The Bellator 134 event went down last night at the Mohegan Sun, and the main event saw Liam McGeary make history as he became the first British born to capture a major MMA title when he defeated Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Emanuel Newton.
McGeary deserves credit for his win, and he does appear to be the real deal, as he now has a 10-0 record and the title belt. Newton was a solid champion who had made multiple defenses of the belt he first grabbed a piece of against Muhammad Lawal in November of 2013. Newton elected to fight the match on the ground and he found himself swarmed by McGeary’s length and threatening submission game. Newton was considered to have a serious experience advantage in the fight, especialyl in the later rounds. Though Newton had tightened up his game by round five and was doing a better job of controlling McGeary than earlier. McGeary showed though, even in round five, that he was very much in the fight.
Bellator has a fighter in McGeary that might be the brightest prospect to come from the British Isles. Certainly the UFC will tell you that the title there belongs to Conor Mcgregor, however though McGeary may be less bombastic than the UFC’s charismatic Irishman, he has shown a complete game being able to fight on the ground and on the feet.
Judging by the embarrassing situation that seems to be coming from Bellator in terms of matchmaking, it is up in the air what McGeary faces next. Sportive logic would dictate that Newton, who held the belt for more than a year, defended it well and went out on his shield here, deserves the immediate re-match. Newton faces the very real possibility however, that he will be skipped over. With the likes of Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar on the roster, Bellator could turn to either man and McGeary’s next opponent. The benefit in this scenario is that McGeary looks equipped to handle those challenges, so they can milk Ortiz and Bonnar’s name recognition for all it is worth. But you have to feel for Newton, who was one of Bellator’s hardest working fighters in 2014 and who runs the risk of being passed over.
