Opinion: Bellator’s WCW-Like Run at the UFC

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.

The MMA world has been buzzing about Benson Henderson inking a deal with Bellator MMA. While the former Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight titleholder’s departure doesn’t seem like much -- UFC President Dana White certainly doesn’t seem bothered by it -- the UFC had better be careful because it may be allowing its competition to emerge; and honestly, that’s not a bad thing.

When you really think about it, this defection could be the start of something that rivals professional wrestling’s Monday Night Wars, which brought out the absolute best in two rival promotions. It all started with talent.

Once upon a time, there was a wrestling promotion called World Championship Wrestling that was purchased by Ted Turner in 1988. The promotion had a few big names -- Ric Flair and Sting immediately come to mind -- but it struggled to keep pace with Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation. However, Turner had deep pockets and decided to make a run at the organization in the mid-1990s by throwing money at the WWF’s established stars. Aside from the money, Turner made the brilliant move of promoting an announcer and sales associate by the name of Eric Bischoff to executive vice president. This combination of Bischoff’s intelligence and Turner’s hefty bank account would drastically shift the balance of power in pro wrestling.

Most remember the Monday Night Wars officially kicking off when WCW signed Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to the organization and deployed a storyline in which WWF stars were “invading” WCW. However, the real start of the Monday Night Wars was the night Lex Lugar appeared on WCW’s flagship show, “Monday Nitro,” after having a run as one of the WWF’s top talents. WCW was able to compete with the WWF by snaring away talent and also building its own stars. Casual fans watched for the WWF stars and stayed for the homegrown talent.

Bellator is utilizing a similar strategy. The hiring of Strikeforce founder Scott Coker as president parallels WCW bringing in Bischoff, a man that simply “got it.” Many are critical of Bellator’s use of fading talent -- Tito Ortiz, Ken Shamrock, Kimbo Slice, Stephan Bonnar, etc. -- in its main events, but if nothing else, these are recognizable names that draw in casual fans. Spike TV has deep pockets, and it appears willing to overpay for UFC talent. If the company is willing to pay Henderson more than the UFC, it’s a win because he’s still a name competing at a high level.

Here’s where it gets interesting. With Henderson joining the likes of former UFC fighters Josh Koscheck, Josh Thomson, Cheick Kongo, Paul Daley and a few others on the Bellator roster, could the gates be opening for more UFC fighter to defect? Given the criticism the UFC has garnered from fighters who feel they are being paid too little because of a Reebok deal that has clearly affected the opportunity for sponsorship dollars, the time might be right for a fighter to jump ship. It may cost Bellator some money, but it’s worth it to bring some recognizable names into the fold to draw eyeballs while also putting the promotion’s homegrown talent in front of those tuning in.

Henderson’s signing is intriguing because the UFC didn’t see the value in retaining his services, despite the fact that he’s a former lightweight champion and riding a two-fight winning streak in the welterweight division. Henderson is easily recognizable and still at the top of his game. There’s a certain amount of clout that comes with acquiring Henderson that becomes tempting for other fighters. No disrespect to Koscheck, Bonnar or Ortiz, but Henderson’s deal is not like theirs because he’s not on the backside of his career. Add that to the fact that he’s getting an immediate title shot and you have something that could be very appealing for other UFC fighters coming to the end of their contracts.

Let’s just say that Alistair Overeem follows Henderson to Bellator. The addition automatically makes Bellator’s heavyweight division better while dealing the UFC’s already-thin heavyweight class a mighty blow. Remember, Overeem just flattened Junior dos Santos, one of the UFC’s former champions. Although he’s not yet as popular, undefeated bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling is another fighter who could shake things up by changing promotions. This is exactly what Bellator needs in order to compete, and the UFC doesn’t seem interested in hogging all the fighters.

Some may call it foolish, but the UFC giving another promotion the opportunity to lure away a few of its fighters can be considered good business -- as long as Bellator doesn’t become a major threat. Even then, competition is good for the fans.

Right now, we may be laughing at Bellator’s upcoming card that features Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie and Slice vs. “Dada 5000,” but chances are, we’re going to tune in for the car wreck; and don’t laugh too long and lose sight of what’s going on, because Bellator is looking to change the landscape of MMA in 2016. It all starts with Henderson.

Andreas Hale is a content producer for Jay Z’s LifeandTimes.com and editor-in-chief of PremierWuzHere.com, as well as a frequent Sherdog.com columnist. Check out his archive here.