Bellator's first pay-per-view event will be held at the Southaven Landers Center in Mississippi, USA, on Saturday night and early Sunday Sunday 18/05. Naturally, in order to attract people who will buy the television broadcast of the games, it will have almost all the stars of the event. In the main event, Quinton Jackson (34-11) and Muhammed Lawal (12-3) will clash for the final of the Light Heavyweight tournament, in the final of the Heavyweight tournament we will see Blagoi Ivanov (11-0) and Alexander Volkov (21 -4). Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Alexander Shlemenko (50-7) will face Tito Ortiz (16-11-1) in a Non-title Match. In contrast, Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez (25-3) was removed from the program at the last minute due to injury, so his original opponent, Michael Chandler (12-1), will face Will Brooks (13-1) for the Interim Bellator Lightweight Championship. Apart from these we will see other very interesting fighters such as the new undefeated talent Michael Page who impresses in every appearance and the former ufc fighter Cheick Kongo. In order the program is:
PPV Main Event:
205 lbs .: Rampage vs. Jackson King Mo (Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament Final)
PPV Main Card:
155 lbs .: Michael Chandler Will Brooks for interim lightweight title (Eddie Alvarez injured)
205 lbs .: Alexander Shlemenko These Ortiz
265 lbs .: Blagoi Ivanov Alexander Volkov (Bellator Heavyweight Tournament Final)
170 lbs .: Rickey Rainey vs. Michael Page
Spike TV Prelims:
265 lbs .: Cheick Kongo vs. Eric Smith
145 lbs .: Fabricio Guerreiro Shahbulat Shamhalaev
158 lbs.: Nate Jolly vs. Marcin Held (catchweight)
145 lbs .: Goiti Yamauchi Mike Richman
Spike.com Prelims:
155 lbs .: Austin Lyons vs. Zach Underwood
265 lbs .: Justin Frazier Mike Wessel
170 lbs.: Ben Brewer vs. Andy Uhrich
170 lbs .: Anthony Lemon Codie Shuffield
135 lbs .: Brian Hall vs. Cortez Phelia
We will, of course, analyze as always all the matches, with the latest news and weighing.
Rampage Jackson vs. King Mo
As I mentioned again, Rampage Jackson stated that he entered the Bellator just to hit King Mo. He claims that he received derogatory comments without ever having met and now wants to punish him. Between us all this has to do with the so-called "wolf tickets". Words of the air with the sole purpose of attracting the attention and interest of the spectators. We all more or less hide a Tatiana inside us and fighters and organizers have learned this very well. In battle, if Jackson manages to keep the fight upright, he has a good chance of knocking out Mo with his strong fists. Mo, for his part as a great wrestler he is, will try to drag him to the ground to unleash his ruthless ground and pound.
Vs. Michael Chandler Will Brooks
Chandler was the favorite in the canceled match with champion Eddie Alvarez. Rare case to see a claimant favorite against a champion but not unjustly. In their first battle he defeated him in the 4th round with Rear-Naked Choke and in the second he lost marginally with a split decision in a very ambiguous battle. He is a good wrestler but he stands out for his strong fists and he is completed by the very good bjj. Brooks has lost a fight by knockout, he is in danger of being knocked out even more now with the logic that he has never faced such strong punches again. He does not stand out for anything, nor does he follow any special tactics. But what he likes is that you improve and in every battle he seems to be the strongest fighter. It is very likely that he will put Chandler on the ground simply, with purely muscular strength. What is certain is that in this fight he will find it difficult to show his muscular superiority because they are both good wrestlers. If the match ends early, I see Chandler as the winner, but if they go to the judges, Brooks predicts that he is more likely to earn points with takedowns. They feel wronged by this fight because they should face the champion, but it is that it is fairer at the moment.
Alexander Shlemenko vs. These Ortiz
Ortiz is essentially a small but integral part of ufc history. He was champion for many years but his fights with ufc president Dana White took him out of even the statistical histories of the event. However, he believes that he can still make money from races and the president of Bellator, taking advantage of his name and history, can give it to him. Competitively, if we did not know him for a long time, there is no way we can give him a direct title claim, as he is 39 years old, has played for almost two years, won only one race in the last eight years, often suffers from injuries and will face a fighter for ten years. younger with a series of thirteen victories. Shlemenko, although relatively young, has competed in many races. But whenever he faced ufc level fighters like Hector Lombard and Ronaldo Souza he lost. He is in much better physical condition and you expect him to win easily.
Blagoi Ivanov vs. Alexander Volkov
Although we won the last bet with Ivanov, he still did not look as impressive as he did before his serious injury. Fortunately for him, if he performs mediocre once again, he will have a hard time but he will win. He is a little better than Volkov in all areas and the victory clearly depends on him. Volkov can only win if he goes through two laps unscathed and takes advantage of the fatigue that Ivanov shows in the last laps.
Rickey Rainey vs. Michael Page
If you have not seen Michael Page fighting, put his name on youtube now and enjoy him. He has only 5 fights in mixed martial arts but they look like 50 on the screen. It makes sense since he has won over 10 world kick boxing championships. His whole family is involved in martial arts and you train from a very young age. Rainey is a mediocre fighter but has a lot of experience. If he finds the opponent rocking carelessly with his hands down as usual, I would not be surprised by a knockout victory. Logic, however, says Michael Page with a knockout, I would only be surprised if the battle is decided by the judges.
Cheick Kongo vs. Eric Smith
Kongo is known by the ufc and experienced fighter. He is a logical favorite but I do not know his opponent well because he did not give a major fight.
Fabricio Guerreiro vs. Fabricio Guerreiro Shahbulat Shamhalaev
Ο Shamhalaev is a Russian fighter with very good Muay Thai. THE Guerreiro is good at bjj. Where the fight goes, he will be the one with the most experience.
Vs. Goiti Yamauchi Mike Richman
The favorite in this fight is Richman, as he is by far the best in the standing battle. If the race goes on the ground, his plans will become a bit complicated and tedious, because only there is Yamauchi good, but I think it is very difficult to lead the race there.
