Issue 159

October 2019

Bellator Season One – April-June 2009. A new player bursts onto the MMA scene with some big finishes.

No one really knew what to expect when Bellator Fighting Championships began. Broadcast on tape delay to a small audience on ESPN Deportes, it didn’t seem like it would be an obvious success, but a roster of cult heroes and must-see highlights got ‘The Toughest Tournament in Sports’ off to a great start.

Whirlwind

The unofficial knockout of the season award has to go to Yahir Reyes, who almost took poor Estevan Payan’s head off at Bellator 6. He faked with a right kick, then turned and unleashed an outrageous spinning back-fist that landed with the sound of a thunderclap.

Young gun

The first champion in Bellator history was 22-year-old future UFC title challenger, Joe Soto. He emerged from an inexperienced, but talented, featherweight field to win the 145lb tournament and belt, with victims along the way to the title including fellow future Octagon contender, Wilson Reis.

The champ is here

Bellator’s biggest signing - and best fighter – was Eddie Alvarez from Japanese promotion, Dream. The future UFC champion beat Greg Loughran, Eric Reynolds and Toby Imada within 77 days to breeze through the 155lb tournament and claim the inaugural lightweight title.

Submission of the year

One of Bellator’s triumphs was a series of YouTube highlight videos that went viral. The pick of the bunch was Toby Imada’s amazing inverted triangle on Jorge Masvidal, which won a World MMA Award. A young ‘Gamebred’ was being his typical self, in his own words, “putting an ass whupping” on his opponent, but he allowed Imada to slide onto his back and put him to sleep with one of the most unorthodox chokes you’ll ever see. He went on to lose the season one and two tournament finals before retiring in 2013. Masvidal, who said he was “on a McDonald’s diet, where eating healthy was Taco Bell,” got serious about his career and became one of the best in the world. 

Bloodbath

The big hitter in the 185lb tournament was Hector Lombard. ‘Lightning’ – as he was known then before any of that ‘Showeather’ nonsense – dispatched two opponents by first-round KO, then smashed Jared Hess mercilessly for four rounds in the final. He emerged, covered in crimson, with the belt around his waist.