It's the world's #2 MMA promotion, but how would the stars of Bellator fare in the UFC? Who could make the jump? Bellator snagged disgruntled UFC stars Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz late last year, and so far, the pick ups have been paying off Jackson won the promotions most recent light heavyweight tournament, headlining Bellators first PPV in the process, and Ortiz finished middleweight champ Alexander Shlemenko on the same card. They also brought back Sokoudjou, who recently picked up his first win in Bellator, and signed free agent Cheick Kongo, who won the Bellator Season 9 heavyweight tournament final before losing to champ Vitaly Minakov. In other words, Bellator has been cashing in off ex-UFC fighters, but what about their home-grown talent? Which Bellator fighters could really taste success in the UFC? Lets take a look.
15. Marcin Held
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVmql8UWb2g Weight Class: Lightweight Marcin Held is one of the hottest Bellator prospects at the moment. From Poland, he became the youngest Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt in the country at age 21 in 2013. If you think that's young, consider that he went pro at age 16, and has already had 22 professional MMA fights! He's also a sick submission specialist. How sick? First, he wrecks legs. Heel hooks, toe holds - the kid is dangerous. In 19 wins, he's got 11 submissions. His remaining 8 wins are evenly split between decisions and TKOs. In three losses, he's been submitted himself just once, in his Bellator debut in 2011, against Michael Chandler. That's right, his first fight in Bellator would be against their future lightweight champ. He was also still in his teens, and oh - that was his first fight outside Poland. Held's not just a guy who built up a strong record on local shows only to flounder on the international stage however. Since joining Bellator, he has an 8-2 record, and made has made it to the lightweight tournament finals twice - losing in 2013 to Dave Jansen for his only loss in the promotion outside of Chandler, and this year, where he'll meet Patricky Freire in the finals.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
