Another Thursday means another Bellator Fighting Championships card to look forward to. This week features the Middleweight tournament semi-finals as well as a special attraction Heavyweight bout.
Heavyweight Special Bout
Eddie Sanchez 11-3 vs Wayne Cole 15-13
Sanchez has been looking much improved since being dropped by the UFC in 2008 after a 3-3 run. He's won three straight fights since then nothing very high profile but i'm sure this is mainly a fight booked to get Eddie Sanchez's face in front of the Bellator fans before they start their heavyweight tournament. Wayne Cole is a veteran of the IFL, Strikeforce and Elite XC. His biggest win was a submission over Mike Kyle in March 2008 on the Strikeforce Shamrock vs Le card. He has one fight in Bellator to his credit a submission loss to UFC vet Carmelo Marrero.
Prediction - Eddie Sanchez by TKO round 2, Cole hasn't looked very good at all lately I don't think he has much for Sanchez.
Middleweight Semi Final #1
Bryan Baker 12-1 vs Eric Schambari 12-1
Baker and Schambari were both competitors in the WEC's Middleweight division before it was dissolved. They actually fought each other at WEC 31 in 2007 with Baker winning via split decision. Baker then lost his next fight to UFC Middleweight #1 contender Chael Sonnen and then won his next 8 fights including his quarterfinal against Sean Loeffler. Schambari has won five straight since losing to Baker including a win over TUF 7 competitor Luke Zachrich. Schambari I believe has better jiu-jitsu but I think Baker has a significant advantage with his wrestling and standup.
Prediction - Bryan Baker by TKO in Round 2, Ground and pound. Baker looked ferocious against Loeffler and I think he'll do much the same to Schambari.
Middleweight Semi Final #2
Alexander Shlemenko 28-4 vs Jared Hess 11-1-1
Alexander Shlemenko is a unique type of striker that likes to throw a lot of spinning kicks, elbows and punches. He has a lot of experience having competed in M-1, Elite XC, and Bodog Fight. Jared Hess is a strong wrestler with heavy hands and was undefeated until losing to Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard in the finals of the tournament last year. I haven't seen much of Shlemenko but from what i've seen he doesn't exactly look a ground specialist. If Hess gets him to the ground he might be in big trouble.
Prediction - Jared Hess TKO round 1 - Ground and pound for sure. Shlemenko's wild strikes while exciting leave him wide open to takedowns. Hess I believe has a much more solid all around game and will dominate this fight once he gets it to the ground. Hector Lombard predicted that Hess will win the tournament this year and set up the rematch. He might not be wrong about that.
Bellator 20 preview and predictions
