In the UFC there are plenty of long time contenders to the titles in each weight class. These are the guys that come up short in attempts to reach the pinnacle or reclaim their former glory. An example of this would have been Kenny Florian never capturing the championship despite valiant efforts. Today we look at the top 5 guys who need a change of scenery where they have a chance at being the champion elsewhere, namely Bellator.
Urijah Faber
This was a no brainer. Urijah Faber was an internet MMA forum darling while he ruled the WEC until getting smashed by Mike Brown twice. The UFC feather/bantamweight was a former King of the Cage and WEC champion so it was assumed he would walk in and crush the competition to claim the belt. Unfortunately, that never happened and he has since struggled to put up a decent showing in title bouts. He has lost to Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao (x2) in his shots for UFC gold. Three times is pretty generous in the UFC when it comes to championship attempts just ask Michael Bisping who has had a total of zero despite his long career. He has one more coming up against Cruz that will bring his total title bouts to an astonishing four. In Bellator he would most likely claim and simultaneously legitimize the featherweight title not to mention make some decent money.
Cowboy Cerrone
Donald Cerrone is one of the toughest SOB’s in UFC history. In terms of match-ups he will fight anyone, anywhere, and would line them all up at once if he could. Donald’s problem is that he just can’t win the ones that count and this keeps him from being the man. He smashed eight straight, albeit lesser, opponents after a loss to Rafael Dos Anjos only to meet Dos Anjos again in a title bout and get smashed himself. He is charismatic, media friendly, and loves to bring it in the cage. He would be a mega star in Bellator.
Michael Bisping
The greatest middleweight to never hold a title. That is not up for discussion folks. He wins big and loses big, but he is a solid fighter and technical marvel. He has been fighting in the UFC since 2006! His one true chance to fight for the belt came and went in a controversial decision loss to Chael Sonnen. Since that loss he is 6-3 with respectable losses to Vitor Belfort, Luke Rockhold, and Tim Kennedy. Michael Bisping could go to Bellator right now and be one of its biggest PPV draws.
Nick Diaz
Despite his last bout with Anderson Silva being a no contest when they both tested for banned substances Nick Diaz is still a featured attraction. He is one of the most loved and hated fighters in the UFC. Let’s call him the John Cena of the Octagon. If he was in WWE we would hear: “Let’s go Diaz – DIAZ SUCKS” chants every night. The bottom line is that he is top of the food chain at welterweight, a PPV magnet, and his pre fight smack talk is legendary. To Dana White he is a nuisance sometimes when he misses events, press conferences, and things like that. When it’s fight time he is there and ready to battle. If Bellator snatched him up and put him against Cerrone at welterweight forget about it. License to print money.
BJ Penn
I love me some BJ Penn. The Hawaiian is not afraid of anyone for sure, but his speed and strength just aren’t working anymore for him. He is a former lightweight champion who recently dropped to welterweight only to lose to Frankie Edgar for a third time. He does not need to be fighting younger guys and has nothing left to prove to anyone except maybe himself that he is still relevant. He can do that and it would be benificial for us all if he did it in Bellator and claimed the title there. We would all love to see Penn with a belt one more time.