Sherdog’s Top 10: Bellator MMA Moments

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7. The Rise of Askren

Along with collegiate wrestling teammate Michael Chandler, who debuted in the promotion five months after the former freestyle Olympian, and Cole Konrad, who made his first appearance three weeks later, Ben Askren was among the first crop of true homegrown talent Bellator produced. They were the first real blue-chip prospects the promotion managed to find and develop on its own, and all three captured championships in their respective weight classes.

While Konrad retired to pursue a career outside combat sports and Chandler has since lost his belt, albeit controversially and while remaining one of the promotion’s best fighters, Askren used Bellator as a launching pad into an exceptionally promising career. He dominated eight of the nine men he faced in the promotion, with only established veteran Jay Hieron putting up a real fight; although he drew substantial ire from fans for his suffocating style, nobody offered much in the way of a counterpoint to its effectiveness.

Former promoter Bjorn Rebney was, if not ecstatic, perfectly fine with letting Askren go once his contract ran out in November 2013. The UFC passed, as well, and the former Olympian signed instead with Singapore-based One Fighting Championship. Perhaps, however, all of this was a blessing in disguise. Askren has been forced to hone his unique style of unvarnished trash talk since then, going after everyone from former UFC champion Georges St. Pierre and current titleholder Johny Hendricks to UFC President Dana White himself.

He has made himself a more marketable fighter by doing so, and while One FC has been good to Askren, it was Bellator that launched his career and made him one of the more notorious fighters in the business.

Number 6 » This incident at Bellator 90 on Feb. 21, 2013, is notable not only as a particularly awesome moment of entertaining violence but also a message as to the inherent unpredictability of MMA as a sport.