Which card are you more excited for? UFC Fort Lauderdale or Bellator 220?
Patrick Shaheen, Host – MMA Scope Podcast
It is a rare Saturday night when the UFC and Bellator are competing for views. Much rarer when Bellator has the biggest star fighting that night. I will be watching both and think Greg Hardy is the main reason I’m more excited for Bellator “but Pat, Greg Hardy fights for the UFC” … exactly.
Frank Hyden, Columnist – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
I think Bellator 220 will be the superior card, though it’s close. Bellator 220 has two title fights, Rory MacDonald defending his Bellator Welterweight Title against Jon Fitch and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane defending her Bellator Flyweight Title against Veta Arteaga. Benson Henderson also fights Adam Piccolotti and Phil Davis fights Liam McGeary.
UFC Fort Lauderdale has Jacare Souza vs. Jack Hermansson, Alex Oliveira vs. Mike Perry, Glover Teixeira vs. Ion Cutelaba, and John Lineker vs. Cory Sandhagen. I take Bellator because of the two title fights. Even if both fights aren’t that good (though I think the flyweight fight will deliver), I’ll still take title fights over regular fights.
Christian Moore, MMATorch Contributor
I’m looking more forward to Bellator. One, we have two title fights, but two, overall the card is better. UFC seems basic, and Bellator not much better, but better nonetheless. We have some good fights on both, but Bellator is more exciting for me. Although Perry/Olviera could steal the weekend.
Sean Covington, Columnist – Covington’s Corner
I generally get more excited over Bellator cards because they have disappointed me far less than UFC. UFC has bigger names but the bigger, better fights are going to be on Bellator 220. Rory MacDonald vs Jon Fitch seems like an instant classic but I could be wrong. Rory MacDonald has been involved in some wars and instant classics so I like that as a better main event although Souza vs Hermannson is nothing to sneeze at.
Michael Hiscoe, MMATorch Managing Editor
I think at surface level, the Bellator card is more intriguing but let’s look at things a little closer. At the end of the day, it’s all about the main event, and for my money, I like the UFC Fort Lauderdale main event between Jacare Souza and Jack Hermansson better than Bellator 220’s Rory MacDonald-Jon Fitch welterweight title fight. Jacare has a chance to cement himself as the top contender to (one of) UFC’s middleweight championship(s). Hermansson also has the chance to play spoiler and potentially prove himself as a new player near the top of the division. I think the UFC main event will be a more entertaining fight to watch.
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Looking at the rest of each of the main cards, I also give the edge to UFC. Yes, Bellator has a second title fight, but I don’t expect it to be competitive. UFC does have Greg Hardy in their co-main spot, so maybe Bellator has a slight edge when it comes to co-main events. The rest of Bellator’s main card has Phil Davis and Benson Henderson, two fighters who tend to have duds despite being established names. UFC’s undercard includes Alex Oliveira vs. Mike Perry which should bring fireworks and John Lineker vs. Cory Sandhagen which could be a barnburner as well.
So if you have to watch only one card, definitely choose UFC’s offering this weekend.
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