Bellator: Toby Who?
Published by Jim Genia on May 3rd, 2009 in Current Events

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When the names comprising Bellator FC’s lightweight tournament bracket were announced, two stuck out: BodogFIGHT and DREAM star Eddie Alvarez and Strikeforce and Sengoku veteran Jorge Masvidal. Everyone else listed in that 155-pound Latino tour de force was just filler, bodies waiting to get KO’d or submitted by the duo widely considered to be top ten-level and destined to meet in the finals. Then, at Bellator FC’s latest installment this past Friday night in Dayton, Ohio, Toby Imada met Masvidal in the semifinals, and one inverted triangle choke later all preconceived notions of who’d be fighting who in the last match-up went out the window. Alvarez will be vying for the Bellator FC lightweight crown against Imada, and the big question now is “Toby who?”

To say that Imada is a veteran of the sport would be the understatement of all understatements. His debut was in 1998 – an era years before “The Ultimate Fighter”, Zuffa and even the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts – and in the time since he’s toiled on regional-level affairs like Neutral Grounds (one of California’s earliest promotions), Extreme Challenge, the International Fighting Challenge and King of the Cage, and more recently, Mexico’s Total Combat. Two-thirds of his 30-plus bouts have ended in victory, with his losses coming against a recognizable cadre of major leaguers such Hermes Franca, Joe Stevenson, Jake Shields and Jason Miller.

Imada has always been a tough and hard-fighting competitor, and while not always the most technical grappler, he’s managed to refine his judo black belt skills into a dangerous submission game. His third round defeat of the heavily-favored Masvidal – Imada’s eighth in a row since March of 2007 – came after two and a half rounds of the American Top Team fighter battering the judoka on the feet with quicker, sharper striking (to his credit, the California-based Imada had outstanding head movement). But all it took was one Masvidal sprawl for Imada to jump on his back, wrap his legs around Masvidal’s neck and arm, and put to sleep the man who was supposed to face Alvarez in the finals. Meanwhile, for fans and pundits alike, a sure-fire slugfest has turned into what could very well be Alvarez/Aoki II (note: Alvarez was subbed by the crafty Shinya Aoki in DREAM last year). Things have suddenly become intriguing.

Alvarez has thus far lived up to expectations, dominating his lesser opponents on his way to the Bellator FC tournament finale. No date or location has been set for the showdown between him and Imada, though it’s assumed that the featherweight, welterweight and middleweight brackets must all first reach their semifinal conclusions. Regardless of the whens and wheres, one thing is for sure: Alvarez vs. Imada will be worth watching.