Liam McGeary and the 10 Best Fighters in Bellator MMA Right Now

As you may be aware, Bellator 142 goes down this Saturday from one of MMA's more history-laden settings, San Jose, California.

In the main event of the evening, grizzly-bearded Englishman Liam McGeary is the favorite to defend his light heavyweight title against old, old man Tito Ortiz.

McGeary is a talent and fast-rising fighter, one of the best on Bellator's roster, which is itself on the up and up. 

It all got us to thinking: Who are the best fighters on the Bellator MMA roster right now? Where might McGeary—or for that matter, Ortiz—figure into these calculations?

These are the 10 best athletes under the Bellator banner. Rankings are based on records and achievements. 

Honorable Mentions

Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Chandler

Listed in no particular order:

• Michael Chandler
• Pat Curran
• Eduardo Dantas
• Joe Warren
• Cheick Kongo
• Paul Daley
• King Mo Lawal
• Emanuel Newton
• Francis Carmont
• Patricky Freire
• Michael Page
• Daniel Straus

10. Douglas Lima

Division: Welterweight
Age: 27
Record: 26-6 
Last Five: 4-1

Over the past six years, Douglas Lima has lost to exactly two guys: Ben Askren and Andrey Koreshkov. That's the list.

Lima wore a Bellator title belt for more than a year. The downside? He never actually defended it, losing to Koreshkov in his first bid to do so.

Still, the hard-hitting Lima has wins over Ben Saunders (twice), Rick Hawn and Steve Carl on his recent resume. And he's still only 27 years old. If he can stay healthy, he should have plenty of runs left in him.

9. Brandon Halsey

Division: Middleweight
Age: 29
Record: 9-0 
Last Five: 5-0

Brandon Halsey's toughest opponent of late is himself. He'd still be the middleweight champ right now if he hadn't missed weight for his May bout with veteran Kendall Grove (which he won by TKO).

He has a chance to recapture the strap in October when he faces Rafael Carvalho. Here's guessing the wrestling D-I All-American takes advantage of the opportunity.

8. Marcos Galvao

Division: Bantamweight
Age: 34
Record: 17-6-1
Last Five: 4-1

It was hard figuring out where to slot Marcos Galvao. On one hand, Eduardo Dantas knocked him out in 2013 to grab the title belt. Then Joe Warren beat Dantas a year-and-a-half later. Then Galvao beat Warren.

It's like a word problem with no solution. Although the closest thing is Galvao, given that he now holds the title. The world-class grappler is not exactly a world-class entertainer. Good thing for him this isn't a style-points list.

7. Vitaly Minakov

Division: Heavyweight
Age: 30
Record: 15-0 
Last Five: 5-0

The sky is still the limit for Vitaly Minakov. At least according to this guy. 

The desert is where he currently wanders, with injuries and other pursuits keeping him out of the Bellator cage for more than a year now. 

Hopefully, the multi-time sport sambo champion and rock-fisted knockout striker returns soon and doesn't fall victim to the sluggishness and conservatism that gripped him in his past few victories. If it goes down the right way, Minakov could be set for a quick ascension up these ranks.

6. Marcin Held

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Marcin Held (left)

Division: Lightweight
Age: 23
Record: 21-3
Last Five: 5-0

Marcin Held was 19 years old when he lost to Michael Chandler in his Bellator debut. That feels like a long time ago.

Maybe that's why Held feels older than he is. Or maybe you could chalk that up to the swath he is blazing through the 155-pound division. He's taken six straight—five by stoppage, four by submission. Most recently, he forced a tough competitor in Alexander Sarnavskiy to scream out a verbal tap at Bellator 136.

Furthermore, maybe that's why the Polish grappling wizard has been informally nominated as the division's next title challenger.

5. Liam McGeary

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Division: Light heavyweight
Age: 32
Record: 10-0 
Last Five: 5-0

Spoiler alert: No, Tito Ortiz is not on the list. Sorry.

But here's Liam McGeary, the do-it-all Englishman who has ridden a huge frame and an imposing knack for violence all the way to the top of his division.

Not only is McGeary undefeated, but he has yet to be challenged, only going the distance once thus far in his pro career. Is that a function of his dominance or of a weak strength of schedule to date in a weight class that is down and depressed in Bellator and beyond?

I would say we'll find out Saturday, but given that Ortiz looks to be well over the hill, we probably won't.

4. Phil Davis

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

Division: Light heavyweight
Age: 30
Record: 13-3-1 
Last Five: 2-3

Let's be honest: Phil Davis has this spot on reputation.

Let's be even more honest: His ranking this high is a testament to the fact that the UFC's talent is still deeper and better than Bellator's.

With those things said, at least he's not first, and he's far from finished. It's hard to count out a national champion wrestler, even if he did lose two of three at the tail of his UFC tenure and looked to be regressing throughout the process.

Instead of counting him out, why don't we count him in? That might be prudent, especially with Davis saying recently to MMA Junkie that his move to Bellator "reignited [his] love and passion for the sport." As a result, we have an interesting potential contender on our hands.

Davis' move to the top of his division could be quick if he can take care of business and win the title shot and one-night tournament this Saturday.

3. Andrey Koreshkov

Division: Welterweight
Age: 25
Record: 18-1 
Last Five: 5-0

Like just about every welterweight currently on the Bellator roster, Andrey Koreshkov has a humbling Ben Askren defeat on his ledger. What makes this one different is that it was a TKO, as opposed to the usual ride to a decision.

It took the air out of Koreshkov's hype sails, which took quite a while to refill. They're at full extension now (or whatever you say about high-functioning sails) thanks to his five-fight win streak, capped off by a decision win over Douglas Lima to take the Bellator welterweight title.

I'll be interested to see who, and how, the electric Russian striker fights next.

2. Will Brooks

Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Division: Lightweight
Age: 28
Record: 16-1
Last Five: 5-0

There's no question who the king of Bellator's lightweight division is. "Ill" Will Brooks is pretty close to king of the entire dang promotion.

His unusual blend of distance striking and power wrestling makes him a difficult opponent to prepare for. He's tough as nails, too, physically and mentally, as evidenced by his wars with Michael Chandler and the revenge he gained over Saad Awad, the only man to beat him.

If Brooks keeps it rolling, he could be in the top spot soon. As it is, it's darn near a coin flip.

1. Patricio Freire

Division: Featherweight
Age: 28
Record: 24-2
Last Five: 5-0

Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, Bellator's featherweight champion, has run a gauntlet of late and come out smelling like a rose.

The seven victims of his current win streak are Jared Downing, Diego Nunes, Fabricio Guerreiro, Justin Wilcox, Pat Curran, Daniel Straus and Daniel Weichel. The combined record of these opponents is 142-45-2.

In all but two of those cases, Pitbull earned a stoppage. It speaks to his balance and ferocity as a fighter: Of his 24 pro wins, 10 have come by knockout, eight by submission and by decision.

He's skilled, aggressive, tough and still young. This is a champion in the prime of his prime, and he's the best fighter in Bellator right now.

Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.