5 reasons to watch Bellator's finisher-heavy debut in Europe for Bellator 152 in Italy

Patricky Freire

Bellator has put together a card heavy on finishers for its first trip to Europe. The 10 fighters competing at Bellator 152 have 109 fights between them, and only 28 of those fights have gone the distance.

At the top of the card, Patricky Freire looks to put together two consecutive wins for the first time in two years against Kevin Souza, who saw his 10-fight winning streak come to an end in his last bout.

In the co-main event, Alessio Sakara debuts with the promotion against Brian Rogers.

Also on the card, impressive featherweight prospect A.J. McKee puts his three-fight stoppage streak on the line against unbeaten Danilo Belluardo.

Bellator 152 takes place from the Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy. Spike broadcasts the event. Here are five reasons you want to tune in to this fight card.

1. Dealing with a disadvantage

After a tough split-decision loss to Derek Anderson at Bellator 147, Freire (15-7 MMA, 8-6 BMMA) came back in his next bout and, with an enormous left hand, crumpled Ryan Couture. At Bellator 152, Freire is back for his third fight in a little more than four months, and in this one, he meets Souza on very short notice.

Freire has struggled with fighters who have a reach and height advantage, as his two losses to Anderson can attest. Unfortunately for him, Souza’s measurements in those departments are identical to Anderson’s.

On the plus side for Freire, when Souza darts in to land his power strikes, he tends to leave himself open for counterstrikes, keeping his hands low and leaving himself a little off balance.

2. Ready or not

Kevin Souza

Souza (15-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has been on ice since he parted ways with the UFC after he lost to Chas Skelly in November. That loss not only ended his run in the UFC, but it brought an end to Souza’s 10-fight winning streak.

Bellator will give Souza a chance to get back to his winning ways when he steps in on short notice to face the always-dangerous Freire. Like Freire, Souza is a dangerous striker with 13 knockouts to his name.

The major issue concerning Souza is what has he been up to since that fight? Anything short of hard training in preparation for a short-notice call-up like this one could make this a difficult matchup. However, if he’s been training hard, and readying himself, things could get very interesting in Italy.

3. Race to the finish

Brian Rogers

The light heavyweight co-main event between Sakara (17-11 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and Rogers (12-8 MMA, 5-6 BMMA) will most likely end early.

Sakara has gone the distance just three times over the past 10 years, with most of those fights ending in the first round. The problem with that is Sakara lost more than he won during that stretch. A positive for Sakara is this fight allows him to fight in his home country of Italy for the first time in more than 11 years.

For Rogers, Sakara fighting in front of a hometown crowd is the biggest reason he intends to wrap up the fight inside the distance.

“I don’t really want it to go to a decision because we’re on his home court,” Rogers told MMAjunkie. “I don’t know who these judges are going to be and if they’re flying anybody from athletic commissions or what the deal is with that. I want to make sure I leave no doubt, and I also can’t put myself in any questionable situations for fear of a quick stoppage.”

4. Hot, hot, hot

A.J. McKee

McKee (3-0 MMA, BMMA 3-0) has fought three times for Bellator, and each of those fights has ended in a first round stoppage victory. Most recently he knocked out J.T. Donaldson with a knee to the jaw. It was a brutal and impressive stoppage for the 21-year-old.

In a little more than a year, McKee has developed into a bright prospect in the featherweight division. He fights with a crowd-pleasing aggressive style that exudes pure confidence. McKee employs an assorted arsenal of strikes and is unafraid to pursue submissions if the opportunity is there. As for defense, McKee seems to rely on his speed, keeping his hands low. While that may work now, it could present problems for him when he faces more experienced and well-rounded opposition.

McKee’s opponent at Bellator 152, Belluardo (5-0 MMA 0-0 BMMA), is coming off a unanimous decision win over Hubert Geven at Final Fight Championship 19.

5. Pushing an unproven talent

Anastasia Yankova

It’s evident Bellator has big plans for women’s flyweight Anastasia Yankova (2-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). Why else would it feature her prominently in promotional material and put her on the televised portion of Bellator 152? After all, her pro MMA record is just 2-0 and her opponent, Anjela Pink (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) has zero pro fights and only two amateur bouts, both TKO losses.

Yankova, who has won both her fights by submission, has trained at Kings MMA and AKA Thailand, so she is filling out her kickboxing and muay Thai background with some high-level MMA training. But with just two fights to her name, it’s strange to see her featured so high on this card. A cynic would say that Bellator is pushing Yankova on her looks first and MMA background and skills second, and as we have seen in the past, sometimes that thinking can backfire.

For more on Bellator 152, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.