Bellator 104 Predictions

                                               

Bellator 104 Predictions

October 11, 2013

By Ryan Porzl

Kendall Grove vs. Joe Vedepo

Nickname:                                           Da Spyder      |    The Doctor

Height:                                                      6'6            |         6'0

Age:                                                           30             |     Unknown

MMA Record (Bellator Rec):     18-13, 1NC (0-0) |    14-6 (1-1)

Arm Length:                                             80 in.         |     Unknown

Team:                              Straight Rootless Fight Team | American Top Team

Weight Class:                                       Middleweight (185 pounds)

Notes: Grove's Bellator debut

Preview: Grove is coming off a win over Danny Mitchell by TKO at GWC – The British Invasion: U.S. vs. U.K. (June 29, 2013). Vedepo is coming off a loss to Louis Taylor by KO at Bellator 82 (December 14, 2012).

Predictions: Grove. I'm not sure about this one. In most cases, the fight seems winnable for Grove but you never know. To be honest, Grove's signing is a puzzling one as he doesn't stand out in anyway, isn't a great fighter, and just snapped a three fight losing streak. But the fight looks to be winnable as Grove is a huge middleweight with a ridiculous reach. In the past year, Vedepo has been finished by both knockout and submission so Grove could potentially finish the fight in more ways than one. Vedepo is has also not fought in ten months and I'm not even sure if he's still training at ATT and if not, I don't know where he's preparing for this fight.

Eric Prindle vs. Peter Graham

Nickname:                           The American Soldier |      The Chief

Height:                                                   6'5           |           6'2

Age:                                                        37           |            38

MMA Record (Bellator Rec): 8-3, 1NC (3-2, 1NC) | 8-5 (0-0)

Arm Length:                                          79 in.        |      Unknown

Team:                                                 Unknown     |     Boxing Works

Weight Class:                                      Heavyweight (265 pounds)

Notes: Graham's Bellator debut.

Preview: Prindle is coming off a win over Vince Lucero by TKO at IMMA – Imperio MMA (June 15, 2013). Graham is riding a seven fight win streak. His recent win was over Salimgirey Rasulov by TKO at Global Fight Club – GFC Challenge (June 2, 2013).

Predictions: Graham. Both guys are mostly strikers and if this is a striking battle than Graham will win. Graham is a better striker, he has competed in boxing, he's been successful in kickboxing especially K-1, and he's got a good chin. Graham has also had no problem striking with guys like Alexander Emelianenko and two time K-1 Tournament winner Konstantin Gluhov. Prindle can try to take it to the ground but Graham has improved his skills over the years. In fact, Alexander Emelianenko couldn't do anything on the ground despite being decorated in sambo. Prindle's ground game isn't excellent either as he's more of a striker. Finally, I personally don't even know where Prindle is training at. Prindle trained with DeathClutch last year but that gym has since shut down and I don't know what's he doing to prepare for this fight.

War Machine vs. Ron Keslar

Nickname:                                             None           |        None

Height:                                                    5'11            |         6'0

Age:                                                          31             |     Unknown

MMA Record (Bellator Rec):           14-4 (2-0)      |    10-3 (1-0)

Arm Length:                                           72 in.          |      Unknown

Team:                                             Team Undisputed | American Kickboxing Academy

Weight Class:                                        Welterweight (170 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Nine Welterweight Tournament Semifinals

Preview: Machine is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Vaughn Anderson at submission at Bellator 100 (September 20, 2013). Keslar is riding a five fight win streak. His recent win was over Luis Melo by split decision at Bellator 100 (September 20, 2013).

Predictions: Machine. Machine is the more well-rounded fighter as he has knockout power and can strike as well as having a black belt in jiu-jitsu which he showed against Anderson. Keslar is mostly a one-dimentional grappler, he's not a striker, and doesn't have knockout power. Keslar's win over Luis Melo wasn't really him looking good as it was more Melo looking bad. The fight was Melo getting taking down and his back being taken all the while he made no attempt to escape or even neutralize Keslar as he decided to fight off his back or shrugging and failing to convince the referee to stand them up. That won't happen as Machine is too smart for that. Machine has never been knocked out and he likely won't against Keslar and while he has lost three times by submission, Keslar hasn't won a fight by submission in nearly three years.

Brent Weedman vs. Rick Hawn

Nickname:                                             None              |     Genghis

Height:                                                    6'0                 |        5'9

Age:                                                         29                 |         37

MMA Record (Bellator Rec):         22-8-1 (8-3)       |    16-2 (8-2)

Arm Length:                                       Unknown           |     Unknown

Team:                                                Team Haycraft     |    Tristar Gym

Weight Class:                                      Welterweight (170 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Nine Welterweight Tournament Semifinals. Rematch from Bellator 70 (May 25, 2012).

Preview: Weedman is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Justin Baesman by submission at Bellator 100 (September 20, 2013). Hawn is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Herman Terrado by unanimous decision at Bellator 100 (September 20, 2013).

Predictions: Hawn. For starters, Hawn defeated Weedman in the previous encounter so it's hard to go against him. Second, Hawn is a very good fighter and world class athlete. Weedman is a well-rounded guy but Hawn could be better everywhere. Hawn has over ten wins by knockout and thus hits very hard all the while, he's never been knocked out in his career to date. His ground game is excellent as he's a former Olympian in judo and has a brown belt in jiu-jitsu. While Hawn suffered the first submission loss earlier this year, it was to Michael Chandler who has been a beast. Chandler is likely better on the ground since he is a former NCAA All-American in wrestling.