When Bellator announced their heavyweight tournament at the start of the year, it was met with tons upon tons of responses. With speculation about who would win, and what the final match-up would be. As the year has gone on and we finally have our final match-up for the Bellator heavyweight championship, we can absolutely look back and say that this is a fantastic ending to what was a weird tournament.

Being on opposite sides of the bracket it was always known that Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader could fight, but it always fell into the weird category of fights that could come in the final. It was also far from expected. Many didn’t think Bader would be able to last among the actual heavyweights, and Fedor looked like he was done after his loss to Matt Mitrione in 2017.

Nonetheless, we saw Ryan Bader run through King Mo in under a minute in his first bout, then just one night before we saw The Last Emporer against Chael Sonnen, Bader absolutely dominated Matt Mitrione, who was wrecking the Bellator heavyweight division prior to that. The Bellator light-heavyweight champion always seemed like a gatekeeper in the UFC, but now in Bellator he’s realizing his full potential.

Fedor on the other hand also wasn’t supposed to be here. Many thought the former PRIDE legend was done after his knockout loss to Matt Mitrione in June of 2017. Nevertheless he was matched up in the heavyweight tournament in the first round with former UFC champion Frank Mir. A fight that would’ve been an amazing match-up 15 years prior nonetheless happened in 2018, and Fedor won in the first round with a nice comeback knockout after being rocked in the beginning of the fight.

Fedor was then matched up with former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen, and Fedor did exactly what he was supposed to do and dominated the former middleweight with ease inside of one round. Fedor, despite winning, has yet to show that he can beat a young fighter in his prime since the Strikeforce days, and that’s what this final match-up can show.

Ryan Bader has always been seen as a gatekeeper who couldn’t beat the best in the UFC, he’s done so in Bellator and beating someone the caliber of Fedor would do wonders for his career and his legacy. He could be a double champion of the top two weight classes and beat a legend in the process.

Fedor on the other hand finally has the opportunity to get a certain monkey off his back. Having not beat a prime fighter since 2009 against Brett Rogers, Fedor has the chance to beat prime Ryan Bader who is on a tear throughout the Bellator light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.

Regardless of what happens in the final, it’s been a wild ride to get here. Let’s hope the final fight is just as wild.

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After years of estrangement and stripping him of their heavyweight title, it appears Bellator MMA are welcoming former heavyweight champ Vitaly Minakov back into the fold. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani initially reported the news, citing Bellator CEO Scott Coker. Minakov last fought for Bellator in 2014, after which a contract dispute saw him take his services to Russia, where he fought under the Fight Nights Global banner.

Minakov (21-0) defeated then-Bellator heavyweight champ Alexander Volkov (a current UFC contender) to capture the promotion’s heavyweight crown. That was way back at Bellator 108 in 2013. He defended the title once, the following year at Bellator 115, defeating Cheick Kongo. Then came the contract dispute, and Minakov dug in, hoping for a release to pursue offers elsewhere (mainly the UFC). However, Minakov was technically still under contract with Bellator, who refused to grant him his release. Instead, they eventually stripped him of the title in May 2016, over two years since he’d last fought.

While away from Bellator, Minakov fought six times in Russia, winning all six fights via stoppage. Facing the best heavyweights outside the major promotions, he scored victories over Josh Copeland, Bigfoot Silva, and Peter Graham, among others.

Per ESPN’s initial report, the plan is to have Minakov fight once, and if successful, pair him up against the winner of the Bellator World Heavyweight Grand Prix.

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Bellator 194 is right around the corner, going down this Friday in Uncasville, CT. While all eyes will be squarely focused on the heavyweight grand prix main event that evening, many will also be anticipating the return of British striker and former Light Heavyweight champion Liam McGeary.

McGeary was the man to beat just a few short years ago, coming off a submission victory over MMA pioneer Tito Ortiz at Bellator 142. Back then, McGeary was on top of the world.

The Brit would go on to drop the light heavyweight title in his next bout against Phil Davis, however. Then, as luck would have it, McGeary would see four of his next six fights fall through due to injury. With all that behind him, now the man from King’s Lynn in Norfolk, England is ready to show the world that he is still an elite fighter, and you best not forget it.

Cageside Press caught up with the former champ ahead of Bellator 194. And he wants everyone to know, he’s back to being the old McGeary — and that’s scary.

May of 2017 was the last time McGeary set foot in the Bellator cage: on that night he would suffer a submission defeat at the hands of fellow British fighter Linton Vassell.

A lot has been speculated about McGeary heading into that fight with Vassell. McGeary didn’t look like himself. He appeared hesitant in the stand-up game and when the fight did go to the ground, McGeary looked outmatched. If you have seen any of McGeary’s past fights, that just doesn’t make sense.

So, what was the deal in that fight? “There was just stuff going on, that’s all,” McGeary replied. There was a sense that he didn’t want to go there, which we obliged, but the former champ did add that “I’m back to being angry, I’m back to being pissed off, I’m back to being me.”

Does this mean we’re going to see the McGeary that submitted Tito Ortiz at Bellator 194? “You’re gonna see me how I was even before that Mate,” said McGeary.

What we’ll see is “The guy that violently busted up whatever that guy’s face is [referring to the fight just before the Ortiz fight, where he badly beat Emanuel Newton to become the light heavyweight champion]. I beat him with knees and elbows bad.” That’s the Liam McGeary fans can expect to see come Friday.

Getting back to the top is something that McGeary knows will come sooner rather than later. It’s just a matter of putting the work in to get back to where he belongs.

“I’m still a top-level fighter mate,” he added. He explained that “I got complacent and I thought all my fights would come easy, but I had to learn the hard way. But now the work’s put in and I will get back to the top, where I belong.”

Sometimes the hard way is the only way we learn.

McGeary is a rather big light heavyweight, standing at 6’6. He’s cutting a good 25lbs to make the 205lb weight limit. With other big-name fighters throwing their name in the heavyweight grand prix reserve pool, would McGeary consider doing the same? “Honestly mate no I wouldn’t,” said the Brit.

“They [Bellator] didn’t ask me, they didn’t offer me the chance so I’m not going to back them up for a fucking favor. I’m just going to enjoy the grand prix like a fan. There are some really good fighters in there and it should be fun.”

Yes indeed, it should be fun. As will McGeary’s fight with Vadim Nemkov.  

Liam McGeary looks to get back to his winning ways at Bellator 194 on February 16 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The main card airs live and free on The Paramount Network kicking off at 9PM ET.

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