Bellator needs to tap into new blood
Cultivating homegrown stars crucial if organization truly hopes to compete with UFC
As you may or may not have heard (or read), the local ice hockey franchise is finally committing to rebuilding with youth rather than sticking to the same retooling-on-the-fly strategy that has gotten them seven steps closer to nowhere these last couple years. While some familiar veteran names are sure to remain, the Canucks’ long journey to figuring out that adding established, more expensive talent to an aging core might not be the best way to build for the future.
It’s something I hope Bellator MMA figures out in the next few years as well.
A little less than two weeks ago, the Scott Coker-helmed organization announced that it would be bringing an event to Madison Square Garden on June 24 headlined by Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva, with heavyweights Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione scheduled to face off in the co-main event.
The promotion then announced it would be a pay-per-view event and added championship fights in the lightweight (Michael Chandler vs. Brent Primus) and welterweight (Douglas Lima vs. Lorenz Larkin) divisions to the collection of bouts that will cost you $49.99 to enjoy.
Joining the headlining veterans and entrenched Bellator champions set to compete are two of the organization’s best prospects — unbeaten Irish featherweight James Gallagher and lightweight Aaron Pico, a 20-year-old blue-chip talent who will be making his professional debut against a currently unnamed opponent.
Just as the Canucks have found a way to get fans excited by giving the kids more ice time and more significant opportunities, Bellator needs to do the same with the likes of Gallagher, Pico and the other intriguing young talents on its roster, because if they ever want to become genuine competitors to the UFC and close the gap between themselves and the industry leader, it’s going to come through cultivating homegrown stars and sprinkling in relevant, competitive free agents and not its current “legends tour” approach.
Rolling out the likes of Silva, Sonnen, Tito Ortiz, Royce Gracie and the late Kimbo Slice has brought eyeballs and ratings on Spike TV over the last couple years — and maybe that’s how Coker & Co. want to keep doing things long-term — but just as committing to the kids and taking a step back now is the only way the Canucks can get off the treadmill of mediocrity in hopes of opening another window to contention, Bellator needs some homegrown talents to pop in order to have a more significant presence in the MMA marketplace.
Coker turned Strikeforce into an organization you couldn’t ignore back in the day and he has the opportunity to do the same with Bellator, if that’s the direction the company wants to go.
In addition to adding a host of former UFC fighters who still have a number of good years ahead of them and add depth and clout to their respective divisions — guys like Rory MacDonald and Ryan Bader, to name two — Bellator has a host of high-upside prospects on its roster that have the potential to flourish and grow the way standouts like Tyron Woodley, Luke Rockhold and Daniel Cormier when Coker was running Strikeforce.
Rolling the dice on jiu-jitsu ace Dillon Danis is a low-risk gamble with high upside, and taking a shot on all-American wrestlers like Ed Ruth, Jarod Trice and Tyrell Fortune as they look to transition to the cage is smart.
Bantamweight title challenger Leandro Higo might be Bellator’s best signing in recent months because his ceiling has yet to be established.
Gallagher is already building a name for himself and looks to be the real deal, and Pico has been talked about as one of the best prospects in the history of the sport for the last two years.
If the company can use the attention it’s getting now to shine the spotlight on its potential young stars and cultivate a couple foundational pieces from among that group, things on the MMA landscape could get interesting over the next few years.
But the only way that happens is through an honest, all-out commitment to giving the kids genuine opportunities.
The Canucks have finally figured this out, and hopefully Bellator will, too.
E. Spencer Kyte covers MMA for the Province and Sun. Follow him on twitter: @spencerkyte.