Bellator MMA will invade the SAP Center in San Jose, California, on Saturday night.
"King Mo" Muhammad Lawal will battle Phil Davis in a pivotal light heavyweight matchup that is likely going to determine the next challenger for Bellator champion Liam McGeary. Lawal has long been among the elite fighters in the light heavyweight and heavyweight ranks, and he looks prepared to make another push toward Bellator glory.
Davis has found new life for his MMA career. He signed with Bellator in 2015 after a long run with the UFC. The two men were supposed to face each other at the light heavyweight tournament in September 2015, but Lawal was injured in his win over Linton Vassell.
Davis subsequently defeated Vassell, who replaced the injured Lawal in the finals. Barring an issue at the weigh-in on Friday, Lawal and Davis will finally clash.
Hearts will be heavy before the start of the co-main event. Adam Piccolotti was supposed to face Jordan Parsons in a lightweight bout, but Parsons tragically died on May 4 from injuries suffered from a hit-and-run.
Per Steven Marrocco of MMA Junkie, Piccolotti didn't know Parsons personally, but his untimely passing had a significant effect on him:
I didn’t necessarily know Jordan, but I felt like I did. After thinking about him so much and preparing for him so much, checking his social media, I felt like I knew the dude. Like, I knew him well. So when this happened, it was a real eye-opener and a real flash about how quick life can be. It put me in a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, to say the least, and it made me really grateful for each and every day.
Ray Wood will now be Piccolotti's opponent, and there will almost certainly be a moment of silence and a just due tribute of some sort for Parsons. Here's a look at the card, schedule and predictions for the televised fights.
Just below the card details is a breakdown of the two feature fights.
When: Saturday at 8 p.m. ET for main card, prelims will be televised on Spike.com at 6:30 p.m.
TV: Spike
Live Stream: Spike.com
Predictions
- Evangelista Santos def. Saad Awad by TKO
- Andre Fialho def. Rick Reger by TKO
- Adam Piccolotti def. Ray Wood by TKO
- Muhammad Lawal def. Phil Davis by UD
Piccolotti Will Submit Wood
Wood is a solid prospect, but stamina has been an issue for him in his young career. He's looked a little sluggish in the latter half of fights, and in his lone loss as a professional, he was submitted by Anthony Morrison back in February 2015.
Take a look at the fight in the video from New England Fights on YouTube below:
The fight was a close one heading into the fifth and final round, but Wood didn't have the energy to finish strong, and he succumbed to a guillotine.
Piccolotti is a perfect 3-0 in Bellator, and he will have a four-inch height advantage over Wood. The latter is used to competing at 145 pounds, but he'll be taking on a longer and bigger opponent in this his Bellator debut.
Against a fighter of Piccolotti's caliber and on the biggest stage in his MMA career, Wood will have a tough night. Look for Piccolotti to submit him in the second round.
King Mo Will Outwork Davis
Davis has been hit-or-miss in the biggest fights of his MMA career. While he owns victories over Lyoto Machida, Glover Teixeira and former Bellator light heavyweight champion Emmanuel Newton, he's also lost to Ryan Bader, Anthony Johnson and Rashad Evans.
A lack of aggression and striking prowess have been his undoing.
He stopped Vassell via strikes in the finale of the tournament in September, but it was his first win by KO/TKO since 2009. Davis leans heavily on his world-class wrestling game. However, against foes with similar backgrounds like Bader, Johnson and Evans, Davis has struggled.
Lawal is a former All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, and he's far superior to Davis when it comes to striking. To be specific, Lawal has one-punch KO power.
Davis has been great at avoiding huge strikes from big-punching opponents in the past, but he usually shells up and takes a loss because of inactivity.
Expect the same result on Saturday night as Lawal pushes the action, thwarts Davis' attempts to make the fight a wrestling match and earns the win on productive aggression and superior striking.
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