Bellator 105 takes place tonight, and while it doesn’t feature any big names that would attract major attention, the lightweight semifinals feature two fights that are quite interesting. With the main and co-main event set to determine this season’s lightweight finalists, fight fans should consider giving this card a second look due to these bouts alone.
Saad Awad vs. Will Brooks is a rematch of their fight this past February at Bellator 91, where Awad was able to put Brooks away via TKO in less than one minute. While those type of knockouts happen often in mixed martial arts, it’s rare to see the two competitors square off in a rematch. This time around one should expect a different style of match-up due to the likely game-planning adjustments that Brooks has made.
However, one has to wonder whether Brooks has the ability to match Awad skill-for-skill in every area. Although both fighters are finishers who have defeated their opponents in various ways, in their semifinal bouts Awad was able to put away Martin Stapleton early, while Brooks need the entire 15 minutes to work over UFC veteran John Alessio and score the decision victory.
As for the fight itself, Brooks may look to wrestle and control Awad, but the California native has shown an ability to defend the takedown when needed. Brooks is going to have to keep the pressure going while not falling into extended standup exchanges, because he’s already tasted Awad’s power once. Awad will be the favorite going into this fight, and the man who gets his hand raised in Friday night’s main event will be the favorite to win the entire tournament.
Ricardo Tirloni and Alexander Sarnavskiy may end up putting on the most exciting fight of the night in their semifinal bout at Bellator 105. While the numbers show that they are more apt to lean on their grappling, they have such similar skill sets that this fight could turn into a slugfest on the feet. They both looked very good against Rich Clementi and Marcus Davis respectively, but Sarnavskiy was able to catch Davis on the feet, which started a downward spiral for “The Irish Hand Grenade.” If Sarnavskiy can recreate those circumstances in this co-main event bout, then he could pull out one of the most important wins in his career to date.
With Bellator’s initial foray into PPV fast-approaching, fight fans may be tempted to overlook a Bellator 105 card bereft of big names tonight, but that doesn’t mean that the card is not worth watching. The lightweight tournament is coming to a head with these semifinal match-ups, two fights that should provide some compelling action.
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Bellator 105 will take place on October 25, 2013 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
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