Bellator 35 Preview: Welterweight Quarterfinals

Bellator's fourth season kicks off tonight looking much the same as it did the last time we saw them, the only difference this time around being where you find them on TV.   MTV2 might not be in HD, and it might not be in the perfect location on the proverbial dial, but Saturday night is MMA night and with a steady platform, Bellator really has the ability to grow and attract more fans on the network.  Long known as one of the most exciting promotions in MMA, this season's tourneys look like they will deliver as well.

Now that my personal feelings on the subject have been voiced, let's get to tonight's show.  Bellator is going to kick off with what is probably their deepest division, welterweight, and all four first round fights are on tonight's card.  Seven of the eight fighters on the card are Bellator veterans, compiling a total record of 13-2 in the organization.  Here's how the matchups break down.

Lyman Good vs. Chris Lozano - Probably the most interesting opening round matchup pits former Bellator Welterweight champion Good against NCAA Division 1 wrestler and heavy puncher Lozano.  Good is primarily a standup fighter who compted in Chuck Norris' World Combat League, going 3-0 there.  After blowing through the first Bellator WW tourney and claiming the title, he dislocated his shoulder in training and went through a huge amount of drama with it due to a misdiagnosis of the injury.  Following surgery to repair what turned out to be a complete chest muscle tear, it would be over 16 months before he re-entered the cage again to face Ben Askren.  What followed was extremely disappointing for Cyborg, as he was taken down a whole lot and completely controlled for 5 rounds, barring one hail mary triangle attempt at the end of the fight.  He's in this tourney to each a rematch with the champ.

Lozano is a wrestler who prefers to stand and trade, throwing a variety of heavy shots and even using some spinning attacks. His MMA wrestling has been a bit slow to develop and he's been known to get taken down himself, but it's coming along.  In his lone Bellator fight, Lozano basically kicked the shit out of UFC veteran Yoshiyuki Yoshida, busting up his face with loads of big shots and eventually closing up his eye completely and ending the fight after the 2nd round.  He'll be looking to advance so he can get a showdown with Jay Hieron, a guy he's called out more than once lately.

How's it goin down, Tim? - Basically it's up to Lozano.  While his MMA wrestling is a bit suspect as mentioned above, he clearly has the ability to put Good on his back and control the fight from there.  Instead though, he keeps talking about wanting to throw down with Good and knock him out on the feet.  If he is telling the truth, I think he's in trouble.  Lozano's a bit bigger and he hits hard, but Good is very good at staying out of range and defending himself while landing solid shots in return.  He's much more technically sound than Lozano standing and has a very good chin, so Lozano's eventually going to have to switch back to grappling mode or he's going to get touched up and drop a decision.  Will he do that?  We'll see, but despite how bad he looked against Askren, Good is actually quite...good...off his back and even if he does get taken down, I think he can get it back up and dominate the standup enough to earn the W and be one step closer to an Askren rematch.  Lyman Good by decision.

Dan Hornbuckle vs. Brent Weedman - Hornbuckle gets another shot at Bellator WW supremacy while Weedman is looking to continue his solid Bellator run with a good showing in the tourney in this rematch between the two men.  Hornbuckle is a very well-rounded beast with great standup, good takedowns, and excellent submissions from the top and from guard.  He's probably best known for his epic KO of Akihiro Gono, but he has three solid wins in Bellator, including an exciting decision victory over UFC veteran Brad Blackburn to get into the tournament.  His only Bellator loss was to the aforementioned Ben Askren, as Hornbuckle suffered the same fate of being taken down and completely controlled.  He's a tall WW (6'2) with good instincts and is definitely a tournament favorite.  He also holds a win over his opponent, submitting Weedman by triangle in late 2006.

Weedman has shown a well-rounded game in his Bellator fights, displaying a lot of power in his hands and strong kicks along with a solid, if a bit sloppy grappling game.  His wrestling is okay, but once it's on the ground he has very strong ground and pound and has shown good control.  He's finished every fight he's won, going 0-3 in decisions.  None of his three opponents have seen the second round in Bellator, with Weedman winning in three different fashions.  KO, armbar, GnP.  He's definitely a darkhorse in the tournament, and his inclusion is actually a bit of a surprise because he was expected to lose his qualifying match to Jacob McClintock.  Instead, he beat the tar out of him.  He showed some glaring holes in that fight though, ones that Hornbuckle should be able to take advantage of.

How's it goin down, Tim? - The Handler dominates.  While Hornbuckle has definitely been tagged in a few fights, he should own the standup.  Weedman likes to step up, while Hornbuckle likes to use his reach and poise to work an effective game from the outside.  This is going to frustrate Weedman into mistakes.  Hornbuckle's versatile enough to get this to the floor as well, and while Weedman has a lot of sub victories and is a good scrambler, he's shown a lot of sloppiness on the ground, especially in terms of submission defense.  Hornbuckle's triangle win over him 4 years ago was no accident, as Weedman leaves himself very open to triangles when on top. Hornbuckle's weakish takedown defense could lead to that conclusion, but I think it will be The Handler on top raining down blows to set up a submission, or just coasting to a decision victory.  I'll be daring and take Hornbuckle by sub.

Jay Hieron vs. Anthony Lapsley - Hieron comes into Bellator with a lot of expectations, while Lapsley walks into the tourney with no expectations and no pressure.  Hieron is the ringer of this tournament, being the only top-25 ranked fighter of the eight.  A former IFL champion, Hieron entered Strikeforce with the express understanding he would get a title shot against Nick Diaz.  A variety of issues (including Hieron's stubbornness and Ken Pavia's mismanagement) derailed that shot and led to Hieron moving on from SF and into Bellator.  The Thoroughbred (terrible nickname) has excellent MMA wrestling, heavy hands, and plenty of heart and grit to go along with it.  Anything less that a dominant tournament win and a shot at Ben Askren would be a massive disappointment for Hieron.

Lapsley is a former King of the Cage Welterweight champion and has spent much of his career as a capable journeyman.  He hasn't fought for Bellator in close to 2 years, winning his only fight under their banner with a lackluster rear naked choke  over unheralded Ryan Willams. He was also involved in one of the funniest KOTC moments ever, where he and his opponent knocked each other out at the exact same time, and the fight was ruled a no-contest.  He's primarily a submission grappler with a wrestling background.  Oh, and he has eight kids.  Yup, 8.

How's it goin down, Tim? - Absolute showcase fight for Jay Hieron here.  Lapsley offers little to no danger to a guy like Hieron. "The Recipe" doesn't hit that hard, his wrestling is nowhere near Hieron's, and his submission game is not a threat to a seasoned vet like Hieron.  If Jay chooses to get some cage time in, he'll take him down and work on him a bit before getting the TKO.  He has the power to KO him standing as well, as Jason High found out.  Lapsley is nowhere near the level of a Riggs or a JT Money, so I'd be shocked if Hieron didn't finish this early.  Hieron by TKO.

Rick Hawn vs. Jim Wallhead - Battle of the judo guys.  Hawn is a former Olympian looking to make his mark in MMA while Judo Jim is one of the best fighters you've never heard of.  Hawn's MMA career is built on two things - judo and heavy hands.  His game is really simple...get into the clinch, and either throw bombs or toss his opponent onto his head.  In his only previous Bellator fight, Hawn went back and forth for most of a round with relative journeyman LeVon Maynard before busting out one of the most ridiculous judo shoulder throws I've ever seen...anywhere.  LeVon landed right on his dome and was done for.  Are we going to see some of the same in this fight?  I sure as shit hope so, but I wouldn't count on it.  Rick's opponent is pretty good.

Judo Jim Wallhead is a well-rounded fighter out of Britain that has been looking to make a splash in North American MMA for a while.  He was supposed to be in previous Bellator WW tourneys but had the attempts derailed by visa and volcanoes.  Seriously.  He finally made it over and fought Ryan Thomas at Bellator 32, showing his skills off in a closely-fought decision win.  He's a long-time member of Team Rough House in England, training with the likes of Paul Daley and Dan Hardy.  While he does have a judo background, Wallhead is most definitely more than a judo fighter, with solid standup (and especially solid leg and body kicks), really good takedown defense and a strong submission grappling game.  Judo Jim is definitely not your average English fighter.

How's it goin down, Tim? - I think Wallhead shows a surprisingly dominant game and shuts Hawn down almost completely.  He's the more complete fighter by far and can dominate pretty much everywhere but the clinch.  Excpecting a judo battle is probably going to leave you disappointed, because matchups between two judo fighters in MMA are generally dull as hell.  This is an MMA fight, and Judo Jim is going to overwhelm Hawn with his striking and grappling.  Jim's generally not very active on top and hasn't shown true KO power, so I'll go with Wallhead by decision.