Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Bellator 17 Actually Pretty Diverse and Kick-Ass

The UFC, the WEC and Strikeforce may be current titans of the MMA world, but creeping around like a ninja in the shadows is the Bellator Fighting Championships, which has seemingly shied away from the Latino-centric flavor of last season and fully embraced fighters of all races, colors, creeds and religions.  Case in point: Bellator 17, which takes place tomorrow night in Boston and features champ Eddie Alvarez against UFC vet Josh Neer in a non-title superfight.  Top-five lightweight Alvarez may or may not be of Hispanic origin (I think I heard him say the words "Taco Bell" at some point, although I could be mistaken), but the ultra-tough Neer is so white he's practically see-through.  Meanwhile, in the lightweight tournament semi-final brackets, UFC superstar refugee and devout Catholic Roger Huerta is slated to take on Freemason Pat Curran, and submission ace Toby Imada and wrestler Carey Vanier will clash in a bout that pits a California hippie against a New Mexican.  Add to that an undercard that stars heavyweight Cole Konrad - who hails from someplace called "Wisconsin" - and Santeria practitioner Lance Everson, and you have a roster that's both pretty diverse and kick-ass.  As the event airs live on the Home Shopping Network (or something like that), it's definitely worth checking out.