20 of the best Bellator fighters of all time
By Chad Porto
20. Ilima-Lei MacFarlane
Becoming the first-ever Bellator women's flyweight champion is nothing to shake a stick at. While she's not the top fighter in the weight class anymore, her streak of four straight title defenses helps elevate her up the list. As does her win over Kana Watanabe, one of the best pure talents in the history of Bellator. Her championship streak helped legitimize the title and division and without her (and a few others), the women's division doesn't take the shape that it did.
19 . Daniel Straus
Long-time fans will know how good Daniel Straus was. He knocked off a prime Pat Curran, and a rising star in Patrioc "Pitbull" Freire, all while winning two seasonal featherweight tournaments, as well as winning two featherweight titles along the way.
18 . Alexander Shlemenko
The multi-time middleweight seasonal winner and former Bellator middleweight champion has proven himself a legend in the promotion. That said, while he has some accolades that warrant him a Top 20 spot, his losses to the best of the best in the promotion (Hector Lombard, Tito Ortiz, Gegard Mousasi), keep him from being higher.
17. Rory MacDonald
Maybe the most controversial pick to make the Top 20, Rory MacDonald has proven himself a heck of a fighter. And while he only amassed three wins in Bellator, he did so against Neiman Gracie, Paul Daley, and arguably one of - if not the best fighter in Bellator history - Douglas Lima. His duel win of the Bellator welterweight championship and the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix, while being one of the biggest signings the company had made in recent years has solidified his meteoric rise up the rankings.
16 . Vitaly Minakov
The Russian, Vitaly Minakov, was one of the best heavyweights that Bellator has ever seen. He had a 5-0 record in the promotion to start his Bellator career, which culminated in a win over current UFC fighter Alexander Volkov to win the heavyweight title. He would defend his title against Cheick Kongo before leaving the promotion for a few years. His knockout power was legendary, finishing four of the first five fights by knockout. He was the first true threat in the heavyweight division in the eyes of many.