Gordon Bell is a promising Utah-based lightweight making his training out of Fusion MMA. Early in his pro career Bell’s scored a number of notable victories, including wins over Ramsey Nijem, David Castillo, James Birdsley, and Eric Hernandez who collective held records of 1-0, 9-3, 36-7, and 8-2 heading into their respective bouts.

Bell exhibits strong upside in his offensive grappling repertoire. Having trained almost exclusively in no-gi grappling, Bell’s ground game is designed well for MMA application. Bell’s grappling style is not power based, but technically proficient and improving steadily. The most potent aspect of his grappling arsenal is his submissions awareness. Bell shows zero hesitation going for submissions and is constantly aware of any opportunities that present themselves. He’s persistent with anaconda’s, guillotines and other front chokes, and had secured a twenty one second submission of Ramsey Nijem, as well as a submission victory via twister – only the seventh in MMA history at the time, less than ten fights into his professional career. On the mat Bell displays fluid movement and transitioning between positions. He uses his limbs well and controls his opponent very effectively. Although he does prefer to do his work from the top, Bell works an aggressive guard and handles himself well off his back. He’s equipped with quick, active hips and is particularly dangerous with armbar and triangle attempts. Given his aggressive nature, Bell does tend to give opposing fighters opportunities to pass or attempt submissions of their own. He has however proven to be a very tough to finish, showing a remarkable ability to maintain composure and free himself from compromising positions. Bell’s overall grappling will need to continue progressing, with wrestling playing a crucial role in his overall development.

Although grappling has played the most important role in his early success, Bell does not shy away from the standup. He’s quite confident on his feet employing an aggressive, attacking strategy and freely letting his hands go. Technique-wise Bell has shown smooth footwork and movement, as well as the ability to score successfully with both his punches and kicks. Bell gets his leg kicks and high kicks off quickly while pumping out his jab and straight/overhand right over the top. His knees and dirty boxing abilities show promise from in close and although his striking will require work, Bell shows the potential to develop into a well rounded lightweight.