Bellator 127 Predictions

Bellator 127 Predictions

October 2, 2014

By Ryan Porzl

Kendall Grove vs. Christian M'Pumbu

Nickname:                                  Da Spyder       |            Tonton

Height:                                            6'6               |                6'3

Age:                                                 31                |                37

MMA Record (BMMA):      20-14, 1NC (1-1) |         18-6-1 (3-3)

Arm Length:                                 80 in.            |              78 in.

Team:                                        Alliance MMA |     Yogaka Fight Team

Weight Class:                                 Middleweight (185 pounds)

Notes:

Preview: Grove is coming off a loss to Brett Cooper by KO at Bellator 114 (March 28, 2014). M'Pumbu is riding a three fight losing streak. His recent loss was to Quinton Jackson by KO at Bellator 110 (February 28, 2014).

Prediction: M'Pumbu. Grove hasn't looked impressive in his Bellator run. His fight with Joe Vedepo wasn't good and he couldn't finish him. His fight with Brett Cooper saw him have a very good first round and then he got knocked out in round two by a guy who given away a lot of size and a lot of reach. Grove's chin isn't that good either six out of fourteen losses coming by way for knockout. M'Pumbu has some things going for him. He's well-rounded with a near even amount of knockout and submission wins. He's a southpaw which could give problems to Grove. He's given away size and reach but not much. Grove has lost to fighters who were much smaller or had a much shorter reach. One thing that will also help M'Pumbu is the fact for the first time in years, he will not be going into a fight after a long layoff. When he fought Rampage, he hadn't fought in a year. When he lost to Vegh, he hadn't fought in sixteen months. Finally, M'Pumbu is making the drop to Middleweight which should help him as Grove is the type of fighter he should be fighting while his previous opponents were much bigger and stronger.

Rafael Silva vs. Rob Emerson

Nickname:                                         Morcego      |       The Saint

Height:                                                   5'7            |           5'9

Age:                                                         29           |            31

MMA Record (BMMA):                 21-4 (2-1)     |    17-10, 1NC (2-0)

Arm Length:                                        65 in.         |          71 in.

Team:                               Renovacao Fight Team |     Team Oyama

Weight Class:                                  Bantamweight (135 pounds)

Notes:

Preview: Silva is coming off a loss to Joe Warren by unanimous decision at Bellator 118 (May 2, 2014). Emerson is riding a five fight win streak. His recent win was over Joe Taimanglo by unanimous decision at Bellator 116 (April 11, 2014).

Prediction: Silva. Silva is giving away a lot of reach and some size but he could still pull it off. He's a very good grappler who can submit opponents and grind them out to decisions. As a striker, Silva has a capoeria background which should allow him to bring something different to the fight and he has a lot of power. He also is a very well-rounded fighter with a near even amount of knockout and submission wins. He's got good accuracy with leg strikes and ground strikes. Stat wise, Emerson has not looked good offensively. His standup striking and ground strikes are not good. If his striking accuracy isn't good then his reach advantage won't mean much.

Fernando Gonzalez vs. Karo Parisyan

Nickname:                              The Menifee Maniac   |      The Heat

Height:                                                 5'9                  |          5'10

Age:                                                      31                   |           32

MMA Record (BMMA):              21-13 (1-0)          |   24-10, 1NC (2-1)

Arm Length:                                      68 in.               |         75.5 in.

Team:                                           Next Generation     |   Team Hayastan

Weight Class:                                  Welterweight (170 pounds)

Notes: Gonzalez is replacing Marius Zaromskis

Preview: Gonzalez is coming off a win over Karl Amoussou by unanimous decision at Bellator 122 (July 25, 2014). Parisyan is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Phil Baroni by TKO at Bellator 122 (July 25, 2014).

Prediction: Parisyan. For one thing, Gonzalez is taking this fight on short notice so it's unknown how prepared he is. Parisyan also seems like he's out of his slump. He's looked good in his recent fights. His striking has gotten better and he's shown knockout power. He's always been a great grappler with great judo. Gonzalez has lost five times by submission which could be important since Parisyan has won twelve fights by submission. If Parisyan can get this fight to the ground then there's a good possibility he could get the submission. While Gonzalez hasn't been submitted in years, he has shown to get his back taken multiple times as most of his submission losses have come via rear-naked choke.

Daniel Straus vs. Justin Wilcox

Nickname:                                            None          |   The Silverback

Height:                                                   5'11          |           5'6

Age:                                                         30            |           35

MMA Record (BMMA):                  22-5 (8-2)     |     14-6-1 (2-1)

Arm Length:                                         67 in.        |         65 in.

Team:                                    American Top Team | American Kickboxing Academy

Weight Class:                                    Featherweight (145 pounds)

Notes:

Preview: Straus is coming off a loss to Pat Curran by submission at Bellator 112 (March 14, 2014). Wilcox is coming off a loss to Jason Fischer by unanimous decision at Bellator 128 (March 28, 2014).

Prediction: Straus. Straus is probably a better version of Wilcox. He's bigger, stronger, a better wrestler, is younger, and has a longer reach. I don't see where Wilcox has the advantage. Straus should be the better striker with a two inch reach advantage. Wilcox is a good wrestler but Straus is a great wrestler and much bigger so he should have an easier time on the ground. Straus is also a very good grinder so he should be able to control Wilcox for three rounds.