We’ve seen many technical wars that went the distance at the last weekend’s UFC on ESPN 43. Unfortunately, the poor judging threw a shade at the main event of the evening, where Cory Sandhagen dominated Marlon Vera for four rounds. The two had the bout 50-45 and 49-46 in favor of Sandhagen, while one judge scored 48-47 for Vera. I just wonder how, when Vera woke up in the middle of round 5, and dominantly lost the first four rounds.
But let’s talk about the brighter aspects of UFC on ESPN 43 now. The UFC president Dana White was impressed with four fighters, who banked additional 50,000 dollars after the card.
The first Fight of the Night bonus went in the favor of Daniel “The Pit” Pineda, who guillotine choked Tucker Lutz off the bottom. Their fight was moved to the main card because Alex Perez got sick, so the flyweight bout between Perez and Kape was scrapped because of Alex’s medical problems.
The second Fight of the Night bonus went into the hands of Nate Landwehr, who dominated Austin Lingo in the first and finished the fight via a rear-naked choke in the second round of the match.
The Fight of the Night bonus was given to Daniel Lacerda and CJ Vergara. This could be the comeback of the year too. Lacerda is known for poor cardio, and it seems CJ Vergara was playing wisely in round 1. On a few occasions, the hometown fighter was running away and fighting for his life.
Lacerda dropped him with a right-spinning heel kick but failed to finish in the first five minutes. Yet, we saw a different version of CJ Vergara in the second period. Vergara dropped his opponent, then miraculously stopped him with a submission. This bout is a great candidate for one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the promotion too!
Unfortunately, there is no UFC this week, but please, don’t be sad, there will be 8 consecutive UFC weekends in a row. On the other side, Bellator 293 takes place in Pechanga Resort Casino, Temecula, California, and it will be headlined by the amazing battle between Marcelo Golm and Daniel James. You can watch it on Showtime, while the preliminary card is free to watch on YouTube.
Photo: @BellatorMMA Twitter
Marcelo Golm is one of the most dominant ground warriors in the Bellator’s 265-pound roster, with excellent takedown offense and an amazing submission game off the top and the bottom. Golm will try to dominate on the mats and extend his winning streak to five. In his first two Bellator fights, he put on a show against Billy Swanson and Davion Franklin. He is also a former UFC fighter, with a record of 1-3 in the fastest-growing MMA promotion in the world. If Golm wins, he’ll become one of the greatest candidates for Bellator’s heavyweight strap.
Daniel James, also known under the monicker “The American Predator”, made an amazing career in ACA before joining Scott Coker’s promotion. His level of experience is amazing, and his punches are extremely powerful. You don’t want to trade big bombs with this hard-hitting hillbilly. Yet, James’ weakness is ground game, but his takedown defense is pretty much nice. As long as he keeps the fight on his feet, he should win. I have a feeling somebody will get finished here.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance
In the co-main, the former UFC title contender Cat Zingano will try to defeat one of the most promising girls on the roster, Leah McCourt. Both of these girls are masters of an all-around game, so this scrap could turn technical. If you’re a fan of long wars, footwork, and angling, without violent shots and nasty knockout power, look at this fight. It could go all the way, but you never know.
Prediction: over 2.5 rounds
Please take a look at my Bellator 293 main card predictions in the video below, and check the tapology link for the full fight card. https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/97674-bellator-293-golm-vs-james
I know the majority of you are sad because there is no UFC this weekend but enjoy Bellator and PFL. Don’t forget, the UFC returns in 2 weeks with its stacked UFC 287 PPV event, headlined by the amazing 185-pound title fight rematch between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira!
