The MMA world was shook earlier this week when news broke that we would have our first trade in the sport’s history. That’s right! Uncle Dana and ONE Championship will make history with the UFC sending Demetrious Johnson to ONE for Ben Askren. This is huge. A dominant former champion being dealt for possibly the best fighter to never scrap under the UFC banner. With a precedent set, I teamed up with Stephen Jensen to put together a list of trades that should, nay, need to be made.
Mose’s List
Alistair Overeem (UFC) for Matt Mitrione (Bellator)
Overeem is coming off two losses and already has a history of fighting for just about every promotion ever. Let’s add Bellator to the list and get him some sponsor money while we’re at it. Matt “Meathead” Mitrione is a former TUF contestant and has some solid knockouts on his resume. But none of that has anything to do with why I want this trade. Oh no. This trade should happen so Jon Jones and Meathead can square up in the octagon. These two had twitter beef a couple of years back with Mitrione essentially calling Jones an addict. Then, worse, he called him ‘princess.’ This would be some Bunkhouse Brawl shit.
Stephen Thompson (UFC) for Michael Page (Bellator)
I’m a big fan of both of these dudes and think this would present opportunities for everyone involved. Page is 13-0 with 11 finishes including the time he fractured ‘Cyborg’ Santos’ skull with a flying knee. This dude is the real deal but more importantly he is scary violent and would be coming into a division with some killers. For Thompson, it presents a fresh start for a guy that hasn’t quite gotten over that ‘championship’ hump if you will. Possible matchups with Paul Daley and Douglas Lima are enticing. Plus, Thompson already has a win over current Bellator Welterweight king Rory MacDonald. LFG.
Mark Hunt and Shogun Rua (UFC) for Fedor Emelianenko (Bellator)
Mark Hunt’s relationship with the UFC is well documented whereas Shogun is in the twilight of an amazing career. Like Alistair, neither of those guys have anything to prove. So let’s just slide on over to Bellator and get that money boo boo. From Fedor’s side it’s an opportunity to squeeze in a fight or two under the UFC banner, where he’s never been a part of the roster. Fedor will meet Ryan Bader in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix Final on January 26, 2019.
Bader is without a doubt the favorite, but let’s put our “what if” cap on and say Fedor wins. That would be three straight wins along with a Grand Prix Championship. Call me crazy, but Daniel Cormier may not hate the idea of possibly getting a win over “The Last Emperor” before calling it a career. Slap that fight on the same card as Khabib/Conor II and we’re bringing in some serious rubles.
Luke Rockhold (UFC) for Michael Chandler (Bellator)
I really, really want to see Michael Chandler in the UFC. He’s tough as nails with wins over Benson Henderson and Eddie Alvarez already notched. I know the UFC’s Lightweight division is absolutely stacked but I believed Chandler has earned the opportunity to get in there and see where the chips fall. Luke Rockhold is a former UFC Middleweight Champion but not much has gone well for him since winning the title. Knockout losses to Michael Bisping and Yoel Romero have really halted the momentum he had after beating Chris Weidman for the championship all the way back in December 2015. The Bellator Middleweight division could use another big time contender for Gegard Mousasi and Luke would fit that role perfectly.
Nate Diaz (UFC) for Ryan Bader (Bellator)
Let’s be honest. The first person to demand a trade is going to be Diaz. There’s no doubt he is a draw that will be entertaining, one way or another, inside the cage. More importantly, I believe Bellator has an opponent that Nate would LOVE…Josh Thomson. The two fought once before in the UFC with Josh getting a TKO victory over Nate. He’s the only man with a ko/tko win over Nate, which, when you add in the fact that Diaz really didn’t like Thomson before the tko, makes for a hell of a story on fight week. Josh does more commentary work nowadays with his last fight taking place in February 2017. But, I doubt it would take much negotiating to get “The Punk” back in the cage with Nate.
On the flip side, this would be a huge homecoming for Bader. He is a former TUF champion who squared off with Jon Jones in what was essentially a “who’s gonna be the guy?” matchup. Jones got the victory before going on to take the UFC by storm with Bader taking a couple of tough losses over the next few years. Still, after starting 12-0, Bader left the UFC in 2017 with a 22-5 record. He was even on a two fight win streak which he has extended to six and will face off with Fedor in the Heavyweight Grand Prix Final. A Grand Prix win would make the matchup with Daniel Cormier a ‘Champ vs. Champ’ match which we know the UFC loves. Throw in the history these two have with multiple clashes at UFC pressers and once again we are in business.
John Mosley is the independent wrestling and TV aficionado of the SoBros Network. He graduated from ETSU with a degree in Radio, TV and Film along with a minor in Film Studies. Since graduating he’s done pretty much nothing but watch, film, edit or commentate for local wrestling promotions and is the current color commentator for Resolute Wrestling. #Preds #Titans #DefendOrVacateConor – Follow on Twitter: @SoBroMose
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Stephen’s List
Michael Chandler (Bellator) for Stephen Thompson (UFC)
Michael Chandler is a former two-time Bellator lightweight champion and arguably the “face” of the promotion. But similar to Ben Askren, Chandler’s biggest critics have always questioned how he would fare against the competition in the UFC. But nobody questions that the man puts on highly entertaining fights. Chandler would be a great addition to the already-completely-stacked UFC lightweight division because he presents fresh and exciting matchups for some of the biggest names in the sport. He’s also seemingly accomplished everything that he possibly can at Bellator. So as a fan, I’d gladly welcome a change of scenery for Chandler.
Stephen Thompson has challenged multiple times for the UFC welterweight championship but has yet to “win the big one”. Thompson is kind of stuck in the dreaded “Urijah Faber territory”, meaning that he’s a perennial threat to the title but will only get more shots at the belt depending very specifically on who the current champion is. As of right now, that champion is Tyron Woodley, who Thompson has already challenged twice and left empty-handed. “Wonderboy” would be a fantastic addition to the blooming Bellator welterweight division. He already holds a victory over their current champion Rory MacDonald.
Luke Rockhold (UFC) for Michael “Venom” Page (Bellator)
Luke Rockhold is a former UFC middleweight champion that has already worked for Bellator’s President Scott Coker in the past. Rockhold and Coker have a healthy relationship from their days of doing business together at Strikeforce. It would make perfect sense for them to team up once again. Rockhold has also publicly stated his displeasure with USADA and their relationship with the UFC, which is something he would be free from dealing with at Bellator. Rockhold’s UFC resume would make him an immediate contender for the Bellator middleweight championship.
Michael “Venom” Page currently sits at an undefeated MMA record of 13-0 and possesses some of the scariest striking of any of the prospects in the sport. While on paper, Rockhold for MVP may look one-sided, Page’s true value is in his potential. If MVP can continue to win, and win in impressive fashion, he could very well become one of the biggest stars that the sport has ever seen. Page presents some very interesting matchups in UFC’s welterweight division and could benefit greatly from a move that puts more eyeballs on his fights.
Wanderlei Silva (Bellator) for Brandon Vera (ONE)
Wanderlei Silva is an absolute legend in the world of mixed martial arts. The problem is that the only fight that makes any sense for him at Bellator is more rematches against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. While watching Rampage vs. “The Axe Murderer” is always fun, that leaves Silva with very few options going forward at his current home in Bellator. Silva’s name would still bring a lot of value to the ONE brand and it would be great to see him competing in Japan again. To be honest, I want to see him destroy some “tomato cans” and finish out his historic career on a high note. Give me a trip down memory lane with some crazy Pride flashbacks and classic “Axe Murderer” staredowns before Silva hangs up his gloves for good.
Brandon Vera is the current ONE heavyweight champion and was once a top prospect in the UFC’s heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions. While Vera seemed to disappear over recent years, he’s actually been putting together some of the best performances of his career in ONE (although against a much lower level of competition). I’d like to see Vera join Bellator’s stacked heavyweight division because he adds name value and fresh matchups to an already thriving division. Normally, I wouldn’t suggest that the current heavyweight champion of any promotion be traded away. But, my gut tells me that ONE will be putting a major focus on their lighter weight classes. So, a move for Vera to Bellator would be happening at a great time for everybody involved.
Stephen Jensen is the host of the Fight Talk Podcast and covers social media and news for MMA On Point. You can follow him on Twitter: @FightTalk_, Twitch, and of course, hit up the Fight Talk Shop on What A Maneuver!
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