On Tuesday April 14th, Bellator Fighting Championships confirmed the signing of “Mr Wonderful” Phil Davis to a multi-fight deal. The move had been rumored ever since Davis lost to Ryan Bader in January, the last fight of his UFC contract, and serves to remind us that the balance of MMA power is shifting.
The signing holds significance not just for Bellator, but for the UFC, and the sport of mixed martial arts as a whole. Davis’ move is the realization of a shift in the MMA playing field.
For Bellator it marks the first time they have snared a legitimate, relevant top ten fighter away from the UFC while still in his prime.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson had lost three straight when he signed for Bellator. Tito Ortiz had won just once in six years. As for Ken Shamrock and Kimbo Slice, well, that’s something else entirely.
Phil Davis is ranked anywhere between 5 and 7 depending on whose rankings you are looking at. He is also only 30 years old and has showed no signs of receding as a fighter.
It is the realization of what Scott Coker has been telling everybody for a while now, Bellator are going to go after anyone with a recognized name. With the backing of Viacom they have the finances to push through deals for anyone on the planet, should they feel they can add to the product.
What the signing also does is further improve what is becoming Bellator’s marquee weight class.
At the time of writing, the Fight Matrix rankings have 6 Bellator fighters in the top 15 at light heavyweight. It’s an impressive haul when you consider that along with heavyweight this was by far Bellator’s weakest division for some time.
Back in May of 2011 when Christian M’Pumbu won the season 4 light-heavyweight tournament, and in the process the Bellator title, the division was beyond thin. Finding the talent to put on subsequent tournaments proved tough.
They did not run another one until the Summer Series of 2012. The tournament was won by Attila Vegh and included the likes of Chris Davis, Beau Tribolet and Roy Boughton.
Contrast that with 2015. Their light heavyweight division has an exciting new champion in Liam McGeary, talented contenders in Emanuel Newton and Linton Vassell, and fighters with genuine name value such as Tito Ortiz, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Now they have Phil Davis to add to that list.
On the surface, it is clear that the UFC didn’t attach the same value to Davis as his new employers have. They did not match Bellator’s offer and were happy to let him go. As a result Bellator have picked up a fighter with name value and talent. Not superstar level name value, nor elite level talent, but enough of both for Bellator to offer him a strong deal.
It is more significant than that though. The signing should serve as further notification that fighters under UFC contract now have options when it’s time to renegotiate. This changes the way the UFC manage and negotiate their deals with fighters, and it shifts the balance of power in those negotiations towards the fighters.
As for how much, we will find out over time. There is no doubt that fighters are in a better position now, than they were before Scott Coker was appointed president by Bellator.
That can only be a good thing for the fans. Lets be clear, Bellator aren’t about to surpass the UFC. Short of some form of incredible mismanagement on the UFC’s part, they never will. They can provide a suitable alternative though, and the more they force themselves onto the UFC’s radar, the more it forces the UFC to improve their own product.
As for the fighters, they now have options. If Bellator want someone, and Scott Coker can get Viacom invested in the deal, they can offer the sort of contracts that made the UFC balk at matching the one offered to Phil Davis.
A little bit more security in a short career. The option to let their contracts run down to see what they could be paid elsewhere puts fighters in a powerful position. They might not all want to go and fight in Bellator, but at the very least they should be wise enough to entertain an offer to force the UFC’s hand.
While Bellator continue to offer lucrative deals to UFC fighters, the message will be clear. They either match the deal, or let talent go. Benson Henderson’s contract is up after his next fight, you can expect Bellator to be making an offer for the former lightweight champion of the world once it is.
Should that happen, it could prove to be an even more significant negotiation than that of Phil Davis.
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