Matches to Make After Bellator 276

Adam Borics won the fight of his life at Bellator 276, in every sense. He displayed the highest level of fighting skill in his career and vanquished his toughest foe, Mads Burnell who had looked sensational in winning 7 in a row, including a submission of Saul Rogers and a barnburner over Emmanuel Sanchez, one of the best fights of 2021. But more than that, Borics won a tremendous toe-to-toe confrontation where both men exchanged hellacious blows for all 25 minutes. For the first three rounds, it was a pitched battle, with Borics circling and using angles to score on leg kicks and punches to the head while Burnell came forward with a seek-and-destroy style and landed tremendous punches to the body, many which made Borics noticeably wince. So tough was Burnell that even with Borics landing several of the patented flying switch knees with which he has knocked out multiple opponents including Aaron Pico, the determined Dane simply kept walking forward. The plan was for Burnell's body blows to slow Borics in the later rounds, but in the championship stanzas, it was the Hungarian who took over. As Burnell slowed, Borics picked him apart from range. The official scores were wider than expected and didn't reflect what was a close fight, but Borics was the rightful winner.

Here are some good potential match-ups for Borics and other fighters on the Bellator 276 card.

Adam Borics vs. A.J. McKee-Patricio Freire winner

Borics-Burnell was officially for a shot at the featherweight title, and given Borics' performance, it makes perfect sense. Borics, nicknamed “The Kid,” may still not be in his prime as a fighter, but at 28 years old and 18-1 as a pro, he is actually slightly older and more experienced than reigning champion McKee, who turns 27 in April and is 18-0 while being arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the entire sport. Moreover, while Borics will be a large underdog against either McKee or Freire, one can't count him out given the enormous improvement he has shown across his five years in Bellator, including Saturday night against Burnell. Either McKee or Patricio “Pitbull” will have to be on their game if they wish to defeat a motivated and surging Borics. From a fan perspective, Borics has a large following in Hungary and Eastern Europe, which should lend additional fan interest to him challenging for the Bellator MMA featherweight championship. This one is a no-brainer.

Mads Burnell vs. Aaron Pico

Despite the loss, Burnell is quickly becoming one of my favorite fighters due to the tremendous excitement of his bouts. Whether striking or grappling, Burnell simply never stops attacking for the entire duration of a contest. Another wonderfully entertaining action fighter is Aaron Pico, who has built himself back up with five wins in a row, four by vicious stoppage, most recently dominating previously undefeated Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Justin Gonzales. Pico versus Burnell would be a potential fight of the year and have the benefit of setting up the winner as a credible future title challenger at 145. I don't believe a loss would hurt either Burnell or even Pico too much, and at any rate, the fans would win.

Phil Davis vs. Anthony Johnson 2

After a shutout of a very tough and solid Julius Anglickas on Saturday, Phil Davis is in a difficult spot. He is clearly one of the best light heavyweights in the world and is 7-2 in his last nine outings, with impressive stoppages of Linton Vassell and Karl Albrektsson, and decisions over Lyoto Machida and a Yoel Romero who most observers including myself had beating Israel Adesanya one fight prior. Unfortunately, his two losses were both against Bellator light heavyweight king Vadim Nemkov. While both fights were very close, the first a split decision against a then unheralded Nemkov, and the second a title fight where Davis lost the first three rounds but came on strong to win the last two, it's hard to argue that he should get the winner of the Nemkov-Anderson Grand Prix finale in April coming off the Anglickas triumph. A third fight against Ryan Bader, after the first two were split decisions taken by Bader, one in the UFC and the other in Bellator, doesn't sound too enticing, either. While “Rumble” has been dealing with health problems recently, a rematch with Davis is the best next move for both men. Their first meeting, at UFC 172 nearly eight years ago, was a lackluster affair in which “Mr. Wonderful” looked uncharacteristically passive; he would almost certainly enjoy the chance to show that that performance was a fluke. The loser wouldn't take too much of a step back, and the winner would have a great case for a crack at the Bellator crown.

Johnny Eblen vs. Anatoly Tokov

Eblen won by far the biggest fight of his career against recent middleweight title challenger John Salter, taking all three rounds. However, as the example of another excellent, formerly undefeated grappler in Austin Vanderford shows, throwing Eblen in against the champion Gegard Mousasi too soon would be a mistake. At the same time, despite color commentator Josh Thomson repeatedly calling Eblen a “young kid,” the undefeated contender is actually 30 years old. I would love to see Eblen fight Tokov in a No. 1 contender's match. Both men are undefeated in Bellator, with Eblen 7-0 and Tokov 6-0, and are at or near the prime of their careers. Both are outstanding grapplers, exceptionally strong, athletic, and technical, and possess very good striking which is getting better every time out, particularly in Eblen's case. It would be an amazing, marquee showdown and provide a worthy next challenger for Mousasi.

Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Brent Primus

Rabadanov might only be 2-0 in Bellator, but the Dagestani showed superlative grappling and toughness in handling previously unbeaten Jay-Jay Wilson, himself an excellent wrestler. He is currently unranked but looks to be a very serious contender in a wide-open lightweight division. Former champion and No. 2 ranked Primus, a wildly exciting submission artist who constantly throws up attempts from every position, would be a fine foil for Rabadanov's style and be an entertaining scrap. Moreover, it would position the winner as a credible challenger to Patricky Freire’s title.