Bellator 102 Predictions

                                                       

Bellator 102 Predictions

October 1, 2013

By Ryan Porzl

Brennan Ward vs. Joe Pacheco

Nickname:                                    The Irish Bad Boy |   The Juggernaut

Height:                                                        5'11        |        5'10

Age:                                                              25          |         28

MMA Record (Bellator Rec):               7-1 (3-1)    |      6-0 (2-0)

Arm Length:                                                 71 in.     |      Unknown

Team:                                          Whaling City Boxing | Renegede Fighting Systems

Weight Class:                                           Middleweight (185 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Nine Middleweight Tournament Semifinals. Pacheco is replacing Perry Filkins.

Preview: Ward is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Justin Torrey by TKO at Bellator 98 (September 7, 2013). Pacheco is undefeated with six wins. His recent win was over Pierry Pierre by submission at Bellator 93 (March 21, 2013).

Predictions: Ward. Ward is the more well-rounded of the two. He showed in the Justin Torrey fight that he can be vicious when he's striking as he left Torrey a bloody mess, On the ground, Ward is a former NCAA Division III wrestler so he's no slouch on the ground. While he did suffer a quick submission loss, that was more of him getting caught and he'll probably try to make sure that doesn't happen again. Pacheco is good with submissions but doesn't have much power and Ward can probably keep the fighting standing.

Mikkel Parlo vs. Jason Butcher

Nickname:                                             None         |         None

Height:                                                    5'10          |           6'3

Age:                                                          23           |            28

MMA Record (Bellator Rec):           10-1 (2-1)    |       7-0 (4-0)

Arm Length:                                            69 in.        |          74 in.

Team:                                              Xtreme Couture | Team Jorge Gurgel

Weight Class:                                       Middleweight (185 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Nine Middleweight Tournament Semifinals

Preview: Parlo is coming off a win over Brian Rogers by unanimous decision at Bellator 98 (September 7, 2013). Butcher is undefeated with seven wins. His recent win was over Giva Santana by TKO at Bellator 98 (September 7, 2013).

Predictions: Butcher. Butcher has very good brazilian jiu-jitsu and should be able to submit Parlo if he can get him to the ground. Even if he knocked out an aging Giva Santana, Butcher has shown his has knockout power as well and is not helpless standing up. It's also possible for him to strike and maybe throw Parlo off his game. It happened when Parlo fought Sultan Aliev and it seemed like he wasn't able to get into his groove. While Aliev is more comfortable standing up, Butcher can still throw Parlo off his game if he tries to mix his striking and BJJ.

Vinicius Queiroz vs. Lavar Johnson

Nickname:                                          Spartan          |            Big

Height:                                                    6'7             |            6'4

Age:                                                         30              |            36

MMA Record (Bellator Rec):           6-3 (1-1)       |       17-7 (0-0)

Arm Length:                                          79.5 in.        |            81 in.

Team:                                              Team Nogueira   |       Pro Buhave

Weight Class:                                        Heavyweight (265 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Nine Heavyweight Tournament Semifinals. Johnson's Bellator debut.

Preview: Queiroz is coming off a loss to Alexander Volkov by TKO at Bellator 80 (November 9, 2012). Johnson is riding a two fight losing streak. His recent loss was to Brendan Schaub by unanimous decision at UFC 157 (February 23, 2013).

Predictions: Queiroz. Lavar Johnson's strenghs and weaknesses are well documented. He's a striker, he can knock just about anyone out, and usually gives highlight reels. However, as great of a striker Johnson is, he is atrocious on the ground. This guy's ground skills are absolutely pathetic. He's very prone to be taken down and is lost as he doesn't seem like he knows how to get back up or even neutralize his opponent long enough for the ref to stand them up. Queiroz isn't known for his ground game but it may not matter as it doesn't require much skill on the ground to take Johnson down and do whatever. Queiroz has shown skills on the ground as he got clipped by Mark Holata last year and was still able to catch Holata with an armbar while Holata was on his guard. If Johnson knocks Queiroz down and doesn't finish, he can still catch Johnson with a submission. Even though Johnson is dangerous standing, Queiroz still can hit hard and won most of his fights by knockout.

Rafael Silva vs. Anthony Leone

Nickname:                                          Morcego     |            None

Height:                                                    5'7          |              5'6

Age:                                                         28           |              26

MMA Record (Bellator Rec):          20-3 (1-0)   |         13-4 (3-2)

Arm Length:                                       Unknown     |         Unknown

Team:                                  Renovacao Fight Team |   Team Bombsquad

Weight Class:                                    Bantamweight (135 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Summer Series Bantamweight Tournament Finals

Preview: Silva is riding a twelve fight win streak. His recent win was over Rodrigo Lima by submission at Bellator 97 (July 31, 2013). Leone is riding a four fight win streak. His recent win was over Frank Baca by submission at Bellator 97 (July 31, 2013).

Predictions: Silva. Silva is the more well-rounded of the two. He got over nine wins by submission and eight by knockout so he will be more comfortable no matter where the fight goes. On the other hand, Leone has never won a fight by knockout and is probably not that comfortable standing up. At the same time, he hasn't looked the best since returning to Bellator last year. Though he won his last three fights in the promotion, his first two were by very close split decisions. From the looks of it, Silva can likely sprawl and brawl if he wants to.

Mark Godbeer vs. Cheick Kongo

Nickname:                                      The Hand Of     |          Kongo (Kongo's real last name is Ouedraogo)

Height:                                                  6'4              |              6'4

Age:                                                       29               |              38

MMA Record (Bellator Rec):          8-1 (0-0)       |        18-8-2 (0-0)

Arm Length:                                      Unknown        |             82 in.

Team:                                          Trojan Freefighters | Wolfslair MMA Academy

Weight Class:                                         Heavyweight (265 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Nine Heavyweight Tournament Semifinals. Godbeer and Kongo's Bellator debut.

Preview: Godbeer is coming off a win over Catalin Zmarandescu by TKO at BAMMA 9 (March 24, 2012). Kongo is coming off a loss to Roy Nelson by TKO at UFC 159 (April 27, 2013).

Predictions: Kongo. I'll admit, I don't know too much about Mark Godbeer but he still comes off as a good stylistic opponent for Kongo. He prefers to stand and knock people out which Kongo prefers to do too. Kongo's the better stand up guy having competed in kickboxing and savate. Kongo's defense skills on the ground aren't good but it doesn't matter as Godbeer likely doesn't have the ground game to exploit it. Kongo is also good in the clinch and offensively on the ground with ground and pound. Kongo also has long arms and knows how to use his jab and reach effectively.