The UFC is the biggest MMA promotion in the world, with the majority of the planet’s top fighters. One look at most pound-for-pound lists makes that clear.
However, there are a ton of talented fighters in other organizations. And over the past few years, many exceptional combat athletes have emerged as champions in those companies, whether it’s Bellator, PFL or One Championship.
Bellator has a pair of events this weekend in Honolulu. On Friday, women’s MMA pioneer Liz Carmouche defends her flyweight title against DeAnna Bennett. The Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix will conclude Saturday with a fight between interim champ Raufeon Stots and Patchy Mix. The victor will be awarded $1 million and get a shot at the winner of June’s bantamweight title bout between titleholder Sergio Pettis and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, the featherweight champion who is moving down a weight class.
With all of this talent on the rise, Marc Raimondi breaks down the matchup and Ian Parker uses his betting insights to look at the best champions from outside the UFC and evaluate how they would stack up against their counterparts in the biggest MMA promotion.
Heavyweight: UFC champion Jon Jones vs. PFL champion Ante Delija
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Jon Jones celebrates after first-round submission of Ciryl Gane
Jon…
