6 Reasons Bellator Won't Come Close to Filling the UFC's Shoes on Spike TV

When the UFC chose to sign a new deal with FOX, it left a huge void in Spike TV. 

The TV station whose main target audience is males will try to fill that void with Bellator Fighting.

Bellator, perhaps the third largest MMA company in America, is known for its tournaments where the winner often faces a Bellator champion. 

Although the company has been on the rise it will not be able to come close to what the UFC was for Spike. 

Keep reading to find out why.

Lack of Star Power

One of the things that made the UFC on Spike so great was the fact that you could see some of the best stars in MMA on TV.

The UFC had names like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Brock Lesnar appear on TV during seasons of The Ultimate Fighter and headlining events. 

Bellator just does not have the star power the UFC has. 

Too Little Programming

As of right now, the most that has been seen of Bellator are free events and highlight shows. 

The UFC not only gave you these, but showed programs highlighting fighters' careers, previewing major events and gave us The Ultimate Fighter. 

While Bellator has promised new programming with the Spike deal, unless it brings something unique to the table, it will only be looked at as a UFC ripoff. 

The Tournament Format

One of the things that made Pride FC and the UFC in its early days great was the tournament format. 

Not only were there tournaments for different weight classes, but there were open weight tournaments. 

Bellator does have something unique going on as its backbone is based off fighters earning their title shots. 

While it may sound great, it gets kind of old because the fighters in the tournament aren't at the same level that those in Pride and the old UFC were. 

Their Top Stars Aren't Fighting Top Competition

Sometimes you're only as good as your opponent. 

Bellator's champions are some of the best fighters in the world, yet they don't fight fighters that are on the same level as them. 

That is, of course, if you exclude Joe Warren, who was knocked out in his last fight after dropping a weight class to compete in a tournament. 

Bellator Does Not Have the History the UFC Has

By the time the UFC had signed on with Spike, it already had been around for more than 10 years. 

Despite the company being in bad shape, it had a deep history behind it. 

Bellator does not have that. 

The company has been around since 2008. Although it has had some memorable fights, submissions and knockouts, it still has the feel of being subpar. 

The company does not have that historical feel or the feel of something different like the UFC had. 

Bellator Does Not Build Up Its Fighters Like the UFC Does

Although Bellator has some household name stars like Hector Lombard, Eddie Alvarez and Ben Askren, unless your a die-hard fan, you might not know that much about them. 

The UFC does a good job in promoting top-level fighters during event buildups. 

Up-and-comers usually either make their way through The Ultimate Fighter or get a decent introduction before the fight. 

The one thing that draws many fans to sports are the story behind athletes. Without properly building a story around their fighters, Bellator won't stand much of a chance of reaching a wider audience.