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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Bellator makes their debut on pay-per-view tomorrow night with Bellator 120 from Southaven, Miss., now headlined by the light heavyweight tournament final between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal after the injury to Eddie Alvarez. Here are some quick thoughts and predictions for the fights on the night's main card.
Rampage Jackson vs. "King Mo" Lawal (Light Heavyweight Tourney Final):
Despite the drop off he had near the end of his UFC run, Rampage has proven with a couple of KO wins in Bellator that he's still in that top 15 range in the light heavyweight division. Lawal isn't anymore, but has the wrestling game which has played into Jackson's weaknesses in the past.
The entertainment value on this fight kind of depends on whether or not Rampage can fight the fight he wants, rather than allow Lawal to dictate the pace. Jackson is the clear better striker, but if Lawal gets it in his head to grapple instead, it could be a long, ugly fight.
Coming in, I think Rampage is the better fighter of the two, and with Lawal having been knocked out before, it's entirely possible it happens here. That said, I think Rampage simply does enough to win two of three rounds, whether it's entertaining or not. Rampage via decision.
Michael Chandler vs. Will Brooks (Interim Lightweight Championship):
Brooks is a talented fighter, and could potentially be able to wrestle with Chandler well enough, but that's absolutely not the likely outcome of this fight.
Chandler's just easily the better fighter overall, from his striking game to his wrestling and submission games. This is Chandler's fight to lose, and I'd be shocked if he does. Chandler via TKO in the second round.
Tito Ortiz vs. Alexander Shlemenko (Light Heavyweight):
Ortiz hasn't fought in almost two years, and he's 1-7-1 over his last nine fights. Shlemenko is the best middleweight on Bellator's roster, and one of the best 185 lb. fighters not in the UFC.
Look, Shlemenko might be a bit undersized compared to Ortiz, but he's a violent man with a very smart and vicious striking game when he concentrates to the body. Two of Ortiz's final three losses came by TKO stemming from body strikes. This is an easy equation; Ortiz's body is going to get wrecked here. This fight is set up as a vehicle for Shlemenko, not the other way around. Shlemenko via TKO in the second round.
Alexander Volkov vs. Blagoi Ivanov (Heavyweight Tourney Final):
A hard hitting Russian with 16 TKO wins against a multi-talented Bulgarian with a bunch of submissions in Bellator? Yeah, this might be the most intriguing fight on the card.
Ivanov's story is incredible, and were he to win this fight and earn a title bout, it's one of the most inspirational comebacks in the sport's history. He's just a short time removed from a brutal, life-threatening stabbing incident, in which he lost a ton of his body weight, was put in a coma, and spent months in the hospital.
Now here he is having won four fights since returning from that harrowing situation, and he's submitted three of those four opponents. Two of Volkov's four career losses have come by submission. The stage is set, Ivanov's now just got to follow through. Ivanov via submission in the first round.
Michael Page vs. Rickey Rainey (Welterweight): England's Page is a highly skilled striker, coming into MMA from kickboxing, and he's shown himself to be a phenomenal finisher thus far in his MMA career, with five wins in a row all in the first round.
Rainey is 8-2 overall and has won four of his last five, but talent-wise this is clearly a showcase for Page. It'd be surprising for him to lose, but I don't think that will wind up being the case here. Page via TKO in the first round.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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