Bellator 113 Predictions

                                                   

Bellator 113 Predictions

March 19, 2014

By Ryan Porzl

Brandon Girtz vs. Derek Anderson

Nickname:                                            None         |           None

Height:                                                    5'7           |           5'10

Age:                                                         29           |        Unknown

MMA Record (BMMA):                 10-3 (3-1)    |     10-0, 1NC (1-0)

Arm Length:                                          67 in.        |        Unknown

Team:                                  Northway Martial Arts | Team Xplode MMA

Weight Class:                                      Lightweight (155 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Ten Lightweight Tournament quarter-final

Preview: Girtz is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Mike Estus by submission at Bellator 104 (October 18, 2013). Anderson is unbeaten in eleven fights (10 wins, 1 no contest). His recent fight was a win over Patricky Freire by unanimous decision at Bellator 98 (September 7, 2013).

Predictions: Anderson. This one is hard since I'm not familiar with either but Anderson seems to be the best choice. Anderson is undefeated and has victories by knockout and submission. Anderson is also coming off a win over Patricky Freire in a fight that Freire was the likely favorite. Freire is also a former tournament runner up so Anderson should be coming in with confidence having beaten a bellator name. Girtz is also a one-dimensional fighter as he's never won a fight by knockout. This should make him predictable as Anderson should know what he'll do.

Tim Welch vs. Derek Campos

Nickname:                                        Cheapshot   |     The Stallion

Height:                                                  6'0          |          5'9

Age:                                                       23          |          25

MMA Record (BMMA):               10-4 (0-1)   |      13-3 (2-1)

Arm Length:                                     Unknown    |         68 in.

Team:                                               MMA Lab  |     Mohler MMA

Weight Class:                                     Lightweight (155 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Ten Lightweight Tournament quarter-final. Welch is replacing Terry Etim.

Preview: Welch is coming off a win over Eric Regan by submission at 221 Industries – Fight Night (November 15, 2013). Campos is riding a four fight win streak. His recent win was over Martin Stapleman by unanimous decision at Bellator 107 (November 8, 2013).

Predictions: Campos. Campos may have more going into this fight. Both are fighters who have won most of their fights by submission but Welch lost more by submission (2 times while Campos lost once). Campos has also never been knocked out while Welch has been once. Welch is also not used to fights going to Round 3 or even the distance and the two times these two scenarios happened in his career, he lost. Campos was also supposed to fight Terry Etim so he was preparing for arguably a tougher opponent.

Marcin Held vs. Rodrigo Cavalheiro

Nickname:                                        None         |            None

Height:                                               5'9           |              6'0

Age:                                                   22             |              31

MMA Record (BMMA):            16-3 (5-2)     |         14-2 (0-0)

Arm Length:                                   Unknown     |         Unknown

Team:                       Gracie Barra Bastion Tychy |     Noguchi Team

Weight Class:                                    Lightweight (155 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Ten Lightweight Tournament quarter-final. Cavalheiro's Bellator debut.

Preview: Held is coming off a win over Ryan Healy by KO at Bellator 101 (September 27, 2013). Cavalheiro is riding a ten fight win streak. His recent win was over Ramon Almeida by TKO at Samurai FC - Power Fight Extreme 10 (November 30, 2013).

Predictions: Held. Held is a great grappler with medals in submission grappling, brazilian jiu-jitsu, and pankration. He will easily be the superior fighter on the ground. Despite specializing in grappling, Held has improved his striking and shown power which he displayed in his recent fight with Ryan Healy. I don't know much of Cavalheiro but judging from his stats, he's more of a striker since he's won almost all of his fights by knockout. If Held can get this fight to the ground then Cavalheiro will likely be helpless. Held has also never been knocked out in his career to date.

Patricky Freire vs. David Rickels

Nickname:                                            Pitbull          |     The Caveman

Height:                                                    5'7            |          5'10

Age:                                                         28             |          25

MMA Record (BMMA):                 11-5 (4-4)      |      15-2 (9-2)

Arm Length:                                           71 in.         |       Unknown

Team:                                              Team Nogueira  |  Janjira Muay Thai

Weight Class:                                       Lightweight (155 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season Ten Lightweight Tournament Quarter-final.

Preview: Freire is coming off a win over Edson Berto by unanimous decision at Bellator 107 (November 8, 2013). Rickels is coming off a win over JJ Ambrose by TKO at Bellator 103 (October 11, 2013).

Predictions: Rickels. Freire is a talented fighter with skills but he hasn't been able to put it together since his loss to Michael Chandler in the season four tournament finals. Since then, he has lost to a great fighter in Eddie Alvarez but also dropped fights to guys like Lloyd Woodard and Derek Anderson who aren't bad but haven't shown to be elite. Rickels has a lot going for him. He's proven in the Ambrose and Awad fights that he has power and can knock fighters out. At the same time, he has good wrestling and there may be a good chance that he could use it and frustrate Freire if he needs to. Rickels is also the more well-rounded with some recent TKO wins and has won most of his fights by submission while Freire is more of a knockout fighter. Rickels is also a very big lightweight that could potentially overwhelm Freire.

Attila Vegh vs. Emanuel Newton

Nickname:                                        Pumukli      |    The Hardcore Kid

Height:                                                  6'2         |              6'1

Age:                                                       28         |               30

MMA Record (BMMA):             29-4-2 (5-0) |        22-7-1 (5-1)

Arm Length:                                        74 in.       |             75 in.

Team:                                  American Top Team | Reign Training Center

Weight Class:                                 Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)

Notes: For the undisputed Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship

Preview: Vegh is unbeaten in ten fights (9 wins, 1 draw). His recent win was over Christian M'Pumbu by unanimous decision at Bellator 91 (February 28, 2013). Newton is riding a four fight win streak. His recent win was over Muhammed Lawal by unanimous decision at Bellator 106 (November 2, 2013).

Predictions: Newton. Newton may have lost their previous fight but that fight over twenty months ago and some believed Newton should've won. Since that time, Newton has been a roll and come onto his own with impressive wins over King Mo and Mikhail Zayats. Already a very good wrestler, Newton has also become a very good striker and isn't afraid to throw unusual strikes like spinning back fists. Meanwhile, Vegh hasn't fought in thirteen months and has battled injuries which delayed this fight and his previous fight with M'Pumbu. Vegh also didn't show much killer instinct in his fight with M'Pumbu who was coming off a long layoff. If he's gun-shy against a fighter that was out long term than he'll likely fail to pull the trigger since he's coming off a layoff.