Bellator 107 Predictions

                                                 

Bellator 107 Predictions

November 6, 2013

By Ryan Porzl

Martin Stapleton vs. Derek Campos

Nickname:                                           .50 Cal          |       The Stallion

Height:                                                    5'9              |            5'9

Age:                                                         30              |             25

MMA Record (BMMA):                  12-2 (0-1)      |       12-3 (1-1)

Arm Length:                                        Unknown       |         Unknown

Team:                                              Team Quannum  |         Unknown

Weight Class:                                         Lightweight (155 pounds)

Notes:

Preview: Stapleton is coming off a loss to Saad Awad by submission at Bellator 101 (September 27, 2013). Campos is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Brandon Girtz at Bellator 96 (June 19, 2013).

Predictions: Stapleton. I'll admit, I don't know much about these two. Both seem well-rounded as they won an even amount of fights by knockout, submission, and decision. This one is more of a guess than anything. While Stapleton has lost fights by submission, I'm not sure if Campos is as good as Paul Sass and Saad Awad.

Mikkel Parlo vs. Brennan Ward

Nickname:                                              None       |   The Irish Bad Boy

Height:                                                     5'10        |           5'11

Age:                                                            23        |             25

MMA Record (BMMA):                   11-1 (3-1)  |         8-1 (4-1)

Arm Length:                                            69 in.      |           71 in.

Team:                                            Xtreme Couture | Whaling City Boxing

Weight Class:                                        Middleweight (185 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Nine Middleweight Tournament Final

Preview: Parlo is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Jason Butcher by unanimous decision at Bellator 102 (October 4, 2013). Ward is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Joe Pacheco by submission at Bellator 102 (October 4, 2013).

Predictions: Parlo. Parlo has proven to be a good fighter throughout this tournament. He showed he can strike as he stood with a knockout artist like Brian Rogers and showed takedown defense by preventing Jason Butcher from taking him down. Parlo is also the hardest opponent by far that Ward has had to fight in this tournament as Justin Torrey was coming off a three year layoff and Joe Pacheco was a replacement to Perry Filkins. Parlo has also shown to have good Fighter IQ as he wasn't interested in Butcher's antics to get the fight to the ground and can follow a gameplan.

Travis Marx vs. Joe Warren

Nickname:                                             T-Train       |   The Baddest Man on the Planet

Height:                                                      5'6           |        5'5

Age:                                                           36           |         37

MMA Record (BMMA):             21-4, 1NC (3-1) |    9-3 (7-2)

Arm Length:                                            65 in.         |       69 in.

Team:                                              Jackson's MMA |   Rhyno Sports

Weight Class:                                      Bantamweight (135 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Nine Bantamweight Tournament Finals

Preview: Marx is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Brandon Bender by TKO at Bellator 100 (September 20, 2013). Warren is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Nick Kirk by submission at Bellator 101 (September 27, 2013).

Predictions: Marx. Warren is a great wrestler but Marx shouldn't be afraid to go to the ground since he's won most of his fights by submission. Marx is also no stranger to fighting good wrestlers as he defeated Masakatsu Ueda years ago. While Warren is a better wrestler, Ueda is a big bantamweight and has a grinding style. He also showed in his recent fight against Brandon Bender that he has knockout power which could be bad for Warren. Warren has suffered some bad knockouts in the past including his infamous beating at the hands of Pat Curran. There's also been rumors that Warren got knocked out while sparring which prevented him from fighting at Bellator 98 back on September 7^th. You have to question someone's chin if they're getting knocked out in sparring.

Cheick Ouedraogo vs. Peter Graham

Nickname:                                          Kongo              |       The Chief

Height:                                                  6'4                  |           6'2

Age:                                                       38                  |            38

MMA Record (BMMA):               19-8-2 (1-0)        |       10-5 (1-0)

Arm Length:                                        82 in.                |          73 in.

Team:                                             Wolfslair MMA      |    Boxing Works

Weight Class:                                        Heavyweight (265 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Nine Heavyweight Tournament Finals

Preview: Kongo is coming off a win over Mark Godbeer by TKO at Bellator 102 (October 4, 2013). Graham is riding an nine fight win streak. His recent win was over Eric Prindle by unanimous decision at Bellator 104 (October 18, 2013).

Predictions: Graham. This fight has the potential to be like Kongo's previous fights with Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson. While Kongo is known for striking, he likes to wear down opponents by clinching them to the cage and working them over or take them down and ground n' pound them. The problem is that Graham has worked on his ground game for a long time. Eric Prindle is bigger and stronger than Kongo and he couldn't do much to Graham. If Graham can block Kongo's grappling then he'll likely win as he's a better striker and probably has a better chin. Graham tired out in his last fight but that was likely a combination of jet lag as he came to the United States three days before the fight and the fact he was fighting Prindle who has never been knocked out. Graham likely made the trip to the United States earlier this time and Kongo doesn't have the chin that Prindle has.