By Ryan Young
Bellator makes its first visit to Canada of Season 7 for Bellator 76 at Caesars Windsor on Friday night.
It will be the second time the organization has come to Windsor as they visited in April for Bellator 64 and a thrilling Ben Askren title defence (tongue in cheek).
This time around the venue plays host to what will likely be the departure of one of Bellator’s longest reigning stars, and the opening round of this season’s featherweight tournament.
Here’s what to expect from the main card…
Main Event
Lightweight bout
Eddie Alvarez (23-3, 7-1 Bellator) vs. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (10-3, 3-2 Bellator)
This may very well be the last time Alvarez fights inside the Bellator cage as it completes the duration of his contract. He’s already drawn interest from the UFC and it’s no surprise because the 28-year-old has won eight of his last nine with the lone loss coming against current Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler in a 2011 Fight of the Year candidate. In April, he came back from the Chandler loss to take out DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki in the first round, avenging a prior defeat to the Japanese star in 2008.
Freire, 26, is well known as the older brother of Bellator featherweight No. 1 contender Patricio Freire. He made it to the finals of the Season 4 lightweight tournament losing a unanimous decision to Chandler in the finale, but bounced back by pummeling UFC veteran Kurt Pellegrino in 50 seconds. In March, he came up short in his second Bellator lightweight tourney getting submitted by Lloyd Woodard in his Season 6 opening-round bout.
With two losses in his last three outings, there isn’t a great deal of momentum riding into this one on Freire’s end. For Alvarez, another big win allows him to ride into the sunshine of the UFC with the world seemingly at his fingertips. Don’t expect him to miss out on that opportunity…
Winner: Alvarez via second round submission
Featherweight quarter-final bout (145-pounds)
Nazareno “Naza” Malegarie (22-2, 1-2 Bellator) vs. Rad Martinez (12-2, 2-0 Bellator)
Argentinian Nazareno Malegarie gets his third chance in a Bellator featherweight tourney as he opens up against Utah native and former NCAA Division 1 wrestler Radley Martinez.
Malegarie, 26, last fought in Bellator during the 2011 summer series losing a decision to Marlon Sandro in the semis of that featherweight tourney last July. He’s fought twice in Brazil this year taking out his opposition in a combined 1:58.
The 25-year-old Martinez has won three in a row including two under the Bellator banner. With 11 wins in his last 12 fights the wrestler packing a powerful punch could make a serious push in this tournament.
Martinez is best when putting his opponents on their backs but “Naza” is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. For that reason I foresee a lot of the fight taking place on the feet where Malegarie is a little more technical.
Winner: Malegarie via unanimous decision
Featherweight quarter-final bout (145-pounds)
Wagnney Fabiano (14-3, 0-0 Bellator) vs. Akop Stepanyan (12-3, 0-0 Bellator)
Fabiano is a third-degree BJJ black belt and Zuffa alum. He went 4-2 in the WEC but was released during the UFC/WEC merger after his submission loss to Joseph Benavidez in November 2010. The 37-year-old makes his return to MMA nearly two years since his last fight.
The Armenian Stepanyan is another fighter brought into Bellator this season from the Russian MMA scene joining the likes of Andrey Koreshkov, Michail Tsarev and Alexander Volkov. With 12 consecutive victories he’ll try to follow in his fellow foreign import’s footsteps and advance into the semis of his respective tourney.
A Nova Uniao gym member back in Brazil, Fabiano has adequate striking but he isn’t quite on the same level of Stepanyan. If he can’t get the fight to the floor it could come around to bite him in the you know what…
Winner: Stepanyan via second round TKO
Featherweight quarter-final bout (145-pounds)
Mike “The Marine” Richman (12-1, 1-0 Bellator) vs. Jeremy “Spooner” Spoon (12-1, 2-1 Bellator)
Mike Richman was the villain the last time Bellator rolled through Windsor for his bout against Ontario’s own Chris Horodecki. The 27-year-old shocked the crowd with a knockout 1:23 into the first round, his third straight W overall. He now looks to make his impression on the tournament stage and earn himself a shot at the champ (whenever that will eventually happen).
Spoon was riding a 12-fight winning streak when he entered the Season 6 featherweight tournament. In a stroke of bad luck he drew eventual tourney winner Daniel Straus and lost a unanimous decision at Bellator 60 in March.
The advantage here lies with Richman in the striking department. If he can keep the fight standing I see him cruising to a relatively easily decision or finish.
Winner: Richman via unanimous decision
Featherweight quarter-final bout (145-pounds)
Cody Bollinger (13-2, 1 NC, 0-0 Bellator) vs. Shahbulat Shamhalaev (9-1-1, 0-0 Bellator)
The Russian invasion continues with Shamhalaev (thankful I don’t have to pronounce it).
Shamhalaev’s lone loss came against Khabib Nurmagomedov, now a fixture in the UFC’s lightweight division. The 29-year-old is undefeated in all of his other bouts overseas including nine in a row.
At just 21-years-old Bollinger is taking a big step up in competition. He has good MMA experience for his time in the sport but this will be the biggest stage he has ever fought on.
This is the pick ’em of the evening. I’m leaning towards Shamhalaev because the Russians have been doing so well, and it’s harder to spell his name making my life a little bit harder in the long run.
Winner: Shamhalaev via split decision
Bellator 75 results: We went 3-for-4 last week with the heavyweights, although not with any of the finishes we predicted. In any case, that makes us 5-for-8 so far in Season 7.
Here are the full weigh-in results:
MAIN CARD:
Eddie Alvarez (154.4) vs. Patricky Pitbull (154.8)
Rad Martinez (146) vs. Nazareno Malegarie (145.8)
Mike Richman (145.4) vs. Jeremy Spoon (146)
Shabulat Shamhalaev (145.6) vs. Cody Bollinger (146)
Wagnney Fabiano (145.8) vs. Akop Stepanyan (146)
PRELIMINARY CARD:
Jason Fischer (155.6) vs. Kyle Prepolec (155.6)
Ainsley Robinson (156) vs. Chad Laprise (155.4)
Ali Mokdad (184.8) vs. Simon Marini (185.6)
Domonic O’Grady (170.8) vs. AJ Matthews (170.4)
Nayeb Hezam (145.8) vs. Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (146)
Ryan Young is the lead reporter for MMA360.ca and a regular contributor to sportsnet.ca’s MMA section. Follow him on Twitter @YoungRyan4.
