Bellator 132 takes place Friday night in Temecula, Calif., and officially kicks off the promotion’s 2015 campaign. Along with a championship rematch in the main event, this card has a number of intriguing matchups and some UFC veterans ready to prove their skill set. Here are five reasons to tune into Bellator 132.
Pitbull attack
The main event features one of the best fights you’ll l see outside the UFC all year when Bellator’s 145-pound champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire takes on Season 6 tournament winner Daniel Straus. These two first faced off in the Season 4 Bellator featherweight tournament final in 2011 with Pitbull earning a unanimous decision victory. Along with seeking revenge, Straus will also look to win back the championship he lost last year to Pat Curran at Bellator 112, as he was finished with only four seconds left in the fight. The 27-year-old Freire looks to successfully defend his title for the first time and subsequently earn his sixth straight victory. Both fighters have evolved immensely since their first encounter and fans are in for a real treat as its likely these two will look to stand in trade for the majority of the five round affair.
Prospect watch
Featherweights also invade the evening’s co-main event as NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion Bubba Jenkins faces former WSOF featherweight champion Georgi Karakhanyan. The 26-year-old Jenkins has been a highly touted prospect in the organization and aside from one blemish – a loss to LaRue Burley at Bellator 100 in 2013 – he’s lived up to the hype amassing an 8-1 record. He’s taking a huge step up in competition Friday when he faces off with the Millennia MMA product Karakhanyan. Since his departure from Bellator in 2011, Karakhanyan racked up an impressive nine-fight win streak before losing his WSOF title to Rick Glenn last June. He now re-joins the organization with his sights set on the featherweight title. Both these fighters have a combined 23 stoppage victories, so don’t expect this contest to hit the judges’ scorecards.
Houston, we have liftoff
Houston Alexander returns to the Bellator cage to take on Virgil Zwicker in a rematch from their lacklustre majority draw encounter last October at Bellator 129. Prior to that underwhelming fight, the 42-year-old had won three of his last four fights all by knockout. In fact, of his 16 career victories Alexander has won 11 by KO. His opponent had a promising start to his career going 8-0 (including a knockout victory over current UFC standout Ovince Saint Preux) but has struggled to find consistency in recent fights. Expect a sense of urgency for both fighters as they look to put on a better showing than their last tilt.
“The Whitemare” returns
Former DREAM welterweight champion Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis looks for his first two-fight win streak since 2012 when he battles “The Menifee Maniac” Fernando Gonzalez. The Lithuanian kickboxer Zaromskis snapped a two-fight losing streak in his last outing, dominating Canadian Vaughn Anderson last May at Bellator 119 in Rama, Ont. Gonzalez meanwhile has won two straight fights over a pair of veterans including former UFC contender Karo Parisyan and Bellator tournament winner Karl Amoussou. With 14-career knockouts, expect Zaromskis to keep this one on the feet and go for the finish.
UFC veterans go to war
The final fight on the preliminary portion of the card pits Factory X product Dustin Jacoby against three-time UFC veteran John Salter. Jacoby lost his Bellator debut against King Mo in a short notice fight at Bellator 123, snapping his two-fight win streak. Since his UFC release in 2010, Salter has gone 5-1 including victories over Canadians Kalib Starnes and Ryan Machan. It’s no secret Jacoby will want to keep this fight standing as the Colorado native also competes for the Glory kickboxing promotion. Expect both of these light-heavyweight fighters to go for the finish and separate themselves from the rest of the pack in the 205-pound division. Bellator’s 205-pound division is in dire need of some new contenders.
Here’s the full Bellator 132 card:
MAIN CARD
— Patricio Freire vs. Daniel Straus (for featherweight title)
— Bubba Jenkins vs. Georgi Karakhanyan
— Houston Alexander vs. Virgil Zwicker
— Fernando Gonzalez vs. Marius Zaromskis
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Dustin Jacoby vs. John Salter
— Hector Carrillo vs. Everett Cummings
— Steve Kozola vs. Jonathan Rivera
— Derek Anderson vs. Danny Navarro
— Fabricio Guerreiro vs. Nick Piedmont
— Fabian Gonzalez vs. Albert Morales
— Luc Bondole vs. Chris Herrera
