Sherdog’s Top 10: Bellator MMA Moments

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9. The Ortiz-Jackson Signings

After acquiring a few high-profile free agents and moving to Spike TV at the beginning of 2013, Bellator’s future looked bright. It took a turn for the surreal, as it made two even higher-profile signings in the summer of that year, first acquiring Quinton Jackson on the heels of his UFC release and later the supposedly retired Tito Ortiz.

Bellator signed Jackson to the kind of crossover deal to which it had previously inked Muhammed Lawal, including appearances on TNA Wrestling, and he was quite vociferous about how happy he was to no longer be under the thumb of UFC President Dana White. A UFC Hall of Famer, Ortiz had seemingly parted with the promotion that he helped build under good terms, but the competitive itch soon returned.

Ortiz made his secret entrance to Bellator during a “special event” teaser that included boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. cageside, leading many to speculate that “Rampage” would be doing a little boxing in the future. Instead, Ortiz’s entrance music played; he showed up in silhouette with his trademark flag over his shoulder; and he announced a fight with Jackson that was later canceled.

For a promotion badly in need of some sizzle to go along with a lot of really good steak, these signings and dramatic entrances were exactly what the doctor ordered, as they brought a substantial amount of attention to Bellator. Serious observers had few illusions about the long-term future of two fighters in the twilight of their careers, but the promotion needed eyeballs, and Jackson and Ortiz certainly brought them.

Number 8 » The end result was utter, complete, ridiculous madness. That is not necessarily a bad thing -- few fans walked away feeling like they had not received their money’s worth -- but a simple statement of fact.