Bellator Fighting Championships 12-part weekly tournament series is set to return to the ESPN Deportes airwaves for its encore event this weekend. The action will take place live from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., tomorrow night (April 10) and will air via tape delay 24 hours later on the Spanish version of The Worldwide Leader in Sports.
Featured on the card will be more first round match ups from the featherweight (145 pounds), lightweight (155 pounds) and welterweight (170 pounds) tournaments. The main event will showcase the first and only man to hold the Elite XC featherweight title, Wilson Reis, taking on Mexican fighter Henry Martinez for the right to advance to the division semifinals.
Thomas Schulte and Erik Reynolds will close out the first round of the lightweight tournament with their main card fight, and the 170 pounders will kick off their tourney as well with three of the four quarter final bouts set to go down.
Here is the full lineup for the upstart promotion’s second event:
Featherweight Tournament Bout (first round):
Wilson Reis (6-0) vs. Henry Martinez (2-0)
Lightweight Tournament Bout (first round):
Thomas Schulte (18-6) vs. Eric Reynolds (9-1)
Welterweight Tournament Bouts (first round):
Hector Urbina (12-4) vs. Lyman Good (7-0)
Victor Meza (9-0) vs. Omar de la Cruz (3-1)
Jorge "The Naked Man" Ortiz (15-4) vs. Aaron Romero (5-2)
Non-Tournament Bouts:
Mikey Gomez (9-5) vs. Jesse Juarez (7-5)
Matt "Weapon X" Makowksi (4-1) vs. Aaron Tregear (6-3)
Diego "El Nino" Garijo (3-1) vs. Israel "El Rojo" Giron (9-1)
Jamie Rivera (0-0) vs. Willie Gates (0-1)
James Garzillo (0-0) vs. Andres Jeudi (0-0)
We’ve taken a closer look at two of the featured fights, which are first round match ups from the featherweight and welterweight tournaments, to give you a taste of what to expect from the latest mixed martial arts offering.
Here we go:
Wilson Reis (6-0) vs. Henry Martinez (2-0)
Wilson Reis is an absolute monster on the ground. His strength and speed combined with his vast jiu-jitsu knowledge make him one of the most dangerous 145-pound fighters in the world.
During his time with Elite XC, he submitted both Zach Makovsky and Justin Robbins before handing a very game Brian Caraway only the third loss of his career with a unanimous decision. Reis then outpointed King of the Cage champion Abel Cullum en route to capturing the first and only Elite XC featherweight title.
There aren't too many holes in his game other than the fact that he's short and can be out-struck by the right opponent who can keep him at bay.
There might be a couple guys in this tournament that can execute a strategy that could give Reis some trouble, but don't count on that guy being Greg Jackson product Henry Martinez. He's more of a submission fighter himself and not necessarily known for his striking, meaning he could be in serious trouble in this fight.
That's not to say that Martinez isn't a solid grappler or a skilled ground fighter by any means. Instead, it's more of a testament to how good Reis is in that area.
Look for Reis to impose his will right away in this fight. His strength advantage should be enough for him to have the ability to get the fight to the mat pretty early on, and from there it's only a matter of time before Martinez is tapping out.
Final Prediction: Wilson Reis via first round submission
Hector Urbina (12-4) vs. Lyman Good (7-0)
Good is undefeated in seven professional fights, including four appearances in the "Ring of Combat" promotion and one stop on the IFL tour. He's a big, strong 170 pounder who will probably look to trade strikes with the hard-hitting Urbina.
Urbina, too, is big for a welterweight. He's a little more well rounded and certainly more experienced on a big stage than Good. He's fought for Adrenaline MMA, King of the Cage, Elite XC, Icon Sport and other recognizable promotions. Losses to Mayhem Miller and Tim Kennedy were probably the biggest fights to date of his career, even though he holds some nice wins over guys like David Kleczkowski, Adrian Serrano, Herbert Goodman and others.
This is a fight that can clearly go either way. The longer it goes, the more it probably favors Lyman Good, who has a little bit more experience grinding out decision wins, especially lately. And even though Urbina is always just one punch away from ending your night, Good is still probably more credentialed in the striking department, too, with his background fighting in Chuck Norris' World Combat League.
Basically this fight is going to just be two big, strong strikers going toe to toe with the winner advancing to the semi finals. Too bad for Urbina though, because Good is just a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger and a little bit of a better, more well rounded striker.
Look for Good to either win this fight by a clear-cut unanimous decision or for him to find a way to knockout Urbina in the first or second round. I'm leaning toward the latter.
Final Prediction: Lyman Good via second round technical knockout
Next week Bellator Fighting Championships III will feature the long awaited debut on U.S. soil for the Cuban-born Judoka, Hector Lombard, who has made a name for himself fighting in Japan and on the Australian circuit. He'll lock horns with Virgil Lozano in one of four first round match ups from the middleweight tournament, which will be featured on the card at the Lloyn Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
The first round of the welterweight tourney will also come to a close during the third show for the promotion as former UFC champion Dave Menne takes on Norman Paraisy in the fourth and final 170-pound first round bout.
To catch up on all the latest from Bellator click here. For Bellator I results from last weekend click here. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for the latest news, notes and results surrounding Bellator.
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