Bellator 57

[rayallen0]

After a week off, Bellator is back with two huge tournament final matches!  And there’s certainly no better week for Bellator to make its return than the week of Pacquiao vs. Marquez and the first ever UFC event on Fox.  Though the card is starting two hours earlier than normal, it still has some solid online fights from the UFC to contend with.

It’s disappointing that this card is up against such stiff competition since we have some interesting fights.  The season five middleweight and welterweight tournaments will come to a close, while there’s an interesting light heavyweight battle and a number of solid lightweight contests.  I know I’ll be watching and everyone else should try to check the fights out as well!

It’s important to note that this is Bellator’s first event under new ownership.  Viacom just purchased Bellator Fighting Championships in a move that should position Bellator as a legitimate rival to the UFC, especially if the move to Spike comes to fruition.  These next few years are going to be great for MMA with both the UFC and Bellator both making major strides.

Bellator 57 is live on MTV2 at 7:00 PM EST/6:00 PM CST with a replay at 11:00 PM EST/10:00 PM CST.  The Spike.com prelims have been initially listed as starting at 5:00 PM EST/4:00 PM CST, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they started sooner.  Be sure to check Spike.com for more info.

Welterweight Tournament Finals: Ben Saunders (12-3-2) vs. Douglas Lima (20-4)

Here are two fighters that are both new to the Bellator title scene.  Saunders and Lima would be interesting challenges for Askren, though I’m getting ahead of myself in discussing that fight.  Saunders is a very dynamic and very exciting fighter who is very good at finishing fights.  Lima, a former MFC Champion, also finishes his fights and knows how to put on a show himself.

This could be one of the best fights of the night, including the UFC fights.  This will be a war from the opening bell and I see these men going all out.  Because of this, I’m predicting an early stoppage victory for Ben Saunders.  However long the fight goes, it will be interesting, but I think Saunders will take advantage of the initial frenzy by knocking Lima out.

Middleweight Tournament Finals: Alexander Shlemenko (42-7) vs. Vitor Vianna (12-1-1)

Alexander Shlemenko has solidified himself as one of the top middleweights in Bellator, but I really like what Vitor Vianna brings to the table.  Vianna is super tough and his only loss came against Thiago Silva, where Vianna was stopped with an arm injury in November 2006.  Both men have finished more than 75% of their wins, though I think Vianna is more balanced with solid striking and great Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

I don’t think Vianna will want to stand and strike with Shlemenko, as he’ll be at a bit of a disadvantage.  If he can find a way to take Shlemenko down, he will win this fight.  Period.  Shlemenko’s only ground defense is to look at the referee and complain about the fight not being stood up.  Vianna can keep this fight on the ground, so long as he brings the fight there to begin with.

I anticipate this being a tight contest, but ultimately, I think we’ll see Shlemenko pull off a close split decision victory.  Shlemenko will be able to do enough to stay standing so he can assault Vianna with his impressive striking.  A win from Vianna wouldn’t shock me, but I don’t think he’ll be able to pull it off.

Light Heavyweight: Roger Hollett (12-3) vs. John Hawk (6-3)

Talented Canadian Roger Hollett will make his Bellator debut against John Hawk, who defeated Allan Weickert for Bellator less than two months ago.  I don’t feel particularly strongly about either fighter, though Hollett looks to have the stronger background.  I’ll take Hollett by submission in this contest.

Lightweight: Alexandre Bezerra (11-1) vs. Doug Evans (13-9)

Doug Evans is good at two things: submitting fighters and losing.  Evans has eight submission victories and nine losses, three losses coming each by submission, knockout, and decision.  Bezerra has gone 3-0 in Bellator, finishing all three fights in extremely impressive fashion.  I think we’ll see “Popo” Bezerra submit Evans in this one and hopefully, Bezerra will finally get a shot in a Bellator tournament.

Lightweight: Chris Horodecki (18-3) vs. Mike Corey (11-2)

I have a feeling we couldsee an upset in this contest.  Corey is coming in to fight Horodecki on pretty short notice, since Ricardo Tirloni was forced to withdraw from this fight due to injury.  I’m not at all a Horodecki fan as he’s always rubbed me the wrong way, though he is a very talented fighter.

Corey, a former IFL competitor like Horodecki, is a talented wrestler who has had some success with submissions in the past and I wonder if he’ll be able to control Horodecki enough to take the win?  I see this fight going late and I think Horodecki will ultimately score the victory, but I think Corey could make it competitive.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

My picks are Vianna/Lima

[rayallen0]

Welterweight Tournament Finals: Douglas Lima d. Ben Saunders (TKO – Round 2, 1:21)

Lima rocked Saunders early with some heavy punches and has earned himself a shot at Ben Askren’s Welterweight Title.  I feel pretty indifferent about this since I feel like Askren would handle either Lima or Saunders.  I’m unexcited by Bellator’s title scene since, in most cases, the best fighters hold the titles (except probably at featherweight and bantamweight).

Middleweight Tournament Finals: Alexander Shlemenko d. Vitor Vianna (Unanimous Decision)

I was disappointed in Vitor Vianna’s performance, as he was not at all aggressive and basically allowed Shlemenko to take this fight.  Neither fighter looked particularly impressive and a Shlemenko win isn’t that surprising, nor will it be surprising when Hector Lombard inevitably beats Shlemenko for a second time.

Light Heavyweight: Roger Hollett d. John Hawk (Split Decision)

This fight was boring.  Roger Hollett won.  Meh.

Lightweight: Alexandre Bezerra d. Doug Evans (Submission – Round 1, 4:04)

This ended up being a fun one and there was some back and forth in the four minutes that this fight lasted.  Bezerra ended up pulling off a nasty heel hook to take an impressive win, his fourth in Bellator.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

Vitor Vianna basically gave that fight away. I had him winning that first round based on landing more strikes. For some reason he didn't let his hands go at all the last two rounds. You can't win a fight if you don't fight.

Douglas Lima looked impressive but I'm not really interested in the Askren fight either. Askren is gonna do what he always does and lay and pray. I'm still waiting for a fighter with TDD to come kick his ass but I think he will handle Lima on the ground.

btw do you really think Christian M'Pumbu is the best light heavyweight? He's gonna get handled by anyone who can take him off his feet.

[rayallen0]

Vitor Vianna basically gave that fight away. I had him winning that first round based on landing more strikes. For some reason he didn't let his hands go at all the last two rounds. You can't win a fight if you don't fight.

Douglas Lima looked impressive but I'm not really interested in the Askren fight either. Askren is gonna do what he always does and lay and pray. I'm still waiting for a fighter with TDD to come kick his ass but I think he will handle Lima on the ground.

btw do you really think Christian M'Pumbu is the best light heavyweight? He's gonna get handled by anyone who can take him off his feet.

In Bellator? yes. they have a weak ass light heavyweight division. He was very impressive in his fights for the first LHW tournament he had 3 straight TKOs and won each fight easily. M'Pumbu lost and i was disappointed against Wiuff but Wiuff isn't going to make 205 he won cuz he was a big wrestler at about 210 for the fight. So far i have seen no threat.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

Vitor Vianna basically gave that fight away. I had him winning that first round based on landing more strikes. For some reason he didn't let his hands go at all the last two rounds. You can't win a fight if you don't fight.

Douglas Lima looked impressive but I'm not really interested in the Askren fight either. Askren is gonna do what he always does and lay and pray. I'm still waiting for a fighter with TDD to come kick his ass but I think he will handle Lima on the ground.

btw do you really think Christian M'Pumbu is the best light heavyweight? He's gonna get handled by anyone who can take him off his feet.

In Bellator? yes. they have a weak ass light heavyweight division. He was very impressive in his fights for the first LHW tournament he had 3 straight TKOs and won each fight easily. M'Pumbu lost and i was disappointed against Wiuff but Wiuff isn't going to make 205 he won cuz he was a big wrestler at about 210 for the fight. So far i have seen no threat.

Wiuff will probably compete for the next tournament. As Bellator grows, the talent pool will increase. And M'Pumbu isn't the sort of top fighter to stay champion, at least not based on what I saw in his last fight. I also don't see Askren lasting, once fighters with great TDD start coming in. He's great at wrestling but sucks at everything else. All it will take is for a well-rounded fighter to come in and kick his ass all over the ring.