5 speculative 'win-win' MMA trades

Following this week's news that the UFC and ONE Championship are on the brink of agreeing a landmark trade which would see flyweight GOAT Demetrious Johnson switch places with undefeated welterweight Ben Askren, the MMA community has been alive with speculation regarding who the two might face in their promotional debuts and what the trade might mean for the future of the sport.

Assuming the trade goes ahead, it sets an exciting precedent for Mixed Martial Arts and opens up a whole host of possibilities for future trade activity between promotions.

Let's take a look at five potential trades which would be 'win-win' situations for both the promotions and fighters involved.

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#1 Stephen Thompson (UFC) for Douglas Lima (Bellator)

Douglas Lima

Let's kick things off with an unlikely but fun potential trade which would see perennial UFC welterweight contender, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson switch places with former Bellator 170lb champion Douglas "The Phenom" Lima.

With just one win in his last four UFC appearances and having twice fallen short in consecutive attempts to snatch the welterweight gold from the hands of Tyron Woodley, Thompson could benefit from a change of scenery and the chance to make a fresh title run in a new organisation.

At 35-years-old, "Wonderboy" isn't a boy anymore and as he approaches the twilight of his MMA career, you have to question if he'll be able to work his way back into title contention in the UFC. A move to Bellator, where he can already claim a win over welterweight champ Rory MacDonald, would absolutely give him that chance.

30-year-old Lima recently got back on track after losing his 170lb title to MacDonald, defeating Andrey Koreshkov in the first round of the Bellator welterweight tournament. I'll admit, this trade is pretty unlikely considering Lima is still in with a chance of recapturing his title through this tournament (along with a $1,000,000 prize courtesy of 50 Cent) but I'd love to see Lima test himself against any number of the current crop of UFC welterweights.

#2 Christian Lee (ONE) for Sage Northcutt (UFC)

Sage Northcutt

Both Christian Lee and Sage Northcutt are young, dynamic, potential stars of the future but if either are to reach their true potential they may need to consider a change of scenery.

Northcutt quietly became a free agent earlier this year and doesn't appear to have resolved that situation yet. Considering the time and promotion the UFC invested in "Super" Sage early in his career alongside the fact he is riding a three-fight win streak, it seems highly unlikely that they wouldn't at least try to bring him back into the mix rather than letting him potentially walk away for nothing.

Should they do that, the UFC aren't likely to trade the 22-year-old in the immediate future. That doesn't mean they wouldn't be open to the idea at some point during the course of his next contract, particularly if he continues to stall when faced with top-level opposition.

At just 20-years-old, Lee is in the midst of the first losing streak of his young career, having first fallen short against ONE featherweight champion Martin Nguyen in his first title fight and following that up with an unusual, disqualification loss to Edward Kelly after dropping his opponent on his head with what was deemed to be an illegal suplex.

Both fighters are undeniably talented and have bright futures but with both having spent the majority of their young careers with just one promotion (or his entire career in Lee's case), I can't help but want to see how they fare in fresh surroundings.

#3 Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz (UFC) for Michael Chandler and Phil Davis (Bellator)

Mike Chandler

While the Diaz brothers have a strong following among UFC fans, unfortunately, neither of them seem particularly interested in fighting at the moment. Nick makes the right noises on social media but hasn't accepted a fight since returning from his heavy-handed, NAC suspension. Nate, on the other hand, did actually accept a fight against Dustin Poirier, only to see it fall apart due to Poirier sustaining an injury (although we're honest, Nate did nothing but complain from the moment the fight was announced).

A reunion with former Strikeforce boss Scott Coker over at Bellator might be just what the brothers need to entice them back into the cage. They certainly wouldn't be any worse off for the move and with plenty of options for both Nick and Nate, I'm confident that Coker can reinvigorate their careers.

Going the other way, we'd have former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler and former UFC light heavyweight Phil Davis. Chandler is the real prize as far as the trade is concerned and you could perhaps argue the case for a two for one trade with only Chandler heading to the UFC. The potential match ups for the former Bellator 155lb king are mind-blowing. Chandler vs Khabib, Ferguson, Poirier, Gaethje or even McGregor would all make for incredible scraps.

To balance the trade, I've added "Mr Wonderful" Phil Davis. It would be the 34-year-old's second stint in the UFC having left for Bellator following a loss to Ryan Bader back in January 2015. Since then, Davis has put together an impressive record of 6-1-0 with his sole loss coming via split decision to Bader once again. In a relatively thin UFC 205lb division, Davis has a few options for interesting fights and the UFC certainly wouldn't be worse off for having another talented fighter in the mix at light heavyweight.

#4 Ilima-Lei MacFarlane (Bellator) for Cris Cyborg (UFC)

Bellator Flyweight Champion Ilima-Lei MacFarlane

As far as win-win trades go, I can't think of many better options than sending undisputed UFC featherweight queen Cris Cyborg over to Bellator with Bellator's flyweight champion Ilima-Lei MacFarlane heading the opposite direction.

This exchange of champions would set up some interesting fights for both women in their new homes. MacFarlane would bolster the UFC's relatively new flyweight division and would immediately be in contention to challenge the winner of the upcoming title fight between Valentina Shevchenko or Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Cyborg has often bemoaned the UFC's lack of activity in building a legitimate 145lb division around her, more often than not finding herself defending her featherweight strap against bantamweights stepping up in weight to challenge for the title. A move to Bellator would place the Brazilian in the midst of a genuine featherweight division and the real prize would be a shot at taking the Bellator 145lb title from reigning champion Julia Budd.

With Cyborg approaching the end of her UFC contract and potentially her MMA career, the allure of one final challenge and the chance to add fresh gold to her collection would surely be enticing.

#5 Angela Lee (ONE) for Carla Esparza and Yair Rodriguez (UFC)

One Championship: Dynasty of Heroes

Undefeated in all nine of her professional fights, Angela Lee is, without doubt, one of the jewels in the crown of ONE Championship. To pry her away from the promotion would likely take something special. The atomweight champion is set to challenge for her second title, this time at strawweight, early next month and should that be successful, the proposed value of any trade would absolutely go up.

Aside from the surging Tatiana Suarez, the UFC strawweight division is lacking any legitimate threats to reigning champion Rose Namajunas and adding Lee into the mix would not only liven up a relatively shallow division, but it would also give Lee the opportunity to answer her critics who claim she has been fighting inferior competition.

To offset the loss of Lee, the UFC could send former strawweight champion Carla Esparza in the opposite direction, along with a high-end prospect like young featherweight Yair Rodriguez. Esparza was thoroughly dismantled by Suarez in her last fight and looks further away than ever from getting another shot at recapturing her 115lb title.

The opportunity to reinvent her career over at ONE Championship could be enough to tempt "The Cookie Monster" in to make the move. Rodriguez, on the other hand, has had his ups and downs with the UFC in recent months and at one time looked to be on the brink of leaving the promotion after allegedly trying to pick and choose his fights. His dynamic fighting style would fit right in with the highly entertaining ONE 145lb division and there would be no shortage of options for the 26-year-old.