Bellator
122 Predictions
July
17, 2014
By Ryan
Porzl
Kelly
Anundson vs. Phelipe Lins
Nickname: Crossface | Monstro
Height: 5'11 | 6'2
Age: 29 | 28
MMA
Record (BMMA): 7-2 (2-0) | 9-0 (2-0)
Arm
Length: 72 in. | 79 in.
Team: American Top Team | Nova
Uniao
Weight
Class: Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)
Notes:
Bellator Summer Series 2014 Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinals
Preview:
Anundson is riding a five fight win streak. His recent win was over
Rodney Wallace by unanimous decision at Bellator 121 (June 6, 2014).
Lins is undefeated with nine wins. His recent win was over Austin
Heidlage by submission at Bellator 121 (June 6, 2014).
Predictions:
Lins. Lins is considered one of Bellator's brightest prospects and
not just in the Light Heavyweight division. Anundson has shown great
wrestling and submission skills but it may be hard for him to use
that against Lins. Lins is a big, strong Light Heavyweight so he
could be hard for Anundson to control. He's got a very long reach and
if he uses it then he should be able to keep Anundson at bay. He's
probably one of, if not, the biggest opponent Anundson has faced.
He's a good striker with knockout power and he's got very good
jiu-jitsu as he's showed in his Bellator run. He specifically has
used the rear-naked choke in both of his Bellator appearances and
that could help him here since he has long limbs. In his last fight
he also showed patience as he took his time sinking the choke in
against Heidlage.
Liam
McGeary vs. Egidijus Valavicius
Nickname: None | None
Height: 6'6 | 6'0
Age: 31 | 35
MMA
Record (BMMA): 7-0 (4-0) | 27-10 (2-0)
Arm
Length: 81 in. | 75 in.
Team: Team Renzo Gracie | Flawless
MMA
Weight
Class: Light Heavyweight (205 pounds)
Notes:
Bellator Summer Series 2014 Light Heavyweight Semifinals
Preview:
McGeary is undefeated with seven wins. His recent win was over Mike
Mucitelli by KO at Bellator 118 (May 2, 2014). Valavicius is riding a
three fight win streak. His recent win was over Carlos Eduardo by
split decision at Bellator 121 (June 6, 2014).
Predictions:
McGeary. Like Lins, McGeary is another one of Bellator's biggest
prospects. To date, McGeary hasn't shown many or any weaknesses yet
for Valavicius to exploit as he's never lost nor has been put in a
situation where he's been in any danger. The only time he showed
weakness was when he lost his first amateur fight by submission but
that was six years ago. He's got one punch knockout power. He's able
to just swarm in on an opponent and finish them quickly. He has a
huge size and reach advantage which should at least frustrate
Valavicius. McGeary also has good jiu-jitsu as he trains with Renzo
Gracie. He's also a well-rounded fighter with four wins by knockout
and three wins by submission. Though all of his Bellator fights
haven't gone beyond 91 seconds, McGeary has had long fights as his
debut fight went 4:45 into the third round and his third fight went
into the second round (though it did end in 41 seconds).
Phil
Baroni vs. Karo Parisyan
Nickname: The New York Bad Ass | The Heat
Height: 5'9 | 5'10
Age: 38 | 31
MMA
Record (BMMA): 15-17 (0-0) | 23-10, 1NC (1-1)
Arm
Length: 72 in. | 75½ in.
Team: American Kickboxing Academy | Team Hayastan
Weight
Class: Welterweight (170 pounds)
Notes:
Baroni's Bellator debut
Preview:
Baroni is riding a two fight losing streak. His recent loss was to
Nobutatsu Suzuki by TKO at ONE FC: Rise to Power (May 31, 2013).
Parisyan is coming off a win over Ron Keslar by KO at Bellator 116
(April 11, 2014).
Predictions:
Parisyan. Parisyan has had his issues but he should still take this
one. Barring Baroni from hitting a great punch or kick quickly, I
can't see how Baroni wins. Baroni is 38 years old, hasn't competed in
fourteen months, and is falling apart badly. His Bellator debut was
delayed by two months because of an injury and prior to that, he lost
to Nobutatsu Suzuki when his ankle caved in on him. Baroni has good
striking and power but his ground game isn't that great and his
cardio is his biggest issue. More times than not, if Baroni can't
knock someone out in 120 seconds or less then he'll likely get tired.
Parisyan has an excellent ground game and he could submit Baroni if
he can get this fight to the ground. Even if he can't submit him,
Parisyan could just take him down and grind a decision. As the fight
goes on, Baroni won't be able to get up as he'll likely be too tired.
Time is on Parisyan's side as his chances for victory increase the
longer the fight goes.
Andrey
Koreshkov vs. Adam McDonough
Nickname: Spartan | Big
Gunna
Height: 6'0 | 5'10
Age: 23 | 28
MMA
Record (BMMA): 16-1 (7-1) | 11-0 (3-0)
Arm
Length: 74 in. | 66
in.
Team: RusFighter Sport Club | Get Sum
Athletic Compound
Weight
Class: Welterweight (170 pounds)
Notes:
Bellator Season 10 Welterweight Tournamaent Finals
Preview:
Koreshkov is riding a three fight win streak. His recent win was over
Justin Baesman by KO at Bellator 118 (May 2, 2014). McDonough is
undefeated with eleven wins. His recent win was over Nathan Coy by KO
at Bellator 116 (April 11, 2014)
Predictions:
Koreshkov. McDonough has proven to be a good prospect but his
Cinderella story ends here. McDonough is tough but I don't give him
much of a chance against Koreshkov. To me, this reminds me of season
nine with Justin Wilcox where he got some upset wins and surprised
many only to get destroyed in the finals. Koreshkov is a beast in the
standup. He's got nasty knockout power and he's a good striker on top
of that. Like his mentor Alexander Shlemenko, Koreshkov is also very
good at mixing up his attacks as he'll use punches and kicks along
with body shots. Koreshkov also has a very good chin as well with his
only loss being a TKO after being outwrestled and ground and pounded
for three and a half rounds. Koreshkov will also have a huge reach
advantage which should allow him to beat McDonough to the punch.
Brett
Cooper vs. Brandon Halsey
Nickname: Fudoshin | Bull
Height: 6'0 | 5'11
Age: 27 | 27
MMA
Record (BMMA): 20-9 (7-3) | 6-0 (4-0)
Arm
Length: 72 in. | 72
in.
Team: Reign MMA | HB
Ultimate
Weight
Class: Middleweight (185 pounds)
Notes:
Bellator Season 10 Middleweight Tournament Finals
Preview:
Cooper is coming off a win over Kendall Grove by KO at Bellator 114
(March 28, 2014). Halsey is undefeated with six wins. His recent win
was over Joe Pacheco at Bellator 116 (April 11, 2014).
Predictions:
Cooper. I've learned from watching Cooper that you never count him
out. Cooper is mentally tough as he's the kind of fighter that can be
down two rounds and still fight to win. He clearly lost the first
round to Kendall Grove but bounced back and knocked him out in round
two. In the Dan Cramer fight, he lost the first two rounds but came
back and knocked Cramer out in the third round. In other words, if
Halsey wants to win then he can't take his foot off the gas pedal at
any time during this fight. Cooper has knockout power and could knock
Halsey out as well. While Halsey is the better wrestler, Cooper
trains at Reign MMA with Mark Munoz and the rest of the team so he
has good wrestling and should be ready for Halsey. Cooper should also
be the toughest fight in Halsey's career but Cooper has faced tougher
fighters like Steve Carl, Alexander Shlemenko, Kendall Grove, and
Doug Marshall.
