Bellator Fighting Championships is set to continue their featherweight tournament during BFC 47. Coming from the Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada, BFC 47 will feature the semifinals of the tournament, featuring the four fighters who pushed through exactly 26 days earlier.
Former Sengoku featherweight champion and featherweight King of Pancrase, Marlon Sandro, will bring an 18-2 record into this event. BFC 46 was his first appearance on US soil, and he ended the night with what most observers considered a one-sided victory, regardless of the officially-scored split decision.
In the first round he was able to drop his opponent, Genair da Silva, and almost brought the fight to an end with a submission attempt. From that point on da Silva was forced to stay on his heels and throw mostly unsuccessful strikes. The judges’ scores for the fight were two 30-27 cards for Sandro and one 29-28 card for da Silva. This was Sandro’s fourth win in five fights, dating back to 2009.
Standing across from Sandro in the circular cage will be Nazareno Malegarie, who was also successful at BFC 46. The fight went into the third round, when Malegarie was able to force Jacob Devree to submit with an arm-in guillotine choke.
Malegarie secured dominant position throughout the fight and scored numerous takedowns. While on top he switched back and forth from ground and pound to actively looking for submissions against his opponent. Rounds one and two also featured guillotine choke attempts, but it wasn’t until 1:25 in the third round that Malegarie was able to pull the maneuver off. With this victory Malegarie pushed his record to 20-1.
Sandro is my pick to win this tournament, and I believe that he will be able to work through this matchup to reach the finals. Sandro should outstrike Malegarie and avoid staying in dangerous positions once the fight hits the ground. While it may not be an exciting fight because Malegarie is the type of fighter that you want to avoid taking risks against, Sandro should secure a unanimous decision victory.
Former lightweight contender Pat Curran is looking to obtain another opportunity to win a Bellator championship, this time in the featherweight division. At BFC 46, Curran pulled out the fabled Peruvian necktie to finish Luis Palomino in the first round.
The fight started with a flurry of exchanges on the feet, until Curran landed a solid counter right hand which dropped Palomino. From that point, Curran was moments from landing the choke that finished the fight.
Curran’s opponent for the semifinals will be Ronnie Mann, who made quick work of Adam Schindler at BFC 46. Both fighters looked to exchange on the feet, and doing so cost Schindler the fight, as Mann quickly showed that he was the more technical striker of the two. A counter left hand caught Schindler firmly on the chin and dropped him hard to the canvas. Before he had a chance to recover, Mann was pounding him with hammer fists and additional blows, forcing the ref to step in at 4:14 in the first round. Schindler had never been stopped before this bout, and the victory pushed the SRC veteran Mann to a 20-2-1 record.
Pat Curran is my pick to win this matchup. His showing against Eddie Alvarez left many people wondering why so much hype was placed around him, but we should remember that he is only 23 years old. Curran may have been caught in the headlights, struggling under the intense pressure, and the experience of Alvarez. While Mann has the power to quickly change this fight, Curran should display effective counter boxing, and use his wrestling takedowns to dominate the positioning battle in this fight.
With only 12 days left until BFC 47, additional matches have yet to be announced for the event. Featherweight champion Joe Warren was supposed to defend his belt against last season’s tournament winner Patricio Freire, however a broken left hand has forced the fight to be postponed. Warren will now focus on taking part in the bantamweight tournament scheduled for the coming weeks, and this title tilt will take place after.
UFC veteran Ben Saunders has also been forced off the card due to injury. While his opponent had yet to be announced, it was expected that Saunders would be competing at his second Bellator event.
Bellator Fighting Championships 47 is set for July 23 and will be televised on MTV2.
