Bellator Providing Opprotunity to Free Agents

While no one will argue that Roger Huerta was one of the biggest signings in Bellator's young history, I believe it revealed just how attractive Bellator is to certain fighters. Huerta chose to sign with Bellator over any other organization. This marks the first time a major mixed martial arts free agent has chosen to sign with Bellator. Some people will immediately point to Eddie Alvarez and Hector Lombard, but neither of those fighters were a known commodity in the North American market.

I believe it’s important to explore the reasons that Roger Huerta arrived at this decision and it’s actually pretty simple. This is an opportunity that offers three of the major factors a fighter looks for in fights, money, and exposure. With Strikeforce you can get money and exposure, but many fighters have certainly struggled getting consistent fights. The biggest part of this equation for a guy like Roger Huerta has to be getting a high volume of fights in a short period of time. Huerta has only fought once since a decision loss to Kenny Florian in August of 2008.

During his time away from the sport Roger looked to become a movie star among other things. I was expecting a less then motivated fight from him against Grey Maynard and I came away very impressed. One thing that likely hurt Huerta in that fight was his time out of the cage. Bellator offer a chance to change that with three fights in a 12 week span against solid competition (Toby Imada and Jorge Masvidal to name a few).

In addition to the three fights in a short period of time, Roger can not only pick up $100,000 by winning the tournament but additionally collect sponsor money on three live broadcasts on Fox Sports South over those 12 weeks. While beating Imada or Masvidal will not put Huerta back in anyone's top 10, it will give him a super fight that could. Along with the money and the three quick fights comes a chance to face Eddie Alvarez if you win the tournament. This is a bout that could help propel Roger back into the spotlight and even back in the UFC once his Bellator contract would expire.

While Roger Huerta is the fighter with the most name value signing with Bellator this season, there are many other fighters who will benefit from the experience and exposure that Bellator can offer them. One such fighter is Joe Warren who gained experience on the fly during DREAM's FW Grand Prix in 2009. 2010 will see him compete for Bellator and try to become a household name in the United States. The cage time will be a huge benefit for Warren early in his career.

There are several fighters I believe should jump at the opportunity to join Bellator in Season 3 if an offer is extended to them. One such fighter is Jake Rosholt. Jake is staying active on the independent circuit and has a reasonably high profile fight against Jeremy Horn later this month on HDNet. He was a guy that was green while in the UFC and we watched as he grew and had growing pains in front of our eyes. I believe the three fights in 12 weeks could really benefit him. Also a possibility of fighting Lombard at the conclusion of the season would be a great fight for both guys. While we won’t know just how big a player Bellator will become in the mixed martial arts free agent market, I believe it’s something to pay attention over the coming year.