Bellator 238 was headlined by Cris Cyborg and Julia Budd for the women’s featherweight title. Cyborg won her promotional debut via fourth-round TKO, claiming her fourth major title in the process. It was reported after the fight that Bellator president Scott Coker may be looking to book Arlene Blencowe to fight Cyborg in her first title defense. That’s frankly the fight to make for Cyborg right now. Darrion Caldwell, meanwhile, has A.J. McKee next in the featherweight grand prix. Today we will take a look at the fights that still need to be made for the winners of the Bellator 238 card.
Sergio Pettis
Sergio Pettis had a very impressive Bellator debut. At Bellator 238, he was able to submit Alfred Khashakyan in the first round. Pettis was able to stun Khashakyan on the feet and then take him down and put him into a guillotine choke. Sergio Pettis made it clear that he has come to Bellator to beat the best fighters they have. So that is exactly who he should fight next. Scott Coker should look to try and push Pettis to the top of the division as quickly as he can.
With that being said, Ricky Bandejas will be fighting Frans Mlambo later in February at Bellator Dublin. While James Gallagher will be fighting Cal Ellenor on that same card. Either of these two men would make Pettis’ popularity in the company skyrocket. The first task ahead of making Pettis’ next fight would be seeing which if either of these fighters win their bouts in Dublin.
Pettis’ Next Fight: James Gallagher or Ricky Bandejas
Raymond Daniels
Raymond Daniels scored himself another highlight-reel knockout this past Saturday over Jason King. Daniels has a very interesting striking skill set which makes everyone raise the question, why isn’t he fighting Michael Page? The answer is experience. In MMA, MVP has about 18 pro fights with 15 of them being in the Bellator cage. While Daniels only has three pro fights, two of them being in the Bellator cage. What should be noted though, is that Daniels took a break from MMA in 2008 and competed strictly in kickboxing. Where he racked up an incredible 35-3 kickboxing record with 22 KO’s. Another interesting stat is that his one MMA loss came via submission to Jeremiah Metcalf. The pair also fought several times in kickboxing, with Daniels defeating MVP in both 2008 and 2011.
A more logical next fight for Daniels would be Dillon Danis. Danis was supposed to fight at Bellator 238, but pulled out due to injury. Although Danis may want to get back in the cage a little quicker then Daniels, it would be a great test for both men. It would give Danis the chance to prove that he can use his ground game on the highest class of strikers in the game. While also giving Daniels the chance to prove himself as more than a one-trick pony. Daniels would have to prove that he can defend the takedown and keep the fight standing. Also worthy of mentioning, Danis is 2-0 in MMA which makes him very similar in MMA experience with Daniels.
Daniels’ Next Fight: Dillon Danis
Juan Archuleta
Juan Archuleta won a very close decision over Henry Corrales this past weekend. This win would make Archuleta 6-1 in the Bellator cage. With his only loss coming from Patricio Pitbull back in September for the featherweight title. Now, after being eliminated from the featherweight tournament, Archuleta starts his journey to get back to the title picture.
Robert Whiteford won his Bellator debut back in November by knocking out Sam Sicilia just before the final bell. Whiteford is definitely one of the better featherweights on the Bellator roster that’s not still in the tournament. He had a brief stint in the UFC in 2015-2016 going 1-2. Then he went to ACB where he went 3-0 with wins over Nam Phan and Kane Mousah. After that, he took a little over a year off from the sport, came back and knocked out Sam Sicilia. If Archuleta wants to get his shot at the title after the tournament, he should definitely look into a fight with Whiteford next.
Archuleta’s Next Fight: Robert Whiteford
Who do you think these fighters should be fighting next? Let us know in the comments down below.
