Bellator 52

[rayallen0]

So I’m leaving for Phoenix tomorrow morning and wanted to get my Bellator preview completed now.  Yes, it’s many days early, but I can promise that this won’t get done if I put it off until after my trip.

Oh goodness, I think there’s going to be a fat, sloppy mess of a card Saturday night.  I mean that in the best possible way, really.  I do enjoy Bellator, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I have to be a fan of a couple of average heavyweights and a bunch of not so good ones squaring off to be beaten down by Cole Konrad.  While Konrad’s good, he’s not exactly a world beater, meaning the presumptive reward for the tournament winner is a bunch of cash just to lose to a slightly above average heavyweight.

Inauspicious fate aside, we still have a tournament to conduct.  Right away, Neil Grove and Blagoi Ivanov are the names that jump out at me.  Grove has some Bellator experience, while Ivanov is a promising fighter who is one of the few men to have defeated Fedor Emelianenko in sambo competition.  Abe Wagner is another name to look at, but frankly, the talent pool here is fairly shallow to begin with.

Nonetheless, Bellator 52 will still air live on MTV2 this coming Saturday at 8:00 PM CST with a replay shown at midnight.  Oh great, so here are my options: watch UFC Live on Versus and catch a super late Bellator replay, or flip back and forth and potentially miss something great. Then again, we’re just talking about fat boys.

Speaking of fat boys, maybe I should just call this tournament Bellator’s 2011 Fat Boy Festival?  Is that too demeaning?  Does it make a difference that each of these eight men could probably kick my ass? 

Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinals: Neil Grove (11-3-1) vs. Mike Hayes (15-4-1)

Neil Grove is going to knock Mike Hayes out.  I have every confidence in this.  When Grove wins, he wins by knockout.  I don’t expect him to lose this fight.  Ergo, Neil Grove will beat Mike Hayes by knockout.

Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinals: Blagoi Ivanov (4-0, 1 NC) vs. Thiago Santos (8-1)

I’ve noted that I’m interested to see how Ivanov fares against tougher competition.  He’s a world class sambo practitioner with good hands, but he hasn’t really been challenged thus far.  Thiago Santos holds a notable win over ranked fighter Shamil Abdurahimov, but it’s been more than a year since he last fought.

I could see Ivanov winning by submission in this one, but I worry that he’s still quite green with only five fights to his name.  Awesomely, one of those fights was declared a no contest when the ring broke.  Well I guess I don’t have a choice then, I’m picking Ivanov.


Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinals: Eric Prindle (7-1) vs. Abe Wagner (10-4)

Abe Wagner holds a recent win over Tim Sylvia, negated by the fact that it’s the year 2011.  Eric Prindle holds notable wins over…well, he has seven wins.  Actually, he does hold a victory over Chris Barnett, a fighter with some wins at heavyweight despite standing 5’9”.  Still, Wagner is 3-2 in his career against fighters with UFC experience, a feat that seems less impressive when the two wins are against Sherman Pendergarst and Matt Andersen.

Comparing resumes, it’s hard to see where Prindle holds any kind of advantage.  He has good hands, but so does Wagner, who has also shown off a bit of submission skills in his five year career.  Wagner’s current 7-2 stretch only features losses to current UFC fighters Aaron Rosa and Travis Browne, certainly not the most shameful losses.  I like Wagner to take a TKO victory in this bout just based on his experience, which should be enough to carry him through this fight.


Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinals: Mark Holata (11-2) vs. Ron Sparks (7-0)

I like Mark Holata to win this fight, as he seems to be a more well-balanced fighter than knockout heavy Ron Sparks.  Holata might be at a bit of a height disadvantage, but I think he can pull off a decision win.  Holata could be an interesting name in this tournament, given his current eight fight winning streak.  That includes wins over Strikeforce and Bellator fighter Shawn Jordan and former UFC competitor Carmelo Marrero.  Holata might impress in this tournament, but then again, Ron Sparks might punch him really hard and win it in ten seconds.  Who knows?

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

Looking forward to this. Not expecting the heavyweights to be great fighters, but even bad fighters can put on entertaining fights.

[rayallen0]

Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinals: Mike Hayes d. Neil Grove (Split Decision)

Well this was fairly surprising.  Not only did Neil Grove not knock out Mike Hayes, but he didn’t even win!  Hayes won a fairly uneventful fight in somewhat convincing fashion.  Grove didn’t do a ton throughout the fight and Hayes took the second and third rounds of the fight.  Grove had previously been a favorite in this tournament and his loss will likely open things up a bit.

Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinals: Blagoi Ivanov d. Zak Jensen (Submission – Round 2, 2:35)

Jensen was a late substitution for Thiago Santos, who was unable to enter the country for this fight.  Jensen was rewarded by being choked unconscious by Blagoi Ivanov.  Ivanov looked good last night, getting the better of the striking and flashing some grappling skills.  I ultimately think he’s the favorite in this tournament given Grove’s loss.

Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinals: Eric Prindle d. Abe Wagner (Unanimous Decision)

Ugh, what a mess of a fight this was.  Prindle should have finished the fight some time in the second round, but instead, we were subjected to a three round fat boy mess.  Wagner looked gassed less than half way through the contest, though Prindle wasn’t in much better shape.


Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinals: Ron Sparks d. Mark Holata (KO – Round 1, 1:24)

So Ron Sparks likes to punch people.  This isn’t something new, we’re all aware of it.  Unfortunately, Mark Holata found out the hard way when he was pounded by Sparks last night.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

Never seen any of these fighters before.

Eric Prindle vs. Abe Wagner - both of these guys sucked. Their standup looked awful. I don't see Prindle advancing any further

Ron Sparks vs. Mark Holata - Quick knockout, didn't get to see much. But I like a guy who comes in there to put their opponent to sleep.

Blagoi Ivanov vs. Zak Jensen - Even without knowing these guys it seemed like Jensen was just a fat can who would get dominated. And he did...but I was a little worried that it took Ivanov that long to put him away, and the fact he looked very gassed after the fight.

Mike Hayes d. Neil Grove - I kept waiting for a fight to happen. I feel like Grove could've won this fight if he had tried to fight for the first two rounds. Hayes won, but it was because his opponent didn't do shit.

I'd like to go with Sparks, but I have no idea if he has any ground game, so I'm going with Ivanov to win this.

[rayallen0]

ya Zak Jensen is most known for being a loner on the show The Ultimate Fighter. (0-2 in bellator)

Grove even had a fight in the UFC before being submitted by Mike Ciesnolevicz. he was released after. and he made the last heavyweight tournament finals so him losing is a big upset considering the competition. (3-2 in bellator)

Iganov is most famous for beating Fedor in Sambo and is a Sambo world champion. (2-0 in bellator)

Mike Hayes had 1 fight in strikeforce 3 years ago...and lost in the 1st round last time. (2-0 in bellator)

Eric Prindle is a war vet. ya thats all i know. (2-0 in bellator)

Abe Wagner was a vet of Titan FC and beat Tim Sylvia and was a contestant of the ultimate fighter. (0-1 in bellator)

Mark Holata pretty unknown fighter (2-1 in bellator)

Ron Sparks likes to hit people hard. (3-0 in bellator)