The Bottom Line: Impressive Non-UFC Slate for Close of 2016

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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Since the purchase of Strikeforce, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has largely had a stranglehold on the fights fans most want to see. Other promotions have been left scrambling to capture the public imagination as much as they can with a steady diet of high-quality fights coming from MMA’s top promotion. Over the last two months of 2016, the UFC has more than its fair share of excellent fights with UFC 205, UFC 206 and UFC 207 all shaping up to be impressive lineups. Yet, even taking the more familiar UFC cards completely out of the equation, MMA’s other top promotions are stepping up with some of their best cards in recent memory. The close of 2016 has all the makings of one of the best stretches for MMA fans in quite some time.

Under Scott Coker’s direction, Bellator MMA has spent a lot of money, but it hasn’t necessarily led to a lot of important fights. The biggest attractions in Bellator have largely been novelty fights like Kimbo Slice vs. Dhafir Harris, Tito Ortiz vs. Stephan Bonnar and Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock. That will change over time as Bellator’s top acquisitions get further integrated into the promotion, and that’s evident in the seven-show Bellator schedule over the remainder of the year.

Arguably the crown jewel of the lineup comes first, as Liam McGeary defends the Bellator light heavyweight title against Phil Davis in the Bellator 163 main event on Friday in Uncasville, Connecticut. It’s a classic archetype for a big fight, with the proven and battle-tested veteran taking on the undefeated rising star looking to prove he can hang with anyone. It’s a crucial fight for both men, and we’ll see where they stand at this stage of their careers. It even has a few wrinkles, with McGeary as the defending champion and Davis looking to become champion of a fighting organization for the first time; and “Mr. Wonderful” actually holds the distinction of being the younger fighter. For my money, it’s the best fight Bellator has put on all year, earning that designation above Andrey Koreshkov vs. Benson Henderson and Davis vs. Muhammad Lawal.

Another solid contender for that honor comes just two weeks later when Michael Chandler fights the aforementioned Henderson for the Bellator lightweight title. It has a similar theme to McGeary-Davis, with the Bellator homegrown talent defending against the ex-UFC interloper. Both also have something to prove, with Chandler looking to further distance himself from his three-fight losing streak a few years back and Henderson looking to erase the memory of his one-sided loss to Koreshkov.

Those are the biggest headliners on the Bellator slate, but there are plenty of other intriguing angles before the year ends. There are two other title fights of note, with Koreshkov and Eduardo Dantas defending against former champions Douglas Lima and Joe Warren. Bellator debuts in Israel and Ireland, with the location in each case making the event more interesting. Budding superstar Michael Page returns, with his fights increasingly becoming must-see happenings. There’s also a healthy mix of veteran stars like Paul Daley, Sergei Kharitonov and Lawal, with rising prospects like A.J. McKee and James Gallagher. That’s all over the course of just two months. It’s a heck of a sprint to the end of the year.

Even more promising in the context of the individual promotion is the World Series of Fighting’s New Year’s Eve event at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. The WSOF has struggled since its start to find ways to differentiate itself from other promotions and create stars. The issue has in large part been a lack of imagination, an inability to think outside the box and grab attention for itself. WSOF 34 on Dec. 31 is exactly the sort of gambit in which the WSOF should be regularly engaging.

The WSOF could have run a few mediocre cards, which wouldn’t have done much to gain any traction. Instead, it canceled two other events and integrated the lineups into one big show that it can rightfully advertise as the biggest it has ever put on. Add to that the hook of the Garden and the New Year’s Eve date that has historically been a big one for MMA, and the WSOF is inviting more casual fans who don’t usually watch its shows to sample the product and become regular viewers. For hardcore fans, the promise of four title fights, with Justin Gaethje, Jon Fitch, Marlon Moraes and David Branch, is enough to make WSOF 34 a card to look forward to rather than a card to just watch when it comes along.

There’s also the matter of Rizin Fighting Federation. Long-term fans like to see major Japanese cards with the big production values because they are a nostalgic reminder of Pride Fighting Championships. However, the truth is that Rizin to this point hasn’t offered a ton beyond nostalgia. That could change with its two year-end shows. Rizin has more money with some television successes in Japan, and its open weight tournament with Japanese market superstars Mirko Filipovic and Wanderlei Silva plus the MMA return of Shane Carwin offers a heck of a lot more interest than last year’s grand prix tournament. Japanese cards come together much later than American cards so there are likely some more surprises coming.

It’s always encouraging for fans when an MMA promotion puts its best foot forward. Before the end of the year, pretty much all of the world’s top MMA organizations will do precisely that. The UFC will grab the most headlines, but there is more than enough great action to go around. In a sports world where the NFL’s top stories involve declining ratings and a league-sanctioned war on joy, the NBA has all of two championship contenders and boxing fans get the fight they want approximately 0.23 percent of the time, MMA fans must have done something right to get the current landscape for their sport.