Bellator Heavyweight Division Rankings

Top Bellator Heavyweight Fighter Rankings:

1. Cole Conrad - (8-0, 6-0 BFC) – The 2-time NCAA National Championship wrestler from Minnesota, Cole Conrad is undefeated in his first 8 pro MMA bouts and became the promotion's first Heavyweight Champion at Bellator 32 in October 2010. While Conrad has fought once since winning the belt, he has yet to defend his title and the No Contest in the Thiago Santos vs. Eric Prindle will likely further delay his return to the Bellator cage unless another non-title fight is scheduled.

2. Eric Prindle - (9-1-1, 3-0-1 BFC) – Bellator Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament finalist Eric Prindle edges his Tournament final opponent Thiago Santos on this list based on a more impressive resume of wins. Prindle faced TUF 10 vet Abe Wagner at Bellator 52 to advance to the semifinals and knocked out previously unbeaten Ron Sparks at Bellator 56 to make the finals. However, a hard kick to the groin early in their Bellator 59 main event resulted in a No Contest ruling meaning the two will have to battle once again after Prindle is healed, hopefully during Bellator's 6th season this Spring.

3. Thiago Santos - (10-1-1, 2-0-1 BFC) – Thiago, Prindle's fellow Bellator Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament finalist, was on the giving end of the kick that caused a fair amount of controvery at the conclusion of Bellator's 5th season. Deemed an inadvertant kick, Santos will face Prindle once again to decide which fighter will get a shot at Cole Conrad's Championship belt. Santos made his way into the tournament thanks to a win over Josh Burns at Bellator 53 to determine a reserve for the tounament and a subsequent injury to open the door for Santos. He followed the win with a 1st round submission of Neil Grove at Bellator 56 to advance to the final opposite Prindle.

4. Mike Hayes - (16-4-1, 2-1 BFC) – Mike "300" Hayes racked up an impressive record fighting mostly in regional promotions in his home state of Washington. After losing his opening round bout to Alexey Oleinik in Bellator's Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament, Hayes was invited back for the Season 5 Tournament where he won his opening round bout by defeating Neil Grove by split decision. However Hayes suffered an injury that did not allow him to continue in the tournament which featured a plethora of obstacles and injuries.

5. Ron Sparks - (8-1, 3-1 BFC) - Ron "The Monster" Sparks entered Bellator's Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament as one of the more hyped fighters at 7-0 as a pro with 5 KO/TKO wins. After a KO win over Mark Holata at Bellator 52 Sparks got a taste of his own medicine getting knocked out early in the 1st round to end his run at Bellator 56.

Thiago Santos defeated Neil Grove via 1st round submission in the semifinals of the Bellator Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament.

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Honorable Mention: Blagoi Ivanov