 29 years old, was spent in Bellator, where he attained a sterling 9-1 mark, seven of those wins finishes, and was a two-time lightweight champion. He was the company's first huge signing, starring at the promotion’s debut event, and certainly justified the investment. His first fight against Michael Chandler, his lone Bellator loss, is still one of the greatest fights in MMA history. He was given the decision in the rematch, though most, myself included, scored it for Chandler. However, Alvarez destroyed everyone else he faced in the promotion, including second-round knockouts of excellent opposition for the era including Katsunori Kikuno, Josh Neer and Roger Huerta, sweeping all five rounds easily against Pat Curran, flattening Shinya Aoki in a little over two minutes to avenge a previous submission loss in K-1 MMA, and a gorgeous first-round head kick knockout of future lightweight champion Patricky Freire. In his prime, Alvarez was a fantastic offensive striker as well as an excellent wrestler with vicious ground-and-pound and submissions. Even then, Alvarez had holes in his striking defense, though his chin was at its toughest and his recuperative powers were amazing. Still, only Chandler, who I think was clearly the best lightweight in the world at the time, was able to take advantage. Alvarez set a tremendous mark in the promotion and is a very well-deserved entry here.

Continue Reading » Number 6

6. Gegard Mousasi

In 2017, Mousasi was in his prime, riding a five-fight winning streak in the UFC that featured brutal finishes of Thiago Santos, Vitor Belfort and Uriah Hall, capped off with a sensational knockout of recent middleweight champion Chris Weidman. Seen as perhaps the best middleweight in the world, Mousasi grew tired of waiting for lame-duck middleweight champion Georges St. Pierre and made the shocking jump to Bellator. While it hasn't been pure smooth sailing, as Mousasi is 7-2, every fight has been big, and he makes it on our list at seventh. Mousasi has some of the best striking in MMA history as well as some of its very best ground-and-pound, decimating countless foes with strikes from the top. However, he always had a relative weakness to elite grapplers with at least decent striking and solid defense, which cropped up in Bellator, too. Mousasi's debut fight in the promotion was difficult, facing the excellent Russian veteran Alexander Shlemenko. Shlemenko crushed Mousasi's orbital bone with a casting punch in Round 1, but using his own quality grappling, Mousasi fought on and won a decision. After that, he went back to the same dominant knockouts as his UFC tenure, finishing reigning champion Rafael Carvalho with ground-and-pound in the first round, and then systematically ripping apart reigning welterweight champion Rory MacDonald before a second-round stoppage. Mousasi then suffered a shocking majority decision loss to undefeated grappling phenom Rafael Lovato Jr., a very close fight where the Brazilian's takedowns just barely edged it over Mousasi's strikes on two of three scorecards. Mousasi then gained revenge against fellow legend Lyoto Machida, who had beaten him clearly in the UFC, by winning a decision that shouldn't have been a split, regained the middleweight crown for a second time by defeating yet another reigning welterweight champion, this time Douglas Lima, then finished elite grappler John Salter in the third, and finally, needed less than 90 seconds to demolish undefeated challenger Austin Vanderford. At 37 years old, Mousasi is likely past his prime, and this past June he lost a decision to the dynamic, undefeated Johnny Eblen, who, I had 10th on this list and may climb even higher in the future. Still, Mousasi has made a large mark on Bellator, a two-time middleweight champion with three title defenses who has won some of the biggest fights in the promotion's history.

Continue Reading » Number 5

5. A.J. McKee

While only 27 years old, McKee already has the second-most Bellator wins ever, as he has fought his entire career in the promotion, with an exceptional mark of 19-1. He also made an appearance on Sherdog's list of 10 greatest featherweights, though he was significantly underrated at just 10th. McKee may be the most naturally gifted MMA fighter I've ever seen, with Jon Jones in his prime being the only similar comparison. Throughout his career, McKee has matched and even exceeded the hype. He began his career a perfect 18-0 in Bellator’s featherweight division, dazzling fans with his superlative, lightning-fast striking and submission skills. He easily dominated former featherweight champion Pat Curran, needed all of eight seconds to finish tough, skilled perennial contender Georgi Karakhanyan, submitted Derek Campos, recorded Sherdog's Submission of the Year for 2020 against former bantamweight champion and elite wrestler Darrion Caldwell, then shocked everyone when he faced the legendary Patricio Freire, whom we will see later in this list. McKee scored with a sensational head kick and then pounced with an instant, tight guillotine that resembled a steel trap, winning the title in just under two minutes. A lot of people considered McKee one of the very best pound-for-pound talents in the entire sport, but in a rematch against Freire, McKee lost a close five-round decision, the first defeat of his already great career. As I noted at the time, there are two ways to view this. One is that he didn't take the fight as seriously as he could have, and often looked sloppy looking for an opening for a spectacular knockout that never came. Another is that despite being off his game, McKee barely lost a decision to one of the greatest fighters in MMA, who executed one of the most brilliant, well-disciplined game plans in championship fight history that night. An all-time legend in Freire had to walk a tightrope for 25 minutes to barely edge him out. McKee is just that disgustingly talented. McKee's time at featherweight may have come to an end, as he recently debuted at lightweight to defeat the toughest fighter in modern MMA history, Spike Carlyle, via one-sided beating. However, his legend in Bellator will likely only grow, especially if he captures the lightweight title from current, undefeated champion Usman Nurmagomedov.

Continue Reading » Number 4

4. Vadim Nemkov

Nemkov is a perfect 8-0 in Bellator with one no contest and in terms of strength of schedule, no one else even comes close, including those above him in these rankings. Fully half of those victories have come against men considered top 5 light heavyweights—not merely in Bellator, but the world, UFC included. Let's start from the beginning. Nemkov entered Bellator at 25, already an excellent wrestler with good striking, very good defense, and as befits a protégé of Fedor Emelianenko, some of the best ground-and-pound in the entire sport. Over the course of the next five-plus years, he would improve in every area, especially his striking. He began by starching future Professional Fighters League heavyweight champion and current UFC fighter Philipe Lins with punches in about three minutes and stopping former light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary with bone-crushing kicks in the third. When he fought Phil Davis, then seen as a Top 5 light heavyweight, in late 2018, few gave the largely unheralded Russian a chance. Nemkov's abilities were tested to the limit by the outstanding Davis, but he walked away with the shocking split decision. Proving it was no fluke, Nemkov demolished another former champion, Rafael Carvalho, with a second-round choke, before capturing the light heavyweight crown with a sensational second-round knockout of Ryan Bader, then a champ-champ at 205 pounds and heavyweight, as well as another Top 5 light heavyweight. Nemkov had a rematch with Davis, but the new champion had improved a lot over just the previous 18 months. Nemkov dominated Davis for the first 15 minutes before fatiguing and losing the final two rounds. Nevertheless, it was a clear unanimous decision against yet another elite light heavyweight. After finishing a tough challenger in Julius Anglickas with a fourth round submission, showing his better cardio and energy management, Nemkov looked to have met his match against the phenomenal Corey Anderson. One of the greatest wrestlers in MMA history, who set a UFC record for takedowns against a former Olympic wrestler of all people, Anderson managed to puncture Nemkov's seemingly iron-clad takedown defense and was up 2 rounds to 1 when the fight was stopped due to a cut. Nemkov was a significant underdog for their rematch in November 2022, one that would determine the world's best light heavyweight. Nemkov again shocked everyone when he showed significant improvement in the span of just 7 months, neutralizing Anderson's wrestling and arguably winning every round en route to an emphatic decision victory. Nemkov is scheduled to fight yet another elite contender with a storied UFC career in Yoel Romero in his next outing, and at 30 years old and in his prime, has a huge opportunity to move up the list, perhaps even challenging for the top spot.

Continue Reading » Number 3

3. Ryan Bader

In the mid-2010s, there were some high-profile UFC defectors to Bellator that found the new organization a lot tougher than expected and underperformed relative to expectations, like Benson Henderson and Rory MacDonald. And then there was Bader, who improved and attained his full potential, becoming one of its best champions. Bader was always an outstanding wrestler with bruising ground-and-pound, good cardio and a deadly right cross, but he added an outstanding, unorthodox left hook, almost a casting punch at times, and shored up his defense, making it more difficult to take advantage of his one clear weakness, a shaky chin. Bader began his Bellator career in style, challenging fellow former elite UFC contender Phil Davis for the light heavyweight title, a rematch of their 2015 fight in the UFC. Like the first, Bader won by a razor-thin split decision, with everyone scoring it 48-47 in either man's favor. Bader would defend just once, stopping the very dangerous Linton Vassell in the second round, before moving up to heavyweight and becoming Bellator's first two-division champion. He needed just 15 seconds to knock out Muhammad Lawal with the aforementioned left hook, beat Matt Mitrione from pillar to post for 15 minutes and then disposed of the greatest heavyweight ever, Fedor Emelianenko, in just 35 seconds. Emelianenko was certainly past his prime at the time but keep in mind that the loss to Bader was the only setback in his last five fights, against several highlight-reel knockouts in fights where he was an underdog, most recently against Tim Johnson. Unfortunately, Bader found that light heavyweight was a tougher division than heavyweight, and at 37 years old, started feeling his own age. First, he lost his 205-pound crown to Emelianenko’s top protégé and Sherdog's No. 1 light heavyweight Vadim Nemkov via second-round knockout. Then, he was knocked out in under a minute by Corey Anderson, who might well be the second-best light heavyweight in the world. Returning to heavyweight, Bader won a five-round decision against another FedorTeam representative, interim champion Valentin Moldavsky, though honesty compels me to note that most media and fans scored it for the Russian. He then then won a clear decision over Cheick Kongo. At 39 years old, Bader is past his prime and unlikely to move up, only down, but he has certainly left a large mark on Bellator, especially as its first champ-champ.

Continue Reading » Number 2

2. Michael Chandler

Sadly, Chandler only started getting the attention he deserved when he was already past his prime. Joining the UFC at the age of 34, he debuted with a sensational knockout of Top 10 contender Dan Hooker, one fight removed from Hooker badly dominating Dustin Poirier for the first two rounds. He then came within a whisker of knocking out Charles Oliveira in the first round to win the UFC lightweight championship, scored a spectacular knockout over another faded legend in Tony Ferguson, then lost the “Fight of the Year” for 2021 and 2022 respectively to Justin Gaethje and Poirier. But Chandler's real prime, when he was truly at his best, with a tougher chin and much better cardio, occurred in Bellator, where he fought for a full decade. He has a superb record in the promotion of 18-5 against a slew of excellent foes, which is even more impressive when you consider that two of those losses were split decision robberies and one was a freak injury. He is a three-time Bellator lightweight king with four title defenses. In terms of ability, a prime Chandler had great wrestling, some of the best ground-and-pound in the sport, suffocating top control and plenty of submissions from the top, but the striking is where he really shined, with some of the fastest, most accurate and powerful punches and kicks in the sport. They were on a completely different level than anyone else in the opening round of a fight, which is where the fearsome “Round 1 Chandler” meme originates. However, as noted, Chandler then had significantly better cardio and a much sturdier chin, two flaws responsible for his defeats in his mid-30s.

Chandler began his Bellator career 9-0, including a first round submission of Marcin Held, a dominant decision over future lightweight champion Patricky Freire, winning one of the greatest fights in MMA history over future UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez via fourth-round stoppage, choking out Rick Hawn in the second and needing less than a minute each to knock out Akihiro Gono and Dave Rickels. Chandler then suffered the first loss of his career in a rematch against Alvarez, a highly controversial split decision most people scored for him. The bad luck continued in his very next outing, where Chandler again lost via split decision, this time to Will Brooks, in a bout almost every observer had as either a draw or Chandler victory. A rematch with Brooks followed and Chandler suffered the first decisive loss of his career, being stopped with punches in the fourth round. Chandler was far from done though, destroying Derek Campos and Rickels a second time before recording one of the most gorgeous knockouts against “Patricky Pitbull” in Round 1 to regain the lightweight title. He then mauled recent UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson for five rounds, despite one cageside judge who scored the fight for Henderson. Chandler again suffered some bad luck against undefeated challenger Brent Primus when his foot gave out early in the first round. Chandler then dominated the outstanding and skilled Goiti Yamauchi, submitted Brandon Girtz in the first, and then pounded the stuffing out of Primus for 25 minutes in a rematch for his third tenure as Bellator lightweight king. Alas, it didn't last long, as featherweight kingpin Patricio Freire moved up a weight class and took revenge on behalf of his older brother, knocking out Chandler in 61 seconds. Chandler would close out his Bellator career in style, first garnering a brutal first-round knockout of Sidney Outlaw and then an even more emphatic victory over Henderson in their second meeting, bludgeoning him with punches in less than half a round. It's a superlative career with numerous huge victories by brilliant knockouts or submissions, a record three different title reigns and several all-time great fights over an entire decade in Bellator. And yet, there is one man who was and is even more impressive.

Continue Reading » Number 1

1. Patricio Freire

Despite finishing first on this list, I consider Freire an underrated fighter. He was fifth on Sherdog's list of greatest featherweights, though I had him ranked at No. 3 ahead of Conor McGregor and Max Holloway, and think there is a strong argument for him being second. I've written glowingly about Freire before, noting that he is an excellent striker and an outstanding grappler, but that his most amazing quality is his unmatched intelligence and discipline, exploiting even the smallest opponent weakness and implementing the most complex game plans perfectly for 25 straight minutes. In Bellator, Freire has set an amazing standard, with the most wins in promotion history at 22 against just five losses. He has had three stints as Bellator's featherweight champion, an eye-popping eight title defenses, and is the 145-pound king to this day. He has defeated a slew of good and even great opposition, though many don't get their due, including defeating Wilson Reis twice, the second by knockout, knocking out Georgi Karakhanyan, defeating Daniel Weichel twice, once by knockout, dominating Pat Curran, demolishing Diego Nunes in slightly over a minute, submitting Henry Corrales, defeating Emmanuel Sanchez twice, beating Juan Archuleta from bell to bell, defeating Daniel Straus three out of times, the last by submission, and most recently shutting out Adam Borics. Freire also became the second two-division champion in Bellator history after Ryan Bader when he knocked out the No. 2 fighter on this list, Michael Chandler, in just 61 seconds. Ponder that for a moment. Freire decimated a younger, better version of lightweight legend Chandler that would come within a whisker of knocking out Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight championship two years later. If that's not all-time greatness, I don't know what is. Freire's time at the top seemed to be at an end when undefeated dynamo A.J. McKee, whom we've discussed earlier, beat him for the title in 2021 in under two minutes, but one should never have counted out the brilliant Brazilian, who fought a perfect fight in the rematch to win a close decision over 25 minutes. He may never get his proper due, but “Pitbull” is truly a legend among legends and at least on this list, is the clear No. 1.