Champion will have his poster above the Bellator cage (Photo: Reproduction Facebook Bellator MMA)
Having been without a heavyweight champion for more than a year, Bellator will innovate when it comes to crowning a new king for its division. The event announced this Friday that it will organize a special tournament with some of the main names in its squad to determine the new owner of the 120 kg belt. of the company. The chosen athletes were: Rampage jackson, Ryan bader, Fedor Emelianenko, Chael Sonnen, Frank mir, King mo, Matt Mitrione and Roy Nelson.
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Interestingly, only half of those chosen are actually in the category: Mir, Mitrione, Nelson and Fedor. Ryan bader is the current Bellator light heavyweight champion, while Rampage Jackson (light heavyweight), Chael Sonnen (middle and light heavyweight) and King mo (light heavyweight) made their careers in other divisions.
Bellator president Scott Coker had already organized a similar GP when he owned Strikeforce and said the tournament will be a turning point for the organization.
“This is something that will end up being iconic for us. Traditionally, tournaments are how martial arts champions are chosen. Now we have the opportunity to put eight big names in our sport together for a year, and whoever wins the entire tournament will be crowned the new Bellator heavyweight champion,” said Coker in an interview with the North American website MMA Junkie.
Initially, the first seven fights of the GP, which will serve as quarter-finals and semi-finals, will take place separately, in seven different winds, throughout the year. The grand final is expected to take place in December next year. However, Bellator has not yet released any date, nor the tournament brackets. The organization's heavyweight title has been vacant since May 2016, when Vitaly Minakov was stripped of his belt for failing to defend it.
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