Where Would Bellator's Champions Rank with the UFC's Elite?

After UFC parent company Zuffa purchased Strikeforce, the largest MMA organization still standing outside Zuffa's walls (in the U.S., anyway) was the Bellator promotion.

To call Bellator a rival to Zuffa is to reveal a propensity for sentimentality, if not outright delusion. Still, Bellator has been surprisingly deft in carving out a niche for itself, thanks to cable-ready season-long tournaments and a roster of explosive talent.

In many instances, that talent would probably struggle in the UFC. But it seems a few fighters, especially at the championship level, could hold their own and then some. Here's a list of Bellator's champions and where they might fall in the UFC's rankings for each weight class.

Since this list ranks the Bellator champions against their UFC counterparts and not one another, they are organized here in ascending order by weight class. Also, Bellator women's champion Zoila Frausto is not included because the UFC does not have a women's division.

7. Zack "Fun Size" Makovsky

Class: Bantamweight
Record: 13-2-0
Where he would rank in the UFC: 8

Along with one of the sport's cleverer nicknames, Zack Makovsky also has a strong wrestling and submissions game that has him on a seven-fight, nearly two-year winning streak.

In the UFC, the 28-year-old might not be ready for the Dominick Cruzes and Urijah Fabers of the world but could be plugged into a gatekeeping role straight out of the box. He'd present a stiff measuring stick for relative newcomers like Michael McDonald or Scott Jorgensen or veterans like Eddie Wineland.

6. Joe Warren

Class: Featherweight
Record: 7-1-0
Where he would rank in the UFC:10

Warren would be a great boost for the UFC's featherweight division. Nevertheless, a talent infusion from the UFC's higher weight classes and a less than convincing decision win over Marcos Galvao in April would force Warren a little lower than might otherwise be the case.

A fight with either the loser of the UFC 131 tilt between Kenny Florian and Diego Nunes or the winner of Dustin Poirier and Jason Young would be interesting.

5. Eddie Alvarez

Class: Lightweight
Record: 22-2-0
Where he would rank in the UFC: 3

Eddie Alvarez is probably the best of the Bellator champions pound for pound and may be the most talented fighter in the world not currently under contract with Zuffa. 

Unfortunately, some apparent objections by Alvarez to the UFC's business practices means it's likely to stay that way for the time being.

Thank goodness, then, for baseless speculation like this. 

If Alvarez were to move to the UFC this minute, he would walk in and immediately take a place behind the lightweight division's No. 1 and 1a—champion Frankie Edgar and longtime top contender Gray Maynard.

While Edgar and Maynard recover from injuries on the way to a highly anticipated third match, the well-rounded and razor-fisted Alvarez would make an entertaining foil to grappler Jim Miller in a title eliminator contest.

4. Ben "Funky" Askren

Class: Welterweight
Record: 8-0-0
Where he would rank in the UFC: 17

Despite an unblemished MMA record, Askren has a long way to go before he could enter the conversation in the UFC's beyond-stacked welterweight division.

At this point, it seems even the division's second tier (guys like Dong Hyun Kim and Jake Ellenberger come to mind) are out of Askren's range. More balanced tests might lie farther down the ladder and could start with less accomplished but respectable fighters like Paulo Thiago or a young whippersnapper like Rory MacDonald.

3. Hector "Shango" Lombard

Class: Middleweight
Record: 28-2-1
Where he would rank in the UFC: 8

There would be a lot of great UFC matchups right out of the gate for this marble-cut Cuban, who hasn't lost a fight in more than four years.

Lombard is a one-man wrecking crew known for highlight-reel knockouts. It's a good thing those highlight reels exist too, because with eight of his last 12 wins coming by first-round stoppage, many of his fights happen so fast that viewers are just an ill-timed call of nature away from missing the entire thing. Maybe that's why so many fans have long encouraged the UFC to lock Lombard up.

Having said all of that, Lombard would probably still not be considered among the UFC middleweight division's "elite" right away. But a win over Demian Maia, Vitor Belfort (imagine that slugfest) or the winner of the UFC 130 clash between Brian Stann and Jorge Santiago would change that in short order.

Thinking in the longer term, a showdown with Michael Bisping is not hard to envision either. That fight announcement would be sweet music to a lot of The Count's detractors.

2. Christian "Tonton" M'Pumbu

Class: Light Heavyweight
Record: 16-3-1
Where he would rank in the UFC: 19

M'Pumbu used his dynamic fists to beat a trail through Bellator's first light heavyweight tournament en route to claiming the belt last Sunday. Still, this 33-year-old French-Congolese fighter might have the longest road ahead of him in the UFC out of all Bellator's current champions.

Brandon Vera, Luis Cane or Alexander Gustafsson would all be interesting ways of testing M'Pumbu's mettle in what is undeniably light heavyweight's big league.

1. Cole "Polar Bear" Konrad

Class: Heavyweight
Record: 7-0-0
Where he would rank in the UFC: 7

The undefeated Konrad would likely find himself hovering just outside the division's A ring, but a quick victory or two could launch him toward contender status in short order.

Fellow up-and-comer Brendan Schaub would be an interesting test, as would striking specialist and grizzled veteran Cheick Kongo.