Bellator 178: Straus v.
Pitbull 4 Preview
Travis Lizotte
Premiere
worldwide MMA Promotion Bellator MMA, will make its annual stop in New England
on Friday night April 21st in Uncasville, CT. Once again the Mohegan
Sun Arena will play host to one of the largest MMA Promotions in the world;
Bellator MMA has stacked a card with both local and national talent. Thus,
staying true to the Bellator tradition of providing local stars the opportunity
to fight on the same fight card as the world’s biggest stars; of the 15 fights
(30 fighters) on the card, 22 fighters have fought in New England before, with
many of them making their MMA names right here in the Northeast. Bellator 178
features fighters from all of the top New England promotions including; CES,
NEF, Cage Titans, Combat Zone, Reality Fighting and Premiere FC. If it is star
power you’re looking for; the Spike TV Main Event for the Bellator
Featherweight belt pits stars; Daniel Straus (Champion) and Patricio “Pitbull”
Freire (Challenger) together in what will be their fourth meeting in the
Bellator cage. Patricio “Pitbull” will be looking to put the Featherweight
title back where it once belonged, around his waist, and make it three wins
against the title holder Straus, who will be looking to once again handle the
Brazilian and make it 2-1 in title fights against “Pitbull.” New England MMA
fans and MMA fans worldwide will be treated to an exciting night of action on
one of the world’s biggest stages, as Ballator MMA makes their highly
anticipated return to our backyards, Friday night!
The
undercard which can be watched on Spike.com will be stacked top to bottom with
our own home grown New England talent, including Champions, Rising Stars as
well as hardened New England Veterans. New England MMA fans will get a chance
to see some fights that would not likely happen if it weren’t for Bellator,
being that many of the fighters are currently fighting for different promotions
in the Northeast but many are considered to be atop the regional ranks in their
weight classes. Being that Bellator is such a big promotion, it has become
somewhat of a rite of passage on the local MMA scene. Therefore they have the
ability to make these fights happen, we will undoubtedly be seeing some shaking
up of names in our regional ranking system as the result of these fights on
Friday night. New England MMA fans and national fans alike will most definitely
be salivating at the idea of this star studded undercard that breaks down like
this:
Ed Ruth v. David “Redneck” Mundell
Middleweight
Ed Ruth (2-0)
Fighting out
of: Albuquerque, NM
Affiliation:
Jackson Wink MMA Academy
Last
Appearance in New England: (Professional Debut) First Round TKO Victory over
Dustin Collins-Miles at Bellator 163 at Mohegan Sun.
David Mundell (6-2)
Fighting out
of: Clearwater, FL
Affiliation:
Gracie Clearwater
Last
Appearance in New England: Unanimous Decision victory over Jarod Lawton at NEF;
Dana White Looking for a Fight.
Breakdown: Ed Ruth and David Mundell throw down in a Middleweight matchup;
Ruth who comes from a wrestling background has focused on his striking to
finish his first two fights in the Bellator cage and propel him to a perfect
2-0 record as a pro, finishing both fights in the very first round. With a 2-0
professional record, two first round finishes and two consecutive Bellator
victories to start his career Ruth is the true definition of a top prospect in
the Middleweight division. Mundell started his career 5-0 before losing two of
his last three fights against Mike Perry and Preston Parsons, Mundell will be
looking to derail the Ed Ruth hype train and get back to his winning ways on
the biggest stage of his career.
Shane Manley v. Chris “Cassius” Foster
Featherweight
Shane Manley (3-2)
Fighting out
of: Syracuse, NY
Affiliation:
Team Andrello
Last
Appearance in New England: First round submission victory over Taylor Trahan at
CES 31.
Chris Foster (10-5)
Fighting out
of: North Haven, CT
Affiliation:
Ultimate MMA
Last
Appearance in New England: Unanimous Decision loss to Calvin Kattar at CES 38.
Breakdown: Shane Manley will be making his return to the cage for
the first time since September of 2015 when he submitted Taylor Trahan at CES 31,
Manley will be looking to secure his fourth professional victory when he steps
in against fellow Featherweight Chris Foster. Foster has developed himself into one of the best Featherweights
in New England all the while fighting the top names in the New England
Featherweight division for CES and Combat Zone. Foster hopes to make it back to
back victories in the Ballator cage following a Unanimous Decision victory over
Tom English at Bellator 163 in November of last year.
Kemran Lachinov v. Sam “Super Saiyan” Watford
Catchweight (165lbs)
Kemran Lachinov (3-2)
Fighting out
of: Ludlow, MA
Affiliation:
Team Link
Last
Appearance in New England: First round KO/TKO of Tyler Rose at Reality
Fighting.
Sam Watford (2-1)
Fighting out
of: Mount Vernon, NY
Affiliation:
Renzo Gracie Connecticut
Last
Appearance in New England: First round submission of Dean Hancock at Bellator
153 at Mohegan Sun.
Breakdown: Welterweight Kemran
Lachinov will be facing the toughest test of his professional career on Friday
night when the Reality Fighting, Premier FC and CES veteran steps into the
Bellator cage for the first time against highly touted Renzo Gracie fighter Sam
Watford. Watford who typically fights at Lightweight will be looking to bounce
back from the first loss in his professional career after starting his pro
career 2-0 with both wins coming in the Bellator cage. Last time out Watford
lost a Decision at Ring of Combat 55 against Nekruz Mirkhojaev in June of 2016,
Watford hopes that the Bellator cage is kind to him in his return against
Lachinov, at a Catchweight of 165 pounds.
Mak
Kelleher v. “Shameless” Don Shainis
Catchweight (150lbs)
Mak Kelleher (1-3)
Fighting out
of: Centereach, NY
Affiliation:
Maxum BJJ
Last
Appearance in New England: Unanimous Decision loss to Dylan Lockard at CES 37
Don Shainis (2-1)
Fighting out
of: Cambridge, MA
Affiliation:
Redline
Last
Appearance in New England: First round submission victory over Alex Dolan at
Cage Titans 31.
Breakdown: Do not let the 1-3 record of Kelleher fool you, his 3
losses have come against the premier fighters in the Featherweight division
including, Rico DiSciullo, Manny Bermudez and Dylan Lockard all in the CES
cage. The Featherweight Kelleher will once again be put to the test when he
moves up in weight to make his Bellator Debut against Lightweight Don Shainis
at a Catchweight of 150 Pounds. Shainis a Cage Titans veteran comes in with only
one loss which came at the hands of Jeremy Davis, when an injury made it
impossible for Shainis to answer the second round bell. Shainis has enjoyed a
successful career including an Amateur title for Cage Titans, but the bright
lights of the Bellator cage will undoubtedly shine down on what is to be the
biggest fight in the careers of these two New England fighters.
Nick “JC” Alley v. Kastriot Xhema
Welterweight
Nick Alley (3-0)
Fighting out
of: Hooksett, NH
Affiliation:
Team Link
Last
Appearance in New England: Second round TKO of Addison O’Neil at Premier FC 22.
Kastriot Xhema (Pro Debut)
Fighting out
of: Greenwich, CT
Affiliation:
American Top Team Fairfield
Last
Appearance in New England: Scheduled to fight Keenan Raymond at Bellator 163
but fight did not happen.
Summary: “JC” Alley
will be making his Bellator Debut as one of the fastest rising stars in all of
New England MMA, the Team Link Hooksett product continues to impress each time
out, showing his game is ever improving and his hard work continues to pay off.
Alley has finished all three of his professional fights, for Premier FC and
Reality Fighting, without reaching the third round. Nick will be fighting the
virtually unknown Kastriot Xhema, who will be making his professional debut
after his first Bellator fight with Keenan Raymond was scrapped. Xhema hopes to
use the Bellator cage to launch his MMA career, while Alley will be looking to
leave the cage with his hand raised once again as he hopes to add Xhema to the
list of opponents he has dismantled on his path to an undefeated professional
career.
Jordan Young v. Tim “The Bear” Caron
Catchweight(195lbs)
Jordan Young (6-0)
Fighting out
of: Coconut Creek, FL
Affiliation:
American Top Team
Last
Appearance in New England: New England Debut
Tim Caron (7-0)
Fighting out
of: Manchester, NH
Affiliation:
Team Burgess
Last
Appearance in New England: Second round TKO of Steve Skrzat at Bellator 163 at
Mohegan Sun.
Breakdown: It’s always exciting when two fighters with undefeated
records clash inside the cage and this fight should be no different, in 13
combined professional bouts; no one has been able to solve either of these two
fighters. Caron is a well know Middleweight from the New England circuit,
carving his undefeated career path through the Combat Zone and Reality Fighting
promotions as well as a 2-0 record inside the Bellator cage. Young’s path to
Bellator was paved throughout the Mid West region of the U.S. where he went 5-0
with 4 first round submission victories before his 1-0 start in the Bellator
cage. Young has recently made the move to Coconut Creek, Florida to train with
American Top Team in hopes to hone his skills to become one of the premier
Middleweights in Bellator, but has the daunting task of figuring out Tim Caron,
who will be standing in his way.
Tyrell Fortune v. Branko Busick
Heavyweight
Tyrell Fortune (2-0)
Fighting out
of: Tempe, AZ
Affiliation:
Blackzilians
Last
Appearance in New England: First round TKO of Cody Miskell at Bellator 163 at
Mohegan Sun.
Branko Busick (Pro Debut)
Fighting out
of: West Virginia, USA
Affiliation:
N/A
Last
Appearance in New England: New England Debut
Breakdown: Tyrell Fortune will welcome his third straight opponent
to the Bellator cage to make their Debuts; Fortune was successful in his first
two trips inside that cage, earning him back to back KO victories to open his
own professional career. Fortune trains with the Blackzilians and posses KO
power to go along with top of the class Wrestling. West Virginia’s Branko
Busick, will be stepping up to another level when he makes his Pro Debut for
the Bellator promotion when he takes on Fortune. Busick sported a 2-1 record as
an amateur with two first round wins by submission chokes, and looks to have
his hands full with Fortune but when two Heavyweights clash virtually anything
can happen. This fight will show a lot about the heart and ability of both
fighters and should draw a lot of interest from Bellator fans.
Johnny “Mr. Nice Guy” Lopez v. Remo Cardarelli
Flyweight
John Lopez (8-3)
Fighting out
of: Hartford, CT
Affiliation:
Underdog BJJ
Last
Appearance in New England: Third round submission of Matt Almy at Reality
Fighting.
Remo Cardarelli (6-5)
Fighting out
of: Framingham, MA
Affiliation:
South Shore Sportfighting
Last
Appearance in New England: Split decision loss to Josh Ricci at CES 39.
Breakdown: This is a fight many years in the making, Cage Titans
Flyweight standout Remo Carderelli will square off against Reality Fighting
Flyweight Champion Johnny Lopez. This is one of the fights on the card that New
England fans are looking forward to; and it took Bellator MMA to come to town
to finally make it happen. Johnny Lopez is currently on a seven fight winning
streak which lead to him capturing the Reality Fighting belt and since
defending that title, of those seven wins Lopez has finished five of the fights
by submission. Remo Cardarelli has 4 submission victories of his own on his way
to a 6-5 professional career battling some of the top Flyweights in New England
for the Cage Titans promotion. Remo will be making his second trip to the
Bellator cage, earning a decision victory over Billy Giovanella at Bellator 140
his first time out.
Regivaldo Carvalho v. Jay Perrin
Catchweight (140lbs)
Regivaldo Carvalho (3-2)
Fighting out
of: Danbury, CT/ Curitiba, Brazil
Affiliation:
Teixeira MMA/ King Shark MMA
Last
Appearance in New England: New England Debut
Jay Perrin (3-2)
Fighting out
of: Hudson, NH
Affiliation:
Sityodtong Boston
Last
Appearance in New England: First round TKO of Chad Kelly at Combat Zone 60.
Breakdown: Hudson, New Hampshire’s Jay Perrin will be making his second
appearance for Bellator Friday night; The NEF and Combat Zone veteran will be
looking to prove that his two split decision losses do not define him as a
fighter. Perrin would like to come out and show the world that he is more like
the fighter that knocked out Elias Leland and Chad Kelly as part of his three
career wins amongst the ranks of the professionals, when he faces off against
Brazil’s Cavalho. Cavalho will be looking to bounce back from back to back
losses and is looking to score his first win on American soil when he squares
off with the New England native. Both fighters train out of some of the top
schools in the region, Perrin for Sityodtong Boston and Cavalho trains with
Glover Teixeira, at Teixeria MMA and each would like to show their ever
improving skills and pick up a statement win in the Bellator cage.
Billy “Wolverine” Giovanella v. “Ruthless” Josh Ricci
Flyweight
Billy Giovanella (9-6)
Fighting out
of: Bellingham, Ma
Affiliation:
Connors MMA
Last
Appearance in New England: First round submission loss to Johnny Lopez at
Reality Fighting.
Josh Ricci (3-0)
Fighting out
of: Utica, NY
Affiliation:
Team Andrello
Last
Appearance in New England: Split Decision victory over Remo Carderelli at CES
39.
Breakdown: Fight scrapped at weigh ins.
Blair “The Bull Shark” Tugman v. Tom “The Terror” English
Featherweight
Blair Tugman (9-6)
Fighting out
of: Branford, CT
Affiliation:
Ultimate MMA
Last
Appearance in New England: Unanimous Decision win over Walter Smith-Cotito at
Bellator 163 at Mohegan Sun.
Tom English (6-7)
Fighting out
of: Centereach, NY
Affiliation:
Bellmore Kickboxing/ MMA
Last
Appearance in New England: Unanimous Decision loss to Chris Foster at Bellator
163 at Mohegan Sun.
Breakdown: Connecticut’s Blair Tugman is no stranger to the bright
lights of Bellator, going 4-2 in his six fights for the promotion, when not
fighting for Bellator; Tugman has sharpened his skills against some of New
England’s best in the CES cage. Tugman has had his hand raised in each of his
last two fights for Bellator earning a split decision victory over Jay Perrin
and a unanimous decision over Walter Smith-Cotito at Bellator 153 and 163
respectfully. English will be making his second Bellator appearance and will be
looking for his first win for the promotion. English has also been known to
sharpen his skills in the CES cage notching fights against Andre Soukhamthath
and Kyle Bochniak who have both since fought with the UFC. Tugman is one tough
customer, but English is a seasoned veteran himself, this should be a great
fight.
Main Card
The four
fight Main Card, which airs Live on Spike TV at 10est, features three premier
fights leading up to the Main Event for the Bellator World Featherweight
Championship as Daniel Straus and Patricio Pitbull have a score to settle as
they stand across the cage from each other for the fourth time.
Dominic “The
Honey Badger” Mazzotta v. AJ “Mercenary” McKee
Featherweight
Dominic Mazzotta (12-1)
Fighting out
of: Pennsylvania, USA
Affiliation:
Ed Vincent MMA
Last
Appearance in New England: New England Debut
AJ McKee (7-0)
Fighting out
of: Lakewood, CA
Affiliation:
Team Bodyshop MMA
Last
Appearance in New England: New England Debut
Breakdown: This fight is going to be your classic Bellator rising
star fight, both fighters are highly anticipated prospects with extreme hype
surrounding them. McKee comes in with a clean professional record at 7-0 with
all seven fights coming for Bellator MMA. Mazzotta comes in with only one
“blemish” on his professional record; that “blemish” happens to be against the
current UFC Bantamweight Champion; Cody “No Love” Garbrandt, in 2014.
Mazzotta is currently on a nine fight win streak and has shown no signs
of stopping, winning seven of those fights by submission. This will be
Mazzotta’s first fight for Bellator Friday night and he, as well as his
adversary, will be making their New England debuts. This has to be the early
candidate for Fight of the Night honors, when these two Featherweight prospects
lock horns in front of the Mohegan Sun crowd.
Saad
“Assassin” Awad v. Ryan Quinn
Catchweight
(165lbs)
Saad Awad (19-9)
Fighting out
of: San Bernardino, CA
Affiliation:
Millennia MMA
Last
Appearance in New England: First round KO loss to Brennan Ward at Bellator 163
at Mohegan Sun.
Ryan Quinn (13-6-1)
Fighting out
of: Coconut Creek, FL
Affiliation:
American Top Team
Last
Appearance in New England: Third round KO of Brett Oteri at Blockbuster MMA 1.
Breakdown: California’s Saad Awad has been a staple in Bellator
since Bellator 10 Back in 2009; this will be his 14th fight for the
promotion. Awad is coming off back to back losses to Derek Anderson and
Connecticut’s own “Irish” Brennan Ward and his resume includes some of the top
Lightweights in the World. Awad has
shown over his career that he has the ability to put his opponents to sleep,
whether it be by knockout, or by submission. Connecticut born Quinn will be
taking the Bellator cage for the 8th time and carries with him a
promotional record of 7-0 since his first Bellator fight in 2010. Awad will
undoubtedly be Quinn’s toughest opponent to date and he will need to perform to
his highest abilities if he wants to keep his clean Bellator record alive against
the savvy veteran Saad Awad.
Ilima-Lei
“The Ilimanator” MacFarland v. Jessica Middleton
Flyweight
Ilima-Lei MacFarland (5-0)
Fighting out
of: San Diego, CA
Affiliation:
Team Hurricane Awesome
Last
Appearance in New England: New England Debut
Jessica Middleton (2-0)
Fighting out
of: Wichita, KS
Affiliation:
N/A
Last
Appearance in New England: New England Debut
Breakdown: The Hawaiian MacFarland has made a splash in the Bellator
Women’s Flyweight division since making her debut in August 2015 going an
impressive 4-0 under the Bellator banner. MacFarland has never lost a fight in
her MMA career going 5-0 as a pro as well as 2-0 as an amateur, thus earning
herself a spot in the World’s top ten Women’s Flyweights. MacFarland will be
looking to keep that train rolling when she meets Jessica Middleton in the
center of Mohegan Sun arena Friday. Middleton who is 2-0 as a pro, had both of
her professional wins come by decision in the Bellator cage. Jessica’s two
quick wins have set her up with this match against one of the promotions top
contenders, and what is to be the toughest test of Middleton’s early career.
Daniel
Straus v. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire
Featherweight
Daniel Straus (25-6)
Fighting out
of: Cincinnati, OH
Affiliation:
American Top Team
Last
Appearance in New England: New England Debut
Patricio Pitbull (25-4)
Fighting out
of: Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Affiliation:
Pitbull Brothers MMA
Last
Appearance in New England: Second round Submission of Henry Corrales at
Bellator 153 at Mohegan Sun.
Breakdown: Featherweight Champion Daniel Straus will defend his
Title for the first time against the man he took it from back in 2015; Patricio
Pitbull, who will share the cage with Straus for an unprecedented fourth time
in their storied careers. Pitbull got the best of Straus in their first two
contests and Daniel knew he was going to have to earn a title shot in order to
get his shot at redemption. After Straus submitted Henry Corrales at Bellator
138, he had finally earned his shot at redemption and made the best of it at
Bellator 145 when he earned a unanimous decision over Pitbull to dethrone the
champion, and put the Featherweight belt around his waist, and thus set up an
automatic rematch, which has been just less than 18 months in the making. If
the first three fights are any indication of how this fight will play out, this
fight will be worth the price of admission on its own. Their last two fights
are two of the best fights in the promotion’s rich history; Bellator is doing
the New England MMA fans quite a service by having this fight headline this
card right in our own back yard. This fight should draw some much welcomed
attention to a card stacked with our New England MMA stars!