Bellator Fighting Championships, the No. 2 mixed martial arts organization in the United States, had itself a big couple nights this past weekend. Bellator staged fight cards on Friday and Saturday, buoyed by a rematch between former UFC stars Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis, a bantamweight title match between top talents Juan Archuleta and Patchy Mix, and the debuts of former world championship challengers Cat Zingano and Liz Carmouche, who look to provide valued depth to the promotion’s women’s divisions.

But what had people talking after the weekend was over wasn’t any of those fights. It was kickboxing champ Raymond Daniels absolutely obliterating Peter Stanonik‘s nutsack with one of the most horrifying low blows in the history of combat sports.

Here’s the worst part: it wasn’t even the first groin strike stoppage of the night, as a prelim bout ended when heavyweight Tyrell Fortune brutally kneed Jack May directly in his dick and balls. Another fight the next night ended when Davion Franklin nearly killed Ras Hylton with an illegal punch to the back of the head, in a heavyweight bout that had both men gasping for air like drowning sailors two minutes into Round 1.

It was all so, so deliciously on-brand for Bellator. I have a lot of love for Bellator president Scott Coker, who in a past life built Strikeforce from the ground up into a big-time promotion. He seems like a smart guy who treats his fighters relatively well, and he’s tried his hardest to build Bellator’s profile around well-known UFC vets and talented prospects. But despite his best efforts, his best-laid plans, Bellator will always be defined by Goofy Shit™.

I watch a lot of fights from a lot of different promotions. Nowhere, in the entire world, has weirder stuff happen more consistently than Bellator – whether it’s disqualifications, no contests, things that make just no sense, fights just randomly being unwatchably boring, the works. It’s like the name Bellator is cursed.

This isn’t new either. This predates Coker, even – back when Bellator was run by original founder Bjorn Rebney, the real-life son of the Winnebago Man, the organization built a distinct identity around its tournament-centric format but it was constantly inundated with Goofy Shit™.

I often think about 2011, when Bellator built up a massive clash between two of its top heavyweights: the hulking Thiago “Big Monster” Santos and the extremely pink Eric Prindle. The fight, which Rebney put in real time and effort to promote, ended when Santos axe-kicked him in the nuts in the first round. So they did a rematch, and this time PRINDLE kicked Santos in the nuts in the first round. They never tried it again.

The names are bigger these days, but the spirit of Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos still lives on in Bellator. It was there when Daniels threw a spinning back kick laser-targeted at his opponents’ testicles. It was there when what appeared to be the most sure high-action fight of last year – a highly-anticipated welterweight bout between British bomber Paul Daley and the deliriously entertaining Michael “Venom” Page – instead saw the two fighters do nothing for 25 minutes.

And it all makes the good in Bellator even better. There are real, genuine reasons to watch this promotion. There are some very good fighters across Bellator’s roster – I truly believe that homegrown stars like Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, Douglas Lima and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane could challenge and beat the UFC’s very best, just like Bellator’s first world-class talent, Eddie Alvarez, did himself.

Sometimes you’ll see genuine magic, like Lima’s stunning KO of Page that was maybe the single most visually hilarious finish in MMA history:

As mixed martial arts becomes more and more corporatized at the top level, it’s fun to watch a promotion where you have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen every night – I often find myself enjoying the bad more than the good, because the bad is so uniquely bad.

And it must be preserved. Bellator’s future might be at a crossroads: the organization is leaving its longtime home, Paramount Network (formerly known as Spike TV) this month and moving to CBS Sports Network, which is carried in fewer homes. And much of its revenue comes from a streaming deal with DAZN, which also appears to be in serious jeopardy amidst declining ratings and DAZN’s hemorrhaging of money during the pandemic.

Bellator is never going to be a mainstream alternative to the UFC. But I’ve been watching it for a decade now, and I hope it survives another, if only for all the Goofy Shit™ we’ll get to see. God bless you, Bellator.