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- Jul 8, 2021
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- 26,110
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Vadim Nemkov vs Corey Anderson III – Corey beating Phil Davis likely lines him up for a 'must win' fight, as Nemkov is close to clearing out the whole division. With few new up-and-comers on the scene, Nemkov has kind of completed Bellator. For his sake, a merger with PFL or ONE would be huge.
Yoel Romero vs Grant Neal – If Yoel fights again, Grant Neal would be a stellar opponent. Romero is an extremely tough guy to beat for any up-and-comer, but the fighter that eventually beats him will gain all the recognition in the world – despite Romero's advancing years and general slowness.
Sergio Pettis vs Patchy Mix – The Bellator Bantamweight Champion vs the Bellator Grand Prix winner. It's all set now, with Pettis having a couple of advantages: he beat Juan Archuleta, while Patchy lost to him, and he finished Kyoji Horiguchi, where Patchy went to a decision. That said, there's no denying the lethal run of finishes Patchy has amassed against high level 135ers, so this is going to be FUN!
Patricio Pitbull vs Jeremy Kennedy – Back to 145 for Pitbull to face a fresh opponent in Canadian Jeremy Kennedy. Adam Borics needs a different opponent, IMO, before he gets another title shot as rematches like this just aren't where it's at. Run it, see what happens.
Corey Anderson vs Vadim Nemkov III (see above)
Phil Davis vs Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov – Phil Davis bumps his head yet again on the highest echelons of MMA, sending him to compete (also yet again) against the next tier of fighters. Davis typically wins fights at this level, but the fact both fighters scored their most recent wins against Julius Anglickas (and both lost to Corey Anderson...) at least gives us something to build on in terms of promotion.
Gokhan Saricam vs Tim Johnson – The idea of Saricam as the #4 Bellator heavyweight is not a great look... but credit to the Turkish fighter for continuing his momentum. In a nothing-to-lose piece of matchmaking, give him Tim Johnson next. It's not exactly world-elite heavyweight action, but it at least makes sense from Bellator's perspective.
Daniel James vs Davion Franklin – James had a fun two-fight run in Bellator, but realistically it was likely to come to an end sooner rather than later. Give him up-and-comer Davion Franklin next, as this is the kind of victory that could propel #8 Davion up the rankings – or alternatively, James continues to defy the odds.
Gadzhi Rabadanov vs Archie Colgan - Archie Colgan beating a sliding Sanchez is still very impressive, and I'm delighted to see Bellator giving him a real step up in class. They're already calling him the #10 lightweight in the promotion, so he can't be fighting hopeless guys period. Let's see what happens with a bit of US wrestling pedigree against another vaunted Dagestani proponent, currently ranked #8 and inexplicably fighting promotional newcomers coming in on losing streaks.
Pieter Buist vs Thibault Gouti – Netherlands vs France, ONE Championship veteran vs UFC veteran. Two big record fighters with very similar numerical records, this would be one for the European MMA purist – run that, let's have some fun!
Ramazan Kuramagomedov vs Neiman Gracie – Ramazan looked a phenom tonight KO'ing Jaleel Willis quickly and clinically. Neiman Gracie is the lowest ranked fighter without a fight already booked, and there won't be many wondering if Kuramagomedov might be able to compet with Bellator's #6 welterweight. It looks like he can, and he'll probably even be favourite.
Jaleel Willis vs Chance Rencountre – Two good fighters who have settled in to the top 20 (ish) of Bellator's welterweights whilst also making an impression here and there. Rencountre is a finisher, Willis isn't, but it's an intriguing clash of styles and one that makes sense as a pretty high level Bellator prelim.
Norbert Novenyi vs Jay Jay Wilson – Novenyi is really fun and a proven finisher, a great prospect, cool talent, all the good stuff. Jay Jay Wilson, though, despite being just 9-1 already holds wins over Pedro Carvalho and Vladimir Tokov. He's a tough, tough kid and as good as anyone else outside the Bellator lightweight rankings. Winner of this is right on Archie Colgan's heels.
Kamil Oniszczuk vs Jairo Pacheco – I'll give Kamil another fight despite being 2-0 in Bellator and losing on prelims – and the main reason is to run a fun Polish vs Brazilian fight between two guys who BADLY need their first Bellator win. These throw away fights can sometimes be more entertaining than overthinking a specific fighters progression, so let's go.
Archie Colgan vs Gadzhi Rabadanov (see above)
Emmanuel Sanchez – CUT! 5 defeats in a row, and the defeat to Yancy Medeiros is the real kicker... looks like he's done, as early as 32. Alternatively, if he wants to go away and win some fights, good luck to the man. He was once a huge player in Bellator.
Jordan Newman vs Khadzimurat Bestaev – Bestaev's Russian heritage might put some off giving him to a rookie like Newman, but Newman is now 6-0 and exempt from further babysitter booking. Bestaev has been very average since moving to the States, competing at a mediocre level and and still unable to put a run together. Newman, after 6 pro fights, should be able to beat him at this point, and giving him more 'slow play' fights is too negative. Time for him to overcome some adversity, or alternatively look better than ever by blasting through someone with experience. At 6'6, Bestaev is definitely something different for Newman to tackle.
Cody Law vs Fabacary Diatta – Two fighters who came into Bellator undefeated, but both suffered their first pro defeats in unexpected fashion. Now that the 0's aren't there to over-protect, let's see Law fly out to Paris and fight Diatta. I want to see Bellator in Paris as often as they're in Dublin, to be honest.
Yoel Romero vs Grant Neal – If Yoel fights again, Grant Neal would be a stellar opponent. Romero is an extremely tough guy to beat for any up-and-comer, but the fighter that eventually beats him will gain all the recognition in the world – despite Romero's advancing years and general slowness.
Sergio Pettis vs Patchy Mix – The Bellator Bantamweight Champion vs the Bellator Grand Prix winner. It's all set now, with Pettis having a couple of advantages: he beat Juan Archuleta, while Patchy lost to him, and he finished Kyoji Horiguchi, where Patchy went to a decision. That said, there's no denying the lethal run of finishes Patchy has amassed against high level 135ers, so this is going to be FUN!
Patricio Pitbull vs Jeremy Kennedy – Back to 145 for Pitbull to face a fresh opponent in Canadian Jeremy Kennedy. Adam Borics needs a different opponent, IMO, before he gets another title shot as rematches like this just aren't where it's at. Run it, see what happens.
Corey Anderson vs Vadim Nemkov III (see above)
Phil Davis vs Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov – Phil Davis bumps his head yet again on the highest echelons of MMA, sending him to compete (also yet again) against the next tier of fighters. Davis typically wins fights at this level, but the fact both fighters scored their most recent wins against Julius Anglickas (and both lost to Corey Anderson...) at least gives us something to build on in terms of promotion.
Gokhan Saricam vs Tim Johnson – The idea of Saricam as the #4 Bellator heavyweight is not a great look... but credit to the Turkish fighter for continuing his momentum. In a nothing-to-lose piece of matchmaking, give him Tim Johnson next. It's not exactly world-elite heavyweight action, but it at least makes sense from Bellator's perspective.
Daniel James vs Davion Franklin – James had a fun two-fight run in Bellator, but realistically it was likely to come to an end sooner rather than later. Give him up-and-comer Davion Franklin next, as this is the kind of victory that could propel #8 Davion up the rankings – or alternatively, James continues to defy the odds.
Gadzhi Rabadanov vs Archie Colgan - Archie Colgan beating a sliding Sanchez is still very impressive, and I'm delighted to see Bellator giving him a real step up in class. They're already calling him the #10 lightweight in the promotion, so he can't be fighting hopeless guys period. Let's see what happens with a bit of US wrestling pedigree against another vaunted Dagestani proponent, currently ranked #8 and inexplicably fighting promotional newcomers coming in on losing streaks.
Pieter Buist vs Thibault Gouti – Netherlands vs France, ONE Championship veteran vs UFC veteran. Two big record fighters with very similar numerical records, this would be one for the European MMA purist – run that, let's have some fun!
Ramazan Kuramagomedov vs Neiman Gracie – Ramazan looked a phenom tonight KO'ing Jaleel Willis quickly and clinically. Neiman Gracie is the lowest ranked fighter without a fight already booked, and there won't be many wondering if Kuramagomedov might be able to compet with Bellator's #6 welterweight. It looks like he can, and he'll probably even be favourite.
Jaleel Willis vs Chance Rencountre – Two good fighters who have settled in to the top 20 (ish) of Bellator's welterweights whilst also making an impression here and there. Rencountre is a finisher, Willis isn't, but it's an intriguing clash of styles and one that makes sense as a pretty high level Bellator prelim.
Norbert Novenyi vs Jay Jay Wilson – Novenyi is really fun and a proven finisher, a great prospect, cool talent, all the good stuff. Jay Jay Wilson, though, despite being just 9-1 already holds wins over Pedro Carvalho and Vladimir Tokov. He's a tough, tough kid and as good as anyone else outside the Bellator lightweight rankings. Winner of this is right on Archie Colgan's heels.
Kamil Oniszczuk vs Jairo Pacheco – I'll give Kamil another fight despite being 2-0 in Bellator and losing on prelims – and the main reason is to run a fun Polish vs Brazilian fight between two guys who BADLY need their first Bellator win. These throw away fights can sometimes be more entertaining than overthinking a specific fighters progression, so let's go.
Archie Colgan vs Gadzhi Rabadanov (see above)
Emmanuel Sanchez – CUT! 5 defeats in a row, and the defeat to Yancy Medeiros is the real kicker... looks like he's done, as early as 32. Alternatively, if he wants to go away and win some fights, good luck to the man. He was once a huge player in Bellator.
Jordan Newman vs Khadzimurat Bestaev – Bestaev's Russian heritage might put some off giving him to a rookie like Newman, but Newman is now 6-0 and exempt from further babysitter booking. Bestaev has been very average since moving to the States, competing at a mediocre level and and still unable to put a run together. Newman, after 6 pro fights, should be able to beat him at this point, and giving him more 'slow play' fights is too negative. Time for him to overcome some adversity, or alternatively look better than ever by blasting through someone with experience. At 6'6, Bestaev is definitely something different for Newman to tackle.
Cody Law vs Fabacary Diatta – Two fighters who came into Bellator undefeated, but both suffered their first pro defeats in unexpected fashion. Now that the 0's aren't there to over-protect, let's see Law fly out to Paris and fight Diatta. I want to see Bellator in Paris as often as they're in Dublin, to be honest.
