Bellator 129 Predictions

                                       

Bellator 129 Predictions

October 15, 2014

By Ryan Porzl

Joe Vedepo vs. Davin Clark

Nickname:                                        The Doctor    |        None

Height:                                                   6'0            |          6'2

Age:                                                        31             |          31

MMA Record (BMMA):                  16-8 (3-2)     |    5-1-2 (0-0)

Arm Length:                                        74 in.         |     Unknown

Team:                                   American Top Team | American Kickboxing Academy

Weight Class:                                    Middleweight (185 pounds)

Notes: Clark's Bellator debut

Preview: Vedepo is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Cortez Coleman by majority decision at Bellator 121 (June 6, 2014). Clark is riding a two fight win streak. His recent win was over Leroy Fornof by KO at WFF 9 (June 30, 2012).

Prediction: Vedepo. Like some of these fights, I'm not very familiar with these two but I'll take Vedepo. For one thing, Clark hasn't competed in two years so it's unknown how he'll perform. Second of all, he's won two of his fights by knockout but I can't find anything on his reach. Vedepo is the more well-rounded fighter with six wins by knockout and seven by submission. My only concern is Vedepo has been knocked out four times so his chin could be questionable and Clark could knock him out.

James Terry vs. Andre Santos

Nickname:                                          Intensity      |       Chatuba

Height:                                                  5'10           |          5'11

Age:                                                         33            |      Unknown

MMA Record (BMMA):                   14-7 (0-1)    |      36-9 (0-0)

Arm Length:                                        70.5 in.      |      Unknown

Team:                                          Cung Le's MMA | Renovacao Fight Team

Weight Class:                                    Welterweight (170 pounds)

Notes: Santos' Bellator debut

Preview: Terry is coming off a win over Daniel McWilliams by TKO at Battle of the Bay 3 (July 19, 2014). Santos' is riding a five fight win streak. His recent win was over Ramil Mustapayev by KO at Fight Nights – Battle of Moscow 13 (October 26, 2013).

Prediction: Santos. Santos' is coming off a year long layoff but I'll still take him. Terry is mostly a striker with most of his wins coming by knockout and he's never won one by submission. While mostly a grappler, Santos has won a few fight including his recent one by knockout. On the ground, Terry seems to struggle with opponents taking his back as his two submission losses have been by rear naked choke. Santos is very good with using chokes and has won many fights with a variety of chokes. This fight can be close as it can boil down to if Terry can get the knockout or if Santos can get the fight to the ground.

Virgil Zwicker vs. Houston Alexander

Nickname:                                    Rezdog          |        The Assassin

Height:                                            6'1               |             6'0

Age:                                                  32               |             42

MMA Record (BMMA):            12-4 (1-1)      |      16-10, 2NC (1-1)

Arm Length:                                  74 in.           |           72 in.

Team:                                          Team Quest    |   Grudge Training Center

Weight Class:                                      Catchweight (215 pounds)

Notes: Zwicker is replacing James Thompson.

Preview: Zwicker is coming off a loss to Linton Vassell by submission at Bellator 122 (July 25, 2014). Alexander is coming off a win over Matt Uhde by TKO at Bellator 117 (April 18, 2014).

Prediction: Zwicker. Zwicker is taking this fight on a weeks notice but it may not matter. Alexander is not a bad fighter but he's not in his prime and he's in his 40s. You have to wonder how much gas is left in his tank at this point. Both men are also mostly strikers and the advantage should go to Zwicker. Zwicker has a two inch reach advantage which could make a difference. Second off all, Zwicker has the better chin as he's only been knocked out once and that was four years ago against heavyweight Lavar Johnson. Alexander hits very hard but Zwicker can likely take more than Alexander as five out of Alexander's ten losses are due to knockout. Finally, Alexander has not looked good over the years. He didn't look good last year against Vladimir Matyushenko and was knocked out badly against an aging and slow Gilbert Yvel.

Paul Bradley vs. Josh Neer

Nickname:                                     The Gentleman   |   The Dentist

Height:                                                    5'9              |       5'11

Age:                                                          31             |         31

MMA Record (BMMA):              21-6, 1NC (1-1) |   36-13-1 (0-1)

Arm Length:                                         72 in.          |       72 in.

Team:                                                 Team Quest    |  Cesar Gracie Fight Team

Weight Class:                                      Welterweight (170 pounds)

Notes:

Preview: Bradley is coming off a loss to Nathan Coy by unanimous decision at Bellator 112 (March 14, 2014). Neer is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over Travis Coyle by submission at VFC 43 (August 2, 2014).

Prediction: Bradley. Bradley has the most going for him. He's more well-rounded with seven wins by knockout, seven by submission, and seven by decision. Bradley is also tough to finish as he's only been finished once in his career which was a TKO loss to Luke Rockhold four years ago. Outside of that, his chin looks good as he hasn't been knocked out since and he has very good submission defense since he's never been submitted in his career. Neer has skill but he's not good defensively and can get caught with punches, kicks, or submissions. His submission defense isn't the best as five of his thirteen losses have come by submission. Bradley is a former NCAA wrestler so Neer will have a hard time controlling him on the ground. Neer has a near even amount of knockout and submission wins but it'll be difficult to submit Bradley and there's no guarantee he'll win a striking exchange. Neer has only been knocked out twice but one knockout was to Mike Pyle who is not known for knocking out opponents or having a ton of power. Neer also has been caught quickly in fights before either being knocked out or submitted in less than two minutes so Bradley could catch him with something.