Zack Makovsky is very good. How good? It's difficult to truly gauge if he's amongst the top 10 bantamweights in the world.
He stormed to Bellator's 135-pound tourney title last year, but even he recognizes that he needs to be more active and face a higher level of competition.
"I don't know. I try not to get caught up in any of that. It kind of is what it is. The UFC is by far the biggest name in the game. I would think to most casual fans, they don't know the sport is called Mixed Martial Arts. To them, the sport is Ultimate Fighting," Makovsky told Bloody Elbow's Matt Roth. "It's frustrating from that kind of stand point. But at the same time you appreciate what the UFC is doing and they're obviously doing good things for their business."
Makovsky (13-2) is one of the headliners against Ryan Roberts at Bellator 54 tomorrow night in Atlantic City.
Bellator's tournament format is great because you control your own destiny, but the television exposure from the WEC might have been more beneficial over the last few years.
"I mean, of course if I fought in the WEC earlier I would have had that exposure so people would know me better but I kind of really started building my name in Bellator. I kind of was under the radar until I got in the tournament and ended up winning it. There's not much else I could have done otherwise. I don't think the WEC would have had me in there before I created a name in Bellator which is a good thing about Bellator," said Makovsky.
Makovsky's story is similar to many of the elite fighters around mixed martial arts. He was a standout wrestler at Drexel in Philadelphia, but unlike most high level college wrestlers he wasn't a big high school star. He walked on at Drexel and when he was pushed to new limits, Makovsky took it as a challenge and made himself into an elite grappler.
The 28-year-old has a bright future and at 5-foot-4, he looks like a candidate to be a hot shot down at 125 pounds when that division blows up. But he's got to get his work done at Bellator 54.
Roberts is big for the weight. He's got UFC experience and been in there at lightweight with guys like Marcus Aurelio, Donald Cerrone and Duane Ludwig.
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