Things routinely go awry for Bellator. A lot of the time its Bellator’s own fault, but not always. It’s just one of the snakebitten promotions in the sport of mixed martial arts. But the USA’s No. 2 MMA organization has been on a bit of a heater as of late. A few months ago, its featherweight grand prix resulted in perhaps the biggest fight in the promotion’s history – champion Patricio Pitbull and undefeated super-talent A.J. McKee – the exact result everyone was hoping for. McKee won with astounding style, cementing him as Bellator’s new top star.

And once again, in the tournament’s light heavyweight grand prix is ending with the exact final that everyone was hoping for. Friday’s semifinals resulted in wins for young champion Vadim Nemkov and top challenger Corey Anderson, putting the promotion’s two best 205ers head to head in a huge final showdown. Either Nemkov will cement himself as one of Bellator’s building blocks, or Anderson will pay off the organization’s investment in a huge way. That, again, is pretty much how you’d draw it up.

So it made me wonder: has it always been like this? Bellator has been known for tournament competitions since the Bjorn Rebney era, and even though it’s gone away from that format since Scott Coker took over in 2014, it still promotes one or two big ones a year. The last two have certainly succeeded in producing the big fight everyone wanted. Has that stayed a constant over the promotion’s history? I wanted to take a trip down memory lane, and look back at some of my most well-remembered Bellator tournaments to see just how they shook out.

2018-19 Welterweight Grand Prix

What we wanted: Michael “Venom” Page vs. Rory MacDonald

What we got: Douglas Lima vs. Rory MacDonald

The welterweight grand prix tournament had a thick field, but the way Bellator had protected and built up the dynamic and unique Michael Page certainly made it seem like he was the guy they wanted to win it all – and since they don’t make many fighters like him, I wanted the same. Instead, Douglas Lima, already by then a two-time champion, dealt him one of the most memorable knockouts in Bellator history in the semifinals, before beating MacDonald in a relatively boring final bout to win the championship again.

2018 Heavyweight Grand Prix

What we wanted: Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko

What we got: Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko

This is one of the oldest and thinnest groups for a grand prix tournament Bellator has ever put together, featuring multiple washed-up fighters who were never even heavyweights in the first place (Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Chael Sonnen, “King Mo” Lawal). However, we did get the one somewhat interesting possible matchup, featuring light heavyweight champ Ryan Bader and 42-year-old icon Fedor, who had two straight first-round KOs to lead off the tournament. Bader won in just 35 seconds.

2014 Lightweight Tournament

What we wanted: Patricky Pitbull vs. Marcin Held

What we got: Patricky Pitbull vs. Marcin Held

The Bjorn Rebney era featured tournaments for multiple weight classes every year, and the champions didn’t take part – they awaited the eventual winners – making the stakes a little lower and the fields a little weaker. The 2014 lightweight tournament is one of the deepest I can remember in that era, with a number of fighters who are still fixtures today. But the obvious biggest fight was a styles clash between striker Patricky Pitbull and grappler Marcin Held, two longtime staples – that’s exactly what we got, and Held won by decision.

2011 Lightweight Tournament

What we wanted: Michael Chandler vs. Toby Imada

What we got: Michael Chandler vs. Patricky Pitbull

You really can’t say anything about the longevity of the Pitbull brothers. But in 2011, Patricky was a relative unknown – it was veteran Toby Imada who had proven himself as one of Bellator’s best lightweights over the previous two years, including his famous inverted triangle victory over Jorge Masvidal. Michael Chandler, on the other hand, was just starting out, but had already tantalized with his talent. We ended up with a tournament that established two of Bellator’s most long-running lightweight stars, and resulted in Chandler winning his first world title.

2011 Featherweight Tournament

What we wanted: Patricio Pitbull vs. Nazareno Malegarie

What we got: Patricio Pitbull vs. Daniel Straus

2011 was also the year that made Patricky’s brother, now regarded as the Bellator GOAT. That year, there were two hotshot undefeated prospects entering the featherweight field: the 12-0 Patricio Pitbull and 19-0 Argentinian Nazareno Malegarie, who entered with a fair bit of hype. But Malegarie lost to the unheralded Daniel Straus in the quarterfinals, kicking off a long-running rivalry between Straus and Pitbull. Although Pitbull won the tournament final, Straus became a two-time featherweight champion himself, ultimately fighting Pitbull four times.

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So what does this tell us? It’s that even when tournaments don’t give us the ultimate result we hoped for – and they often do – they usually give us something better. They serve as the jumping off point for new stars you maybe didn’t see coming. And when it all comes together, they create fights that simply seem bigger than normal.

And if Bellator – the Land of Bullshit – can manage to pull this off, why can’t the UFC, or literally anyone else? Wait, that’s right: everyone else does do it. ONE does it. RIZIN does it. PFL, that’s their whole thing. UFC, the hell are you waiting for? Jump on the tournament train.