Bellator MMA returned with their fourth event of 2024, the first in the United States this year, and a lightweight title fight atop the marquee. Also featured at Bellator Champions Series San Diego was a No. 1 contender fight in the welterweight division between Lorenz Larkin and Levan Chokheli, while former welterweight champion Douglas Lima faced highly-ranked middleweight contender Aaron Jeffery.
With plenty of stakes on the line during the main card, the co-main event saw a major statement be made, not only for the top-contender spot, but in the way it was done. Thirty eight-year-old Larkin, on the last fight of his contract with the company, had a brief moment of adversity being on his back in the first round, but when he got back to his feet he closed the show rather quickly.
In true Larkin fashion, he stormed Chokheli with a barrage of punches and he would halt the momentum of another young challenger. Larkin, with his first-round victory, is now the No. 1 contender in the welterweight division and will do so with new contract negotiations upcoming.
The main event saw lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov handle top contender Alexander Shabliy with mostly smooth sailing throughout a unanimous decision victory. Controlling the pace and having the bigger moments for most of the fight, Nurmagomedov breezed to a title defense. Speaking to Jimmy Smith in the cage following his victory, Nurmagomedov made it known he’d like for his next title defense fight to come in Dubai, which would mean big business for whoever challenges him next.
Here are the fights to make following Bellator Champions Series San Diego:
Not only is McKee vs. Hughes a fantastic fight for the fans, it should also be viewed as the No. 1 contender fight in the lightweight division. McKee, a former lightweight and featherweight champion, has been a mainstay atop Bellator since he joined the promotion and defeating the company’s biggest free agent signing would cement his status as next in line for Nurmagomedov. Even though he has business to attend to against Hughes, McKee was in the crowd and had a great seat to take in Nurmagomedov’s win over Shabliy. Hughes would have the same opportunity if he was able to defeat McKee, which would make him undeniably the top contender to Nurmagomedov.
After his massive flurry closed the show in Round 1 against Chokheli, Larkin likely earned a title in his next fight. The big key will be coming to contractual terms with Bellator as he just fought out his current deal with the win in San Diego. Larkin, who has won 9 of his last 11, has continued to shut out younger contenders and earned this title fight opportunity. It’ll be a good test for Kuramagomedov, who won the belt earlier this year with a victory over Jason Jackson. The undefeated champion has been successful in his meteoric rise in the promotion, getting the title in just his third fight with Bellator.
Beating a legend in Douglas Lima not only put Jeffery back in the win column, but it also gave him a path to title contention. With champion Johnny Eblen set to face top contender Fabian Edwards, it is only fitting for two of the other top contenders to face for the next opportunity. Van Steenis suffered a loss to Lima in 2023 but has since bounced back and picked up a win over Gregory Babene back in May of this year. With both guys coming off recent victories, they remain two of the very best just outside the title picture and should be matched up for a No. 1 contender fight to face the winner between Eblen and Edwards whenever that fight may take place.
Despite the use and showcasing of her elbows, Inaba could be a fit for the 2025 PFL women’s flyweight season. Elbows not being allowed in the promotion shouldn’t hold her back from getting into the regular season next year, in a division that could certainly use more talent for the PFL. Dakota Ditcheva has been the shining star of the division, but more young talent is certainly welcomed. Inaba is very much known for her striking and while she may need to adjust her style for the ruleset, she’d be a fun addition to the PFL.A great fight to welcome her to the PFL regular season would be a 2024 playoff participant in Bishop. A semi-finalist in her first year with PFL, Bishop showed a lot of toughness and underrated skill throughout her campaign. She came up short in the playoffs to Ditcheva but in a regular season fight against Taila Santo, she showed she belonged. The striking vs. grappler matchup would also make this an intriguing matchup to make.
Ayvazyan was able to get the job done in his Bellator promotional debut, but taking on 36-year-old Yancy Medeiros wasn’t a great measuring stick to see where he belongs in the lightweight division. The good news for him is there’s a matchup between two young and undefeated fighters in Colgan and Sousa happening next week at Bellator Champions Series London. There needs to be more contenders coming up for Nurmagomedov after his relatively smooth performance against Shabliy. It may not lead to a title fight in the next win or two, but Ayvazyan could easily establish himself as a rising contender if he was able to defeat who comes out on top between Colgan and Sousa. It would be an undefeated fighter for Ayvazyan to defeat and in doing so, could show he belongs atop the lightweight division’s contenders.