10 reasons to channel surf for tonight's UFC and Bellator cards

It’s been a while since rival MMA promotions staged fight cards on the same night. There’s a lot less competition out there for the UFC – and no insolent upstarts like Affliction to motivate the 10,000-pound gorilla to raise its tents on short notice.

Right now, it’s really just Bellator MMA, a slightly less garish product that, thankfully, hasn’t given a moment of its show away to Megadeth. Under the new management of ex-Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker, the defacto No. 2 player looks like its going to be transformed into something resembling his now-defunct promotion, but with a lot more media muscle behind it.

But first, there are existing obligations to attend to, and for Coker and Co., that means pushing Bellator 123, which was scheduled – intentionally or not – on the same night as UFC Fight Night 50. The two events not only go head-to-head on TV, but also compete for the expendable dollars of Connecticut’s finest. The Mohegan Sun Arena that hosts Bellator in Uncasville is about a 10-mile drive from Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard. (Bellator 123’s main card airs live on Spike TV at 8 p.m. ET, and UFC Fight Night 50’s main card kicks off on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET.)

Usually, these columns are dedicated to UFC events because, let’s face it, most of the so-called needle-movers reside within the octagon. Bellator, however, has scheduled a solid title rematch in its headliner and filled its Spike TV card with a notable, if slightly slanted, roster of matchups.

UFC Fight Night 50, on the other hand, features a solid card with three top-10 ranked fighters. And it bears noting that those three are also former Strikeforce fighters, which is further proof that the foundation laid by Strikeforce is paying off for the UFC.

It’s a Friday today, so watching MMA fights might not be on your list of priorities. You may want to go about your usual routine and head to the nearest watering hole to shed a few brain cells. But with a little picture-in-picture or DVR magic, you can catch two solid fight cards.

Here are 10 reasons to watch Bellator 123 and UFC Fight Night 50:

1. Alligator catcher

UFC Fight Night 50: In a middleweight division that’s been revitalized over the past year with the changing of the guard, few fighters have looked as promising as Ronaldo Souza (20-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC). The former Strikeforce champion has rattled off three straight wins since transferring from the now-defunct promotion and was first to halt the seemingly inexorable march of Francis Carmont. Now, “Jacare” faces his stiffest test to date in a rematch with fellow ex-strikeforce champ Gegard Mousasi (35-4-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who fell just short of a shot at the title when current contender Lyoto Machida outpointed him. After rebounding with a quick win over Mark Munoz, “The Dreamcatcher” could reignite a title bid by stopping Souza, who knocked him out with an upkick six years ago in the now-defunct DREAM. Souza’s skill set was far less developed back then, so it will be interesting to see how things have changed in this event’s headliner.

2. Feather dust-off

Bellator 123: As featherweight champ Pat Curran (20-5 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) recently told MMAjunkie, fans are probably going to see a lot of him and two other guys, Patricio Freire and Daniel Straus. They’re the best talent the Viacom-owned promotion has to offer, after all, and with the end of tournaments, it’s a safe bet they’re going to fight a lot of rematches. Curran notched his first title defense over “Pitbull” at the start of 2013 in an entertaining five-rounder. Having won back the belt taken by Straus this past fall, he gets a little deja vu in starting out his second stint opposite the Brazilian. Freire (21-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) gave him all he could handle in a kickboxing-heavy fight, so count on this one showing a little more variety. In the end, though, it should be just as exciting as the first one.

3. Heavy leather

UFC Fight Night 50: Apart from being two notable UFC fighters to dance with the testosterone devil, Alistair Overeem (37-13 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Ben Rothwell (33-9 MMA, 3-3 UFC) are heavyweights in search of a place in the promotion. Overeem, signed to a lucrative contract, has sputtered in high-profile fights while Rothwell has picked up steam only to be knocked down. Rothwell is back after a one-year layoff courtesy of a UFC suspension for illicit testosterone use, so a win over Overeem would be huge for his career. For Overeem, who most recently pounded out Frank Mir in a less-than-thrilling affair, it would merely keep him in place. “The Reem” appears to have more long-term upside as a hulking star, but a loss to Rothwell would be pretty devastating to his career. It might, however, justify the UFC’s decision to cut costs.

4. Beast mode

UFC Fight Night 50: Heavyweight Derrick Lewis (11-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) looks like a freight train ready to chug across the UFC’s big-man division, but as of yet, he hasn’t faced top-tier talent. “The Ultimate Fighter 10? vet Matt Mitrione (7-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) has specialized in deflating over-hyped fighters, most notably Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson, so a matchup between the two is normal for the promotion’s playbook of building contenders. Lewis is a bruiser in the first round, but he has yet to be pushed into deep waters, and Mitrione has the length and striking skills to keep him at distance. Lewis will either show he’s more than just a brawler, or fall hard.

5. Power vs. technique

Bellator 123: Speaking of heavyweights, the hard-swinging Lavar Johnson (18-9 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) used to be the flavor of the moment in the UFC before a pair of losses and a post-fight pop for testosterone brought his exit. Now in Bellator, Johnson is trying to reinvent himself and struggling against well-rounded fighters. Cheick Kongo (21-9-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) is just the type of technician that could slowly wear him down over 15 minutes, but he’s also been railroaded by those who charged him off the bat. Johnson’s biggest wins have come by first-round blugeoning, so there’s your intrigue.

6. Your jiu-jitsu is no good here

UFC Fight Night 50: “The Ultimate Fighter 15? winner Michael Chiesa (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is a lot like his upcoming opponent, Joe Lauzon (23-9 MMA, 10-6 UFC), in the way that he capitalizes on opportunities to finish opponents. The problem for him, here, is that Lauzon has done it a lot longer than he has, and against more seasoned competition. A ground scramble between the two is bound to bring some excitement, but it wouldn’t be entirely surprising to see Lauzon keep this fight on the feet and test the “TUF” winner’s mettle.

7. Easy riding

Bellator 123: Free from the burdensome presence of Bjorn Rebney, Muhammed Lawal (12-4 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) can now try to rebuild his career after a questionable decision loss to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Bellator and Scott Coker would be wise to build toward a rematch between the two rivals, and that’s the easiest plan. But first, Lawal needs a few wins under his belt, and UFC castoff Dustin Jacoby (10-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) should provide a springboard for bigger things. That is, unless Jacoby decides to play spoiler.

8. Under the radar

UFC Fight Night 50: Featherweights Nik Lentz (25-6-2 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) and Charles Oliveira (18-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) have flirted with title contention, only to see hopes dashed by title contenders and ex-champs. A rematch between the two, which comes three years after an illegal knee from Oliveira led to a no-contest, almost seems like a fight for the title of ultimate gatekeeper, as guys like champ Jose Also, Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, Cub Swanson and Dennis Bermudez hold the top five spots. Lentz is now a competent striker, but against an unpredictable threat like Oliveira, he’ll be mixing in his wrestling skills to trump the Brazilian.

9. The man who wouldn’t be king

Bellator 123: In retrospect, the hype around heavyweight Bobby Lashley‘s MMA crossover was far too generous. The sometime pro wrestler got into the sport too late, and like success story Brock Lesnar, didn’t really like getting punched in the face for a living. Add to that an uneven training regimen, and Lashley was bound to flame out, as he did in Strikeforce against Chad Griggs, who went on to lose two straight and go absent in the UFC. Lashley (10-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) returns to his quixotic career with a fight against Josh Burns (8-7 MMA, 0-4 BMMA), who’s winless in Bellator after four tries. Don’t expect fireworks, but you should see Lashley’s amateur wrestling-honed mat skills dominate.

10. Second and third chances

UFC Fight Night 50: Flyweight John Moraga (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has gotten two chances to make a splash at 125 pounds – first against champ Demetrious Johnson, and then in a rematch with John Dodson. Both went south for him, and in the promotion’s smallest division, options are running out for his long-term outlook. That makes a fight with Justin Scoggins (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), a young hopeful who won two straight before a decision setback to Dustin Ortiz, all the more important. Even though the UFC’s flyweight class is one of the youngest, Scoggins is the prospect here to put the veteran out to pasture.

For more on UFC Fight Night 50 and Bellator 123, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.