Bellator 128 Predictions

                                     

Bellator 128 Predictions

October 9, 2014

By Ryan Porzl

Alexander Sarnavskiy vs. Dakota Cochrane

Nickname:                                        Tiger                  |            None

Height:                                               5'11                   |             5'8

Age:                                                     25                     |             28

MMA Record (BMMA):             28-2 (4-2)              |         17-6 (0-0)

Arm Length:                                     71 in.                 |            72 in.

Team:                                    RusFighters Sport Club | Premier Combat Center

Weight Class:                                       Lightweight (155 pounds)

Notes: Cochrane's Bellator debut. Cochrane is replacing John Gunderson and Derek Campos

Preview: Sarnavskiy is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Drew Brokenshire by submission at Plotforma S-70 5 (August 9, 2014). Cochrane is coming off a loss to Christos Giagos by TKO at RFA 17 (August 22, 2014).

Prediction: Sarnavskiy. For one thing, Cochrane is taking this fight on a weeks notice. There's no way he'll be prepared to face Sarnavskiy and be able to properly cut weight. Sarnavskiy is a very good fighter. He's a good striker and a great grappler. Given he's three inches taller and his grappling skills, he should be able to have no problem controlling Cochrane if this fight goes to the ground. On the ground, Sarnavskiy is mostly very good with taking opponents backs as he's won many fights with the rear naked choke. To make matters worse for Cochrane, most of his losses have come via submission (four out of six). Of those four submission losses, three were from rear naked chokes. Sarnavskiy has also never been finished in his career so Cochrane will have a very hard time getting a win. To date, Sarnavskiy's only notable weakness is with wrestling but Cochrane likely doesn't have the wrestling skills to outgrapple Sarnavskiy.

Bubba McDaniel vs. Emiliano Sordi

Nickname:                                     The Menace       |         He-Man

Height:                                                6'3                 |            6'2

Age:                                                      31                |             23

MMA Record (BMMA):                23-8 (2-0)        |        12-4 (0-0)

Arm Length:                                       75 in.           |         Unknown

Team:                           Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA | Striker House Nova Uniao

Weight Class:                                    Middleweight (185 pounds)

Notes: Sordi's Bellator debut.

Preview: McDaniel is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Ron Fields by submission at ECC: Fireworks (July 26, 2014). Sordi is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Alexandre Oliveira by KO at X-Fight MMA 7 (November 23, 2013).

Prediction: McDaniel. I'll admit, one of the reasons I'm going with McDaniel is because I know nothing about Sordi. I don't know his reach or gym so I don't know who he's sparring with or who his trainers are. McDaniel could also be Sordi's toughest challenge. McDaniel trains at Jackson-Winkeljohn which is a great gym and should have him prepared for this. Both fighters have lost most of their fights by submission but Sordi hasn't won a fight by submission in two years and is more of a striker. While Sordi has won most of his fights by knockout but McDaniel has a good chin so he can survive until he gets the fight to the ground. Sordi has also only went the distance once in his career which was three years ago so his cardio could be affected.

Michael Page vs. Nah-Shon Burrell

Nickname:                                        Venom       |    The Rock n' Rolla

Height:                                                 6'3           |             5'11

Age:                                                       27          |               24

MMA Record (BMMA):                 6-0 (2-0)    |         11-4 (1-1)

Arm Length:                                        77 in.      |             73 in.

Team:                              London Shootfighters |         Fight Firm

Weight Class:                                 Welterweight (170 pounds)

Notes:

Preview: Page is undefeated with six wins. His recent win was over Ricky Rainey by TKO at Bellator 120 (May 17, 2014). Burrell is coming off a loss to Andrey Koreshkov by TKO at Bellator 112 (March 14, 2014).

Prediction: Page. So far in his Bellator run, Page has been extremely impressive and is one of the biggest prospects Bellator has right not. Page has proven to be a very effective striker and is very good at dodging his opponents. With a four inch reach advantage, Page should be able to keep his distance and pick apart Burrell from the outside. Page has also shown to have one punch knockout power and Burrell is capable of getting knocked out as he showed his last fight with Koreshkov. Though mostly a striker, Page has shown grappling abilities in the past and has two wins by submission so he's not helpless on the ground. The fight will also be tough for Burrell because Page has yet to show any weakness for Burrell to exploit.

Eduardo Dantas vs. Joe Warren

Nickname:                                               Dudu          | The Baddest Man On The Planet

Height:                                                      5'10           |         5'6

Age:                                                             25            |         37

MMA Record (BMMA):                     16-3 (6-0)     |     11-3 (9-2)

Arm Length:                                            69 in.         |       69 in.

Team:                                                   Nova Uniao   |    Rino Sports

Weight Class:                                        Bantamweight (135 pounds)

Notes: For the Bellator Bantamweight Championship.

Preview: Dantas is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Anthony Leone by submission at Bellator 111 (March 7, 2014). Warren is riding a four fight win streak. His recent win was over Rafael Silva by unanimous decision at Bellator 118 (May 2, 2014).

Prediction: Warren. This is a tough pick but I'll go with Warren. Dantas is younger and bigger but he has had injuries and is just coming off a concussion. Meanwhile, Warren is a great wrestler and very strong at Bantamweight. If he can get this fight to the ground, he could potentially control the fight and rack up points. Just like Warren's last fight with Silva, he had gone five rounds in a fight while Dantas has not. Warren has showed some improvement in recent fights as he's worked on his striking and has been trying to be more of a MMA fighter. Another thing is Dantas can be wild and go for flying knees. If he tries something like that and it doesn't get the job done then that leaves him open for takedowns.