Bellator 122 Predictions

                                

Bellator 122 Predictions

July 17, 2014

By Ryan Porzl

Kelly Anundson vs. Phelipe Lins

Nickname:                                           Crossface        |      Monstro

Height:                                                    5'11              |         6'2

Age:                                                          29               |          28

MMA Record (BMMA):                    7-2 (2-0)        |      9-0 (2-0)

Arm Length:                                            72 in.           |        79 in.

Team:                                          American Top Team |    Nova Uniao

Weight Class:                                   Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Summer Series 2014 Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinals

Preview: Anundson is riding a five fight win streak. His recent win was over Rodney Wallace by unanimous decision at Bellator 121 (June 6, 2014). Lins is undefeated with nine wins. His recent win was over Austin Heidlage by submission at Bellator 121 (June 6, 2014).

Predictions: Lins. Lins is considered one of Bellator's brightest prospects and not just in the Light Heavyweight division. Anundson has shown great wrestling and submission skills but it may be hard for him to use that against Lins. Lins is a big, strong Light Heavyweight so he could be hard for Anundson to control. He's got a very long reach and if he uses it then he should be able to keep Anundson at bay. He's probably one of, if not, the biggest opponent Anundson has faced. He's a good striker with knockout power and he's got very good jiu-jitsu as he's showed in his Bellator run. He specifically has used the rear-naked choke in both of his Bellator appearances and that could help him here since he has long limbs. In his last fight he also showed patience as he took his time sinking the choke in against Heidlage.

Liam McGeary vs. Egidijus Valavicius

Nickname:                                      None             |            None

Height:                                              6'6               |             6'0

Age:                                                   31               |              35

MMA Record (BMMA):            7-0 (4-0)         |        27-10 (2-0)

Arm Length:                                    81 in.            |            75 in.

Team:                                    Team Renzo Gracie |      Flawless MMA

Weight Class:                               Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Summer Series 2014 Light Heavyweight Semifinals

Preview: McGeary is undefeated with seven wins. His recent win was over Mike Mucitelli by KO at Bellator 118 (May 2, 2014). Valavicius is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Carlos Eduardo by split decision at Bellator 121 (June 6, 2014).

Predictions: McGeary. Like Lins, McGeary is another one of Bellator's biggest prospects. To date, McGeary hasn't shown many or any weaknesses yet for Valavicius to exploit as he's never lost nor has been put in a situation where he's been in any danger. The only time he showed weakness was when he lost his first amateur fight by submission but that was six years ago. He's got one punch knockout power. He's able to just swarm in on an opponent and finish them quickly. He has a huge size and reach advantage which should at least frustrate Valavicius. McGeary also has good jiu-jitsu as he trains with Renzo Gracie. He's also a well-rounded fighter with four wins by knockout and three wins by submission. Though all of his Bellator fights haven't gone beyond 91 seconds, McGeary has had long fights as his debut fight went 4:45 into the third round and his third fight went into the second round (though it did end in 41 seconds).

Phil Baroni vs. Karo Parisyan

Nickname:                     The New York Bad Ass |       The Heat

Height:                                                 5'9           |           5'10

Age:                                                      38           |             31

MMA Record (BMMA):            15-17 (0-0)     |   23-10, 1NC (1-1)

Arm Length:                                       72 in.         |         75½ in.

Team:                 American Kickboxing Academy |    Team Hayastan

Weight Class:                                 Welterweight (170 pounds)

Notes: Baroni's Bellator debut

Preview: Baroni is riding a two fight losing streak. His recent loss was to Nobutatsu Suzuki by TKO at ONE FC: Rise to Power (May 31, 2013). Parisyan is coming off a win over Ron Keslar by KO at Bellator 116 (April 11, 2014).

Predictions: Parisyan. Parisyan has had his issues but he should still take this one. Barring Baroni from hitting a great punch or kick quickly, I can't see how Baroni wins. Baroni is 38 years old, hasn't competed in fourteen months, and is falling apart badly. His Bellator debut was delayed by two months because of an injury and prior to that, he lost to Nobutatsu Suzuki when his ankle caved in on him. Baroni has good striking and power but his ground game isn't that great and his cardio is his biggest issue. More times than not, if Baroni can't knock someone out in 120 seconds or less then he'll likely get tired. Parisyan has an excellent ground game and he could submit Baroni if he can get this fight to the ground. Even if he can't submit him, Parisyan could just take him down and grind a decision. As the fight goes on, Baroni won't be able to get up as he'll likely be too tired. Time is on Parisyan's side as his chances for victory increase the longer the fight goes.

Andrey Koreshkov vs. Adam McDonough

Nickname:                                    Spartan               |         Big Gunna

Height:                                             6'0                   |           5'10

Age:                                                  23                   |             28

MMA Record (BMMA):           16-1 (7-1)           |         11-0 (3-0)

Arm Length:                                   74 in.                |            66 in.

Team:                                   RusFighter Sport Club | Get Sum Athletic Compound

Weight Class:                                       Welterweight (170 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season 10 Welterweight Tournamaent Finals

Preview: Koreshkov is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Justin Baesman by KO at Bellator 118 (May 2, 2014). McDonough is undefeated with eleven wins. His recent win was over Nathan Coy by KO at Bellator 116 (April 11, 2014)

Predictions: Koreshkov. McDonough has proven to be a good prospect but his Cinderella story ends here. McDonough is tough but I don't give him much of a chance against Koreshkov. To me, this reminds me of season nine with Justin Wilcox where he got some upset wins and surprised many only to get destroyed in the finals. Koreshkov is a beast in the standup. He's got nasty knockout power and he's a good striker on top of that. Like his mentor Alexander Shlemenko, Koreshkov is also very good at mixing up his attacks as he'll use punches and kicks along with body shots. Koreshkov also has a very good chin as well with his only loss being a TKO after being outwrestled and ground and pounded for three and a half rounds. Koreshkov will also have a huge reach advantage which should allow him to beat McDonough to the punch.

Brett Cooper vs. Brandon Halsey

Nickname:                                       Fudoshin        |           Bull

Height:                                                 6'0             |          5'11

Age:                                                      27             |            27

MMA Record (BMMA):              20-9 (7-3)      |        6-0 (4-0)

Arm Length:                                       72 in.          |          72 in.

Team:                                             Reign MMA    |     HB Ultimate

Weight Class:                                      Middleweight (185 pounds)

Notes: Bellator Season 10 Middleweight Tournament Finals

Preview: Cooper is coming off a win over Kendall Grove by KO at Bellator 114 (March 28, 2014). Halsey is undefeated with six wins. His recent win was over Joe Pacheco at Bellator 116 (April 11, 2014).

Predictions: Cooper. I've learned from watching Cooper that you never count him out. Cooper is mentally tough as he's the kind of fighter that can be down two rounds and still fight to win. He clearly lost the first round to Kendall Grove but bounced back and knocked him out in round two. In the Dan Cramer fight, he lost the first two rounds but came back and knocked Cramer out in the third round. In other words, if Halsey wants to win then he can't take his foot off the gas pedal at any time during this fight. Cooper has knockout power and could knock Halsey out as well. While Halsey is the better wrestler, Cooper trains at Reign MMA with Mark Munoz and the rest of the team so he has good wrestling and should be ready for Halsey. Cooper should also be the toughest fight in Halsey's career but Cooper has faced tougher fighters like Steve Carl, Alexander Shlemenko, Kendall Grove, and Doug Marshall.