Bellator returns tonight, and hopefully it will continue its trend of promoting outstanding fights in a tournament format.
Unfortunately this event was not immune to fighter pull-outs, as Brian Foster was unable to recieve medical clearance for his wight with David Rickels, robbing the event of one of its more promising fights. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of intriguing tournament match-ups, beginning with the welterweight debut of Frenchman Karl Amoussou against Chris Lozano.
Amoussou has a stoppage laden record, and always comes to finish, though his record is far from mind-blowing to this point. Hopefully a drop to 170 pounds will give him a bit of an advantage with his style of relentlessly attacking his opponent with strikes. Lozano bowed out of the season 5 tournament at the semi-final stage, though only after a loss to eventual winner Douglas Lima. He has many wins by KO, though Amoussou should be tough to finish. This should be a fun fight between two fighters who like to bang.
Last year’s tournament finalist and UFC veteran Ben Saunders begins another Bellator tournament run against Raul ‘Smash Mode’ Amaya. Saunders was cut from the UFC after some defeats to high-level competition and accusations of sub-par wrestling. While it is true that his wrestling may not be great, but it is probably a bit better than he is given credit for. I hardly think it is fair to criticize him for being unable to stop a Jon Fitch takedown and GnP assault for example. Saunders uses his reach well to hit opponents from a distance and set up a lethal clinch attack which has proved absolutely devastating in the past. If he can start to unleash the kind of knees that he stopped Brandon Wolff and Marcus Davis with in the UFC, he should be far too much for his opponent. Amaya has a glossy undefeated record full of stoppages, but he has never faced anyone of Saunders’ calibre and I would be surprised to see him win.
Brian Baker is another fighter moving down in weight, and he will be a HUGE welterweight. He has had plenty of success in Bellator and the WEC, though he has fallen short in the final, and semi-finals in his previous Bellator tournament campaigns. He has a lot of power in his punches, and if he can keep his performance level up to his previous standards after a further drop in weight, he should justify himself as the favourite in this fight. Carlos Pereira should not be underestimated though. Fighting out of the Nova Uniao team, he has had a winning run of 15-2 with a considerable amount of wins by KO. Like many of his team-mates, he attacks with a fan-friendly style, throwing fast-paced, multi-limbed combinations, and 22 KOs in 30 wins demonstrates his success. However, these wins have largely come against lower level Brazilian opposition, and I do expect him to get caught by Baker if he gets a little wild with his strikes, something that is not unheard of for a Brazilian striker, and was particularly evident in Pereira’s loss to Siyar Bahadurzada.
Full fight line up below.
Main Card
Karl Amoussou vs. Chris Lozano – welterweight tournament quarter-final
Bryan Baker vs. Carlos Pereira – welterweight tournament quarter-final
David Rickels vs. Jordan Smith – welterweight tournament quarter-final
Raul Amaya vs. Ben Saunders – welterweight tournament quarter-final
Prelims
Parker Porter vs. Randy Smith – heavyweight bout
Ryan Quinn vs. Marc Stevens – 165 pound catchweight bout
Saul Almeida vs. Matt Bessette – featherweight bout
Andrey Koreshkov vs. Taiwan Howard – welterweight bout
Dan Cramer vs. Jeff Nader – middleweight bout
Marianna Kheyfets vs. Munah Holland – women’s flyweight bout
Pete Rogers vs. Brandon Fleming – featherweight bout
Triangle Choke MMA 