June 18, 2015
By Ryan Porzl
This Friday, Bellator will hold their Bellator 138 event on Spike TV. However, I see many hardcore fans skipping this event because of the main event between Ken Shamrock and Kimbo Slice. I decided to write this article to explain that the event is worth seeing because there are some gems to look at.
Let's start with the main event. Yes, the main event is a freak show fight. Yes, there's way better main events. Yes, neither guy should still be fighting. However, it's worth a look. Given where both fighters are in their careers, this fight will likely not last long. Kimbo can hit hard and will likely not need much to knock Shamrock out. Meanwhile, Shamrock is a grappler and will probably not need much to submit Slice. Bottom line, this fight will probably not last long so we may be in and out. Also, barring an injury or health problem, what's the worse that can happen? This is one of those fights that has the chance to be hilariously embarassing like Soa Palelei vs. Nikita Krylov. So if nothing else, this could be one of those "so bad it's good" fights. This fight can also be historic. Everybody that follows MMA knows that Ken Shamrock should not be fighting now or for years. This fight could potentially be his last on a national company especially if he looks horrible.
The real main event for the hardcore fans is the co-main event which is Patricio Freire defending the Featherweight Championship against tournament winner Daniel Weichel. This is a fight that the hardcore fans should take a look at as it has the opportunity to be a gem. Freire is the champion and former two time tournament winner. He's only lost twice but both have been close split decisions so it will be interesting to see if Weichel can not only beat him but be the first to do it decisively. Weichel is currently riding a seven fight win streak, he's a featherweight tournament winner, and is coming off a win over former two time champion Pat Curran. Weichel also holds wins over Dennis Siver and another tournament winner in Frodo Khasbulaev. He's also been a champion before as he's a former M-1 Lightweight Champion. History can also be made in this fight as Weichel can not only become the first German fighter to be a Bellator champion but the first German fighter to win a championship in a North American MMA Company. Both men also bring action to their fights. Of his 23 wins, Freire has 17 stoppages with a near equal amount of knockouts (9) and submissions (8). Of his 35 wins, Weichel has 26 stoppages with 21 submissions and 5 knockouts. Meanwhile, of both men's winning streaks (Freire with 6 and Weichel with 7), they've only gone the distance two times each (ironically, they share one opponent in Pat Curran).
The other three fights on the main card feature the same situation in a name fighter (Lashley is somewhat a name) taking on an up and comer seeking the biggest win of their career. The first features former lightweight champion Michael Chandler vs. former tournament semifinalist Derek Campos. Chandler is at a crossroads in his career. Once Bellator's lightweight champion and considered one of the best fighters in the world, Chandler has fallen on hard times. He's currently riding a three fight losing streak which included a title loss, failing to win the interim title, and failing to win the title. Now he's on the outside looking in as far as a title is concerned. Chandler has a lot riding on this next fight. An impressive win will not only end his skid but he'll begin a new campaign for a title shot. A loss could end his Bellator run. While Chandler has been a face of the company for a few years, his job is probably not as secure as it looks. Another loss would put him at 4 in a row and while losing Eddie Alvarez and Will Brooks isn't anything to be ashamed of, this would still be a fourth straight loss. Chandler is also one of the highest paid fighters in Bellator and you can bet they won't want to keep paying him a lot of money when he's on a losing streak. Campos is a young fighter with talent but doesn't have that big win on his resume. Even if Chandler is currently riding a 3 fight losing streak, beating him would be the biggest win of his career. While Campos isn't known during his Bellator career as a finisher, he has proven he can finish fights and quickly with his recent 31 second knockout over Estevan Payan back in September. Campos should also be hungry for this fight as he's had a few chances to fight one of Bellator's name fighters but it didn't go according to plan. He lost to two time tournament finalist Patricky Freire and his fight with tournament finalist Alexander Sarnavskiy was canceled due to him suffering an injury.
Another fight is former featherweight champion Daniel Straus against the debuting Henry Corrales. Straus has had some tough losses recently as he lost the featherweight title to Pat Curran last year in a fight that was 14 seconds away from ending. He's now coming off a failed title shot this past January again Patricio Freire. A win would get him back on track and allow him to build up a win streak. A loss would be damaging as it would further set him back from title contention and it would mark the first losing streak of his career. Corrales is undefeated and making his debut in the promotion. Like Campos, he doesn't have a win over a "name" fighter so a win over Straus would be huge. He would immediately establish himself as a fighter to watch and possibly put him in the title mix. As far as the fight goes, it could go anywhere. While Straus used to pride himself as a grinder, he's changed his tune in recent fights as he knocked out former featherweight tournament finalist Justin Wilcox in 50 seconds and tried to go for the finish in his recent featherweight title fight against Patricio Freire. Corrales prefers the finish as 10 of his 12 wins have been stoppages (4 by knockout and 6 by submission). Corrales started his career mostly as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter but has improved his striking and shown knockout power so he's a threat anywhere.
The last fight to talk about is Bobby Lashley vs. Dan Charles. Originally scheduled to be Lashley vs. James Thompson, the fight was changed after Thompson pulled out due to injury. Less than two weeks before the show, Charles stepped in to take Thompson's place. Currently both have a lot to gain as both are on two fight win streaks and both want to move up the ladder. To some extent, Lashley has a name mostly due to his wrestling career but he wants to make a name in MMA as well. A win over Charles would put him on a three fight win streak and continue his climb to the top. A win for Charles would give him a name on his resume and get him noticed which will allow him access to bigger fights. Both fighters have everything going for them. Lashley wasn't supposed to fight Charles and if he loses then he loses to an unknown who took the fight on a weeks notice which will hurt his stock. Charles has everything to gain because he wasn't supposed to be here and no one is expecting him to win. If he wins, he'll get some notice and raise his profile.
Bellator 138 isn't the sexiest card and the main event isn't good for the hardcore fans but it's still worth taking a look at cause the other fights should be interesting in the very least. Let's also not forget that a lot of cards don't go as planned. Some cards fans think will be spectaular turn out disappointing while cards that look weak turn out great and fun.
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