With World Series of Fighting 20 on Friday night, and the UFC in Poland for Gonzaga Vs Cro Cop II on Saturday, this might not be a weekend Scott Coker had earmarked for a big rating.
The MMA pool might be crowded, but Bellator have put together possibly the best card of the big three, and without question, the preferred option on Friday night ahead of WSOF 20.
Bellator 136 takes place at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA on Friday night with a card worthy of your interest. Here are five good reasons you should be watching the show.
Fight of the Weekend
The lightweight title fight between defending champion Will Brooks and Season 7 Tournament Winner Dave Jansen, is the best match up across any of the cards this weekend.
Brooks can finally do away with Bellator standout Michael Chandler, who he has now defeated in back to back outings, and start racking up the defenses in one of Bellator’s more talent rich divisions.
The 155lb champion has just one career loss to his name, a defeat to Saad Awad in 2013 (we’ll come back to that later), and has become a legitimate Top 10 lightweight.
He has a challenger in Dave Jansen who has followed an incredibly tough path to a title shot. Wins over Magomed Saadulaev, Ricardo Tirloni and Marcin Held saw him win the Bellator Season Seven Lightweight Tournament.
Jansen then followed that up with a decision win against former title challenger Rick Hawn in October at Bellator 130.
The challenger has just two career losses, dropping decisions to Kamal Shalorus and Ricardo Lamas. He comes in to the fight on a seven fight win streak.
With the Kimbo Slice – Ken Shamrock headliner coming up in June, and the promise of more big name attractions in Bellator’s future, they’ll be making the most of a competitive and exciting title fight between two accomplished lightweights on Friday night.
Stitch ’em Up Set to Throw Down
Joe Schilling holds wins over Glory standouts Simon Marcus, Wayne Barrett, and Artem Levin. His victory over the latter saw him win the Glory Middleweight World Championship Tournament in 2013.
The elite level kickboxer made his Bellator debut back in November of last year against Melvin Manhoef. The explosive back and forth fight ended when Schilling switched Manhoef’s brain off with a perfectly timed right hook.
Schilling’s second Bellator fight promises much of the same. His opponent, Rafael Carvalho, has won ten straight, nine by knockout, since losing his pro debut back in 2011. It represents good matchmaking from Bellator, putting together another fight likely to become a stand up war.
Two Top Lightweight Contenders
Bellator have been smart in matching up contenders on the undercard of recent title fights. Bellator 135, headlined by the Joe Warren – Marcos Galvao bantamweight title fight, saw fellow bantamweights Hideo Tokoro and LC Davis compete in the co-main. It would also have had Mike Richman and Eduardo Dantas on the card had the bout not been pulled due to injury. Their matchmaking is equally as smart for Bellator 136.
Marcin Held and Alexander Sarnavskiy will be hoping to make a statement that sends a message out to the winner of the Bellator 136 main event.
Held is on a five fight win streak that saw him win the Bellator Season 10 Lightweight Tournament, defeating Patricky “Pitbull” Freire in the final.
Sarnavskiy has gone 5-0 outside of Bellator since losing against Will Brooks in the Bellator Season 9 Lightweight Tournament Finals.
An impressive performance on Friday could see either man position himself for a title shot against the winner of the Brooks – Jansen main event.
Drago’s Return a Welcome Heavyweight Boost
Alexander Volkov is one of the most decorated heavyweights in Bellator’s 265lb division. That might not seem like much given the depth and quality (or lack thereof) of their heavyweights, but Volkov’s achievements in the Bellator cage are still impressive.
The winner of both the season 7, and season 10 heavyweight tournaments, Volkov is also a former Bellator heavyweight champion.
Volkov holds Bellator wins over Brett Rogers, Rich Hale, Mighty Mo, and Blagoy Ivanov among others, and steps back into the Bellator cage on a five fight win streak. Volkov will be hoping to extend that streak to 6-0 against Tony Johnson on Friday night.
In a division that lacks emerging talent, Volkov’s return to the Bellator cage is most welcome.
Don’t Forget the Prelims
While Bellator and World Series of Fighting are both capable of putting together intriguing main cards, it is so often the case that their prelims hold little, if any, interest. For Bellator 136 that is not the case.
Joey Beltran, who formerly fought at heavyweight in the UFC, will have his first middleweight outing inside the Bellator cage. Beltran is facing the always game Brian Rogers in what could become an entertaining scrap.
The only fighter to ever beat lightweight champion Will Brooks will be in action, as Saad Awad faces former BAMMA lightweight king Rob Sinclair.
Fabricio Guerreiro and John Teixeira, who share just four losses between them in a combined 40 fights, face off at featherweight.
If ever there was a Bellator show that justified tuning in to Spike.com a little earlier to catch the preliminaries, it was this one.
