Thursday nights for me bring must see TV in the form of Bellator Fighting Championships. Tonight is their 18th show live from Boston and you can watch it on Fox Sports Network, NBC (i think they show it on the weekend sometime) and on the Score in Canada. Bellator puts on really great exciting cards almost every time out focusing primarily on four weight classes, Featherweight (145 lbs), Lightweight (155 lbs), Welterweight (170 lbs) and Middleweight (185 lbs). Most of the guys on Bellator shows are up and coming prospects that usually fight their asses off. They're hungry trying to move up the ladder in their respective weight classes.
One of the main things I should tell you about Bellator if you've never seen it is that they do everything in multi night tournament format. In their first season last year (shows 1-12) they held tournaments in the four weight classes I mentioned above and crowned their first champions, Joe Soto at Featherweight, Eddie Alvarez at Lightweight, Lyman Good at Welterweight and Hector Lombard at Middleweight. For the second season there is tournaments at all four of those weight classes with the tournament winners getting title shots at the end of the season.
There are three highlighted matchups at Bellator 18 including the Featherweight tournament semi finals and a Middleweight non-title fight.
Featherweight Semi Final #1
Patricio Freire vs Wilson Reis
Patricio "Pitbull" Freire formerly trained at Chute Boxe in Brazil and currently trains with Team Nogueira. He has an unbeaten record of 13-0 including a very impressive win via heel hook in the Quarterfinals vs William Romero at Bellator 15. Being a Team Nogueira fighter it's not surprising that Freire has fantastic jiu-jitsu. Besides that he's also very rounded with 4 TKO's to his credit. Freire loves to scramble and I can't see this guy ever being in a boring fight.
Wilson Reis comes in with a 10-1 record with his only loss being to Joe Soto in last year's Bellator Fighting Championships Featherweight tournament. He's also very well rounded and is a physical beast that loves to push a fast pace. He's also got credentials having fought several times for EliteXC and was actually their Featherweight Champion (140 lbs in EliteXC) and he has a win over King of the Cage Bantamweight Champion Abel Cullum. His victory over IFL veteran Shad Lierley in the Quarterfinals at Bellator 14 was a great fight and one of my favorites of the 2nd season so far. Reis is one of those guys that I think never has a boring fight.
I am really looking forward to this fight I think it's going to be awesome. It's a tough one to call but i'm giving a slight edge to Freire and i'm going to pick him to win by submission in round 3. This one should be a fast paced exciting jiu-jitsu clinic that no MMA fan should miss.
Featherweight Semi Final #2
Joe Warren vs Georgi Karakhanyan
Joe Warren is a STRONG wrestler that trains with Team Quest. He made his MMA debut last year in DREAM's featherweight tournament and shocked the MMA world beating Kid Yamamoto (who at the time was considered one of the best) and former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe in his first two fights. He lost by a quick submission in the finals against Bibiano Fernandes but made a huge statement last year with his big wins. Joe is still very new to MMA and is not a very skilled striker nor is his submission defence up to the level it should be. But he's a great athlete with the potential to eventually capture a major title.
Georgi Karakhanyan is a very skilled grappler that trains at Millennia MMA in California and brings in a 13-1-1 record including a great win in the Quarterfinals against tough veteran Bao Quach. He KO'd Quach with a brutal knee but is mostly known for his submissions. Admittedly the Quach was the first and only time i've seen Georgi fight so I don't have as much to say about him but I was very impressed with that win. His submission skills pose an interesting threat to Joe Warren and it should be an interesting fight.
Joe Warren is definitely an impressive prospect but he's got a long way to go before he consistently wins over top level competition. I believe Georgi gets a submission on him in the 2nd round and moves on to the finals.
Middleweight Non-Title Fight
Hector Lombard (Bellator Middleweight Champion) vs Jay Silva
Hector Lombard is a veteran fighter with a record of 24-2-1 and he's a heavy hitter with great judo skills. Lombard's only two losses were fighting for PRIDE against Akihiro Gono and Gegard Mousasi. He's coming in with a 13 fight winning streak and I think he's going to have a huge strength advantage on Jay Silva.
Jay Silva has a 5-3 record and is coming off two losses in the UFC to Chris Leben and CB Dolloway. He also took this fight on a couple day's notice replacing the ever unreliable Paulo Filho. I think Silva is a decent prospect with good striking skills but I think taking this fight on short notice might be a bad move on his part.
Hector Lombard's big fight experience, strength advantage, and his great top game combined with Silva taking this fight on a few day's notice is a recipe for disaster for Jay Silva. Lombard in my opinion will win in the first round via TKO ground and pound.
Bellator 18 preview
