The Bottom Line: Bursting at the Seams

UFC 261 is stacked pic.twitter.com/eQq8DMVhTj

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 16, 2021

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

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The beginning of 2021 has not exactly been a dormant period when it comes to mixed martial arts. We’ve seen Max Holloway put on his clinic against Calvin Kattar, Dustin Poirier avenge his loss to Conor McGregor in violent fashion and Cory Sandhagen emphatically demonstrate his status as a premier bantamweight against Frankie Edgar. Kamaru Usman showed ferocious mettle in defeating former teammate Gilbert Burns, while Derrick Lewis scored a scary knockout over Curtis Blaydes and Jan Blachowicz turned back the challenge of a fellow champion and handed Israel Adesanya his first MMA defeat.

There is a common thread, however, when it comes to the highlights of the year. They’ve taken place almost exclusively inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which continues producing events at a breakneck pace. Meanwhile, most other MMA companies of consequence have either not run events or have run on a smaller scale. That changes in a major way in April. Bellator MMA and the Professional Fighters League return after significant hiatuses, while One Championship makes its strongest play for the North American market yet. Add to that the UFC slate featuring two title bouts and solid television main events—Darren Till vs. Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa—and it is shaping up to be the deepest month for major MMA events in quite some time.

Bellator’s debut on Showtime feels like a good fit for the struggling promotion. Scott Coker has a long history with the network, and plenty of major MMA cards have taken place on Showtime over the years. Bellator hasn’t been drawing strong audiences in recent years on Paramount or the CBS Sports Network, but it seems likely that Bellator’s base of fans would be more willing to pay for a premium network to get Bellator specifically than would fans of other shows or sports events on basic cable. That’s because there’s a history of MMA fans doing just that and because Bellator still has significant star power on its roster.

With Bellator not having run for many months, its April cards are packed with talent, including colorful heavyweight star Matt Mitrione, former featherweight champion Julia Budd, outspoken knockout artist Paul Daley and do-or-die finisher Aaron Pico. The top bouts center on a pair of tournaments. First, there’s the winding down of Bellator’s featherweight grand prix, with perpetually underappreciated double champion Patricio Freire fighting Emmanuel Sanchez. The winner will fight A.J. McKee in the final, in what could arguably be Bellator’s most consequential fight in years.

Of even more interest is Bellator’s loaded light heavyweight grand prix. The tournament will feature Bellator’s heavyweight champion Ryan Bader and Bellator’s light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov. There’s fresh acquisition Corey Anderson and former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. However, the bout with the most interest in the tournament and to many the most interest of any April fight is the intriguing showdown between Anthony Johnson and Yoel Romero. Whether or not the partnership between Bellator and Showtime proves to be a long lasting one, it will start on a strong note.

While other companies attempted to work through the COVID-19 pandemic, the PFL made the decision to cancel its 2020 season and now returns for its 2021 campaign. When the PFL built its identity around million-dollar tournaments, the theory was that financial incentive would attract a higher level of fighter to the promotion. That didn’t appear to work at first, as the tournament lineups remained composed of lesser-known talents. That has changed with the 2021 lineup, as the PFL has substantially upped not only its talent level but its star power.

Fabricio Werdum and Anthony Pettis signing with the PFL attracted the most attention, but they are joined by a bevy of new talent, including Rory MacDonald, Marcin Held, Gleison Tibau, Bubba Jenkins and Antonio Carlos Jr. In addition, every champion from the 2019 season, including marquee star Kayla Harrison is back, leaving the PFL in the strongest position it has been in quite some time—if not ever.

The group with the most on the line next month is likely One Championship. After years of grandiose claims about the organization’s popularity in Asia, it has been the center of controversy more recently about its true popularity and financial status. In that environment, One is making a major move to up its stature in North America: a series of prominent shows throughout April on TNT. After investing heavily in some major league talent, One will be able to show it off to the American market.

The shows are ideally situated for One, airing after AEW wrestling events on Wednesday nights. “The Ultimate Fighter” airing after WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” wrestling program was an underappreciated key to the UFC’s rise in popularity, so One and TNT will look to see if there is synergy again between those audiences. There isn’t much more One can offer than what it will on these shows: three title fights in four weeks, plus most of its top names, from Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez and Sage Northcutt to John Lineker, Shinya Aoki and Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Between three UFC shows, three Bellator shows, two PFL shows and four One TNT shows, there will be no shortage of options for MMA fans in April. The challenge for the promotions will be to attract attention in such a crowded field. With the UFC’s top competitors all putting their best foot forward, it will be a good test of which promotions appeal most to current fans.