Bellator 126 Predictions

Bellator 126 Predictions

September 21, 2014

By Ryan Porzl

Mike Richman vs. Ed West

Nickname:                                           The Marine      |      Wild

Height:                                                      5'8               |        5'9

Age:                                                            29               |        30

MMA Record (BMMA):                     16-5 (4-4)        |   18-8 (4-3)

Arm Length:                                           69 in.            |      69 in.

Team:                                                  The Academy   |   Apex MMA

Weight Class:                                     Bantamweight (135 pounds)

Notes:

Preview: Richman is riding a two fight losing streak. His recent loss was to Goiti Yamauchi by unanimous decision at Bellator 120 (May 17, 2014). West is coming off a loss to Antonio Duarte by submission at Mexico Fighter 5 (February 15, 2014).

Prediction: West. In most cases, I would probably go with Richman because he is a well-rounded fighter with good striking and a good ground game. He also has a very good chin and a near even amount of knockout and submission wins. However, this is Richman's first fight at Bantamweight and I'm not sure how it will go. I don't know if he'll make weight and even if he does, I don't know how much that will take from him. I'm not sure how it could affect his cardio. I'm not very familiar with West but he is a bantamweight, he's fought there before, and he should cut weight no problem. To West's defense, he does have skills. He's got a good submission game and is good off his back as he's won fights with triangle chokes and guillotine chokes. Despite his recent submission loss, he is tough to finish as he's only been submitted once and knocked out once with the knock out loss being years ago. He also scored his first knock out win via head kick last year.

Bubba Jenkins vs. Thiago Meller

Nickname:                              The Highlight Kid    |         Minu

Height:                                                  5'8              |          5'10

Age:                                                       26               |           32

MMA Record (BMMA):                 7-1 (4-1)         |     21-5 (0-0)

Arm Length:                                       72 in.           |     Unknown

Team:                                    American Top Team |    Garra Team

Weight Class:                                 Featherweight (145 pounds)

Notes: Meller's Bellator debut. Meller is replacing Alejandro Villalobos.

Preview: Jenkins is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Poppies Martinez by TKO at Bellator 122 (July 25, 2014). Meller is riding a five fight win streak. His recent win was over Clay French by TKO at XFC International 1 (February 8, 2014).

Prediction: Jenkins. Mueller has skills but he's probably never faced a fighter with the wrestling pedigree that Jenkins has. Jenkins is a great athlete and wrestler who should be able to get Meller down and keep him down. He also has good ground n' pound, good power, and his striking has improved. While Mueller is bigger, Jenkins has defeated bigger opponents in his career and was still able to take them down and control them on the ground.

Patricky Freire vs. Marcin Held

Nickname:                                           Pitbull           |        None

Height:                                                   5'7               |         5'9

Age:                                                        28               |          22

MMA Record (BMMA):                13-5 (6-4)         |     19-3 (8-2)

Arm Length:                                       71 in.            |        71 in.

Team:                                             Team Nogueira  |    Bastion Tychy

Weight Class:                                    Lightweight (155 pounds)

Notes: Bellator MMA Season Ten Lightweight Tournament Finals

Preview: Freire is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Derek Campos by TKO at Bellator 117 (April 18, 2014). Held is riding a four fight win streak. His recent win was over Nate Jolly by submission at Bellator 120 (May 17, 2014).

Prediction: Held. Freire has been going through a resurgence lately but Held should take it. For one thing, Freire has shown to be a slow starter in this tournament as he more or less looks gun shy in the first round and then swings for the fences in round two. If he's not aggressive in the first round then that may cost him here as Held will likely not give him a chance to have the same success he had with Rickels and Campos. Held also has a great grappling background and can make things miserable for Freire. While Freire is the better striker, Held has been working on his striking and shown he can hold his own. Freire has a good ground game but highly unlikely that he submits Held. Despite having a lot of power, Freire may also struggle to knock Held out as Held has never been knocked out in his career. Finally, Held is the more consistent fighter and you can expect him to show up mentally. Freire has been up and down in his Bellator career as he came in as a beast then had a period where he was in a slump and now he's back.

Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brandon Halsey

Nickname:                                       Storm                  |            Bull

Height:                                               5'11                   |             6'0

Age:                                                     30                     |             28

MMA Record (BMMA):             50-8 (11-2)            |         7-0 (5-0)

Arm Length:                                    71 in.                  |           72 in.

Team:                                   RusFighters Sport Club | HB Ultimate Training Center

Weight Class:                                    Middleweight (185 pounds)

Notes: For the Bellator Middleweight Championship

Preview: Shlemenko is coming off a loss to Tito Ortiz by technical submission at Bellator 120 (May 17, 2014). Halsey is undefeated with seven wins. His recent win was over Brett Cooper but submission at Bellator 122 (July 25, 2014).

Prediction: Halsey. Halsey presents a lot of problems that Tito was able to give Shlemenko in his last fight. He's bigger, he's strong, and a very good wrestler who can likely take Shlemenko down and do whatever he wants. He controlled Joe Pacheco and Brett Cooper with no problem and both are slightly bigger than Shlemenko. If Halsey can control Cooper with no problem then he shouldn't have a problem then he should control Shlemenko. While Halsey lacks certain things that Ortiz had including experience, a bronze medal in ADCC, and not being as big, he does make up for it by being younger and healthier.