Bellator 228 Main Card Preview

Middleweights

Gegard Mousasi (45-7-2) vs. Lyoto Machida (26-8)

Mousasi has been waiting to avenge his loss to Machida for five years now and will get his opportunity on Saturday night when they two legendary fighters lock horns once again. The Dutch kickboxer is a very decorated fighter, capturing titles in Dream, Strikeforce and Bellator. If he is able to defeat his Brazilian counterpart, he will likely get a chance to recapture the Bellator middleweight title from the man that took it from him, Rafael Lovato Jr.

Mousasi is one of the most technically savvy fighters in the history of the sport. The veteran of over 50 professional bouts slowly stalks his prey, working behind a very accurate jab. He fights at a slow pace, attempting to read his opponent’s tells so that he can find an opening for his power shots. If the moments don’t present themselves, “The Dreamcatcher” is satisfied enough to just pot-shot at range, scoring points with his distance punches and kicks.

The Dutchman is also a sensational grappler. His has good speed on his double leg entries and immediately cuts an angle to take his adversary to the canvas. Once on top, Mousasi smothers his foe with top pressure, slowly inching to a more dominant position. Once he finds his desired position, he has brutalized foes like Rory MacDonald and Rafael Carvalho with devastating ground strikes. He is a submission threat off his back and showed he is incredibly tough to submit against world class grappler Lovato, though he did struggle to get back to his feet in that fight. With over 16 years of professional MMA experience under his belt, Mousasi is starting to show some signs of decline, with his cardio appearing to be the first asset to escape him. He slowed down greatly in his recent fights against Lovato and Alexander Shlemenko.

Near the end of 2016, things were looking very bleak for Machida. He had just served an 18-month USADA suspension for taking a banned substance and was on the heels of a three-fight losing streak in which he was stopped in each of the contests. Fast forward three years and it appears the 41-year-old has found the fountain of youth, as the legendary fighter has gotten his hand raised in his last four outings. While the former UFC champion isn’t on the same level as the man that ran through the light heavyweight division in 2009 and isn’t considered one of the pound-for-pound best like he once was, he has shown enough moxie to be a major threat in the Bellator middleweight division.

The Shotokan karate master is still an elusive southpaw with the smooth footwork to dodge out of the way of danger, but doesn’t dance around the cage like he has done in years past. He is a patient striker -- sometimes working at a snail’s pace -- who likes to pot-shot his foe from space. He tends to try to lull his opponent to sleep with low output before eventually blitzing forward towards them with a deadly strike. He sits down on his blows generating great power with each attempt. His large arsenal of kicks is the best part of his game. If an opponent can charge “The Dragon” with a flurry of shots, he tends to struggle. However, he does well to time his opponent’s charge with a perfectly placed knee to the body. He will batter the legs and body with crushing blows and then suddenly turn the lights out with a high kick or front kick to the face.

The Black House team member doesn’t use his grappling much but when he does, he is more than serviceable. He has some nice trips inside the clinch and flashes a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, though he only has two submission wins on his record. He has faced off with a slew of high-level wrestlers and has always been hard to take down.

Though Machida was victorious in their first fight back in 2014, that win doesn’t hold much weight today as both fighters are completely different now. Though Machida has had a nice late career renovation, I am still having a hard time trusting him. His recent wins have come against fighters past their prime or not on Mousasi’s current level, not to mention that his wins over both Eryk Anders and Carvalho were both very close decisions and could have been scored against him. I expect both fighters to show each other tons of respect and be very tentative to attack, but I expect the Dutch fighter to be busier and cruise to a-ho hum unanimous decision victory.

Next Fight » Caldwell vs. Corrales