Bellator 204: The Forgotten Card Before the DAZN Deal

(Via: http://www.bellator.com/articles/sk38v3/bellator-to-debut-in-sioux-falls-south-dakota-on-friday-aug-17-at-sanford-pentagon)

Bellator 204 is set to go down on August 17 from Sioux Falls, SD. Some may criticize the location choice, but the small Midwestern city hosted a slew of MMA events in the past including many LFA cards (LFA 37 in April which included two title fights), and the UFC as recently as 2016 (Lineker vs. McDonald). With Bellator set to make its debut in Sioux Falls, one would expect a card full of regional fighters and possibly one or two big names. We have a current title holder fighting outside of his division, and a major European star also competing at a different weight class. Matchmaking going into the new Bellator-DAZN deal has been focused on stacking the inaugural Sept 29 card in the promotion’s hometown of San Jose, and it feels like Sioux Falls is being overshadowed.

Darrion Caldwell defended his bantamweight strap in March, with a unanimous decision win over Leandro Higo. A very marketable fighter with a 12-1 record. Caldwell is expecting to be more active with the upcoming deal taking effect. He started his career under the LFA banner, competing at featherweight and moving down to bantamweight in 2015 with Bellator. With no injuries and a plethora of possible title challengers in the mix, the choice was made to give Caldwell a fight against Noad Lahat, albeit at featherweight. Lahat, an Israeli native, went 2-2 in the UFC and has been with Bellator since 2016. This will be a competitive fight for sure, but having the bantamweight champion fighting up a weight class, no title on the line makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

The biggest question mark of the event is a bantamweight fight with SBG’s own James Gallagher against Bellator newcomer Ricky Bandejas. A string of recent injuries had forced Gallagher out of bouts at Bellator 187 and 196, but his stock remains incredibly high. With a 7-0 professional record, including six victories by submission, a win at Bellator 204 could propel the budding SBG superstar towards a featherweight title shot. There are tensions brewing between Pitbull brothers, Patricky and Patricio Friere, and SBG fighters, which would culminate perfectly into a title fight between Patricio Friere and Gallagher at Bellator 204. But if Gallagher does compete at bantamweight at Bellator 204, he’s unlikely to be facing Patricio in future.

(Via:https://twitter.com/StrabanimalMMA)

The potential is there with Bellator 204, but it feels like it’s being overshadowed by the new DAZN deal. So far, the fights announced are intriguing, but story lines are being overlooked and match-ups don’t jive. Bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell isn’t defending his title and is moving up to featherweight. Following a long layoff due to injury, James Gallagher will be fighting at 135 pounds.The results of Bellator 204 should be interesting, as it will undoubtedly affect both the bantamweight and featherweight divisions, and we shall see whether or not Bellator 204 was indeed a forgotten card.