Another successful event for the Bellator promotion all eyes are looking ahead to what is next for those that won. Lots of young, up-and-coming fighters that the promotion has been building around won which promotor Scott Coker has to be grinning ear to ear about. The young investments he is making in the Bellator roster are similar to that of his Strikeforce days, many of those fighters remain on the UFC fighter even years after the merger.
Matches to Make Following Bellator 271
Cris Cyborg continued her stretch of dominance with a quick knockout of Sinead Kavanagh, Kavanagh came out strong and brought the fight to Cyborg but that patented power was too much. Cyborg would throw a strong counter right hook that turned the lights out of Kavanagh and of course, the question began to be asked “who can Bellator offer her?” were starting.
Not only questions about who was next for Cyborg but also who was next for the surging Aaron Pico who seems to be finally turning into the contender he was advertised as four years ago. Pico looked uber impressive with a complete performance against the undefeated Justin Gonzales who had some decent hype behind him as well but was quickly snuffed out.
Scott Coker and his legendary matchmaking skills will be put to the test after this one so why not do our best to take a shot at things and help move Bellator into 2022.
Cris Cyborg vs. Kayla Harrison in Either PFL or Bellator
Back in the day, several years ago, Scott Coker was able to pull off a partnership with Rizin that allowed their champ Kyoji Horiguchi to fight Bellators champ, Darion Caldwell. They fought in both promotions and since then nothing has replicated it, PFL needs to work with Bellator to give us Cyborg vs. Kayle Harrison. It is the best fight to make in women’s MMA today without a doubt and there would be a ton of money to be made between the two of them and the promotions.
Linton Vassell vs. Cheick Kongo
Linton Vassell looks absolutely tremendous against Tyrell Fortune by neutralizing his ground game and also defending his striking well, Cheick Kongo would be an excellent test and serve as a number one contender’s bout. Ryan Bader and Valentin Maldovsky have things that need to be sorted out with the belt so why not when that fight is made we throw this on the card as well to have a mini-tournament?
Aaron Pico vs. Mads Burnell
Don’t look now but the prospect we all expected Aaron Pico to be when he entered the sport back in 2017 he may finally be. Pico used his boxing, wrestling, and transitions to just make the undefeated Justin Gonzales look out of his element against him. Fighting someone like Mads Burnell would be one last test for the Jackson’s MMA fighter before a potential matchup with AJ McKee later this year.
Steve Mowry vs. Tyrell Fortune
After making the Butler Hot Dog Shoppe famous, heavyweight prospect turned contender Steve Mowry looks ready for the next phase of the Bellator heavyweight division. A matchup with a loser from Bellator 271 in Tyrell Fortune would make for a strong test for Mowry while also allowing him to showcase his skills as they continue to evolve.
