Joey "The Mexicutioner" Beltran is always good for a scrap. Scott Coker and Co. are hoping he helps to put on a show worthy of a main event attraction at Bellator 124 on Saturday against light heavyweight champion Emanuel "The Hardcore Kid" Newton.
Since arriving in the Bellator promotion, Newton has compiled a 6-1 record and he avenged the lone loss to Attila Vegh in his last bout. It seems as if a more worthy contender should be in line to face Newton, but this bout is coming about because of the flawed—but soon-to-be abolished—tournament format.
Beltran has a record of 15-10 and he's lost three of his last five fights.
The LHW World Title is on the line as @Emanuel_Newton faces @mexicutioner760 at #Bellator124 - http://t.co/S0KQa7apuM pic.twitter.com/BCQap5FqrG
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) August 5, 2014
New Bellator head man Coker explained Beltran's inclusion in an interview with Christian Stein and Dann Stupp of MMA Junkie.
Newton has been waiting a long time because he was in the tournament format, which is one of the downfalls of the tournament because now the champion is waiting six, eight months – maybe a year. We feel like, ‘Look, this guy [Beltran] is a scrapper, and he always brings it, so let’s get it on. You know what? You never know what’s going to happen in a fight.
Under normal circumstances, Beltran would be a gatekeeper in a top promotion, but with Bellator in transition, he gets a shot at the title. We'll see if he can make the most of it.
Here's a look at the entire card with predictions for each bout. Just below the table is a closer look at the top three fights on the card.
| Bellator 124 Prelims - on Spike.com at 6 p.m. ET | |
| Fight | Prediction |
| Sabah Homasi (7-4) vs. Ben Lagman (6-5) | Homasi by decision |
| Cortez Phelia (1-1) vs. Eric Ramirez (1-0) | Phelia by unanimous decision |
| Ben Reiter (14-0-1) vs. Shamir Garcia (6-0) | Reiter by KO |
| Adrian Henderson (5-0) vs. Leroy Johnson (2-0) | Henderson by TKO |
| Michael Hernandez (6-3) vs. Thomas Vasquez (7-1) | Vasquez by submission |
| Michael Hamida (3-0) vs. Adrian Hadribeaj (1-0) | Hamida by unanimous decision |
| Justin Jaynes (5-2) vs. Ruben Baraiac (5-1) | Jaynes by unanimous decision |
| Main Card - on Spike at 9 p.m. ET | |
| Fight | Prediction |
| Ryan Couture (8-3) vs. John Schulz (5-2) | Schulz by unanimous decision |
| L.C. Davis (21-6) vs. Zeilton Rodrigues (12-3) | Rodrigues by submission |
| Liam McGeary (8-0) vs. Kelly Anundson (9-2) | McGeary by KO |
| Emanuel Newton (23-7-1) vs. Joey Beltran (15-10, 1 NC) | Newton by TKO |
L.C. Davis Will Regret Taking Fight to Mat With Zeilton Rodrigues
L.C. Davis is a strong grappler with advanced submission skills. He showed that in his victory over Taurean Bogguess in March.
Davis' submission of Bogguess was called one of the 100-best submissions of the year thus far by Tapology.com. Because of his grappling background and wrestling prowess, he'll probably look to take Rodrigues down.
That'll be a mistake.
Rodrigues hails from the renown Nova Uniao team, and he can more than hold his own on the mat. Three of his last five wins have come by submission and he's won five straight overall. He'll make a splash in his Bellator debut by submitting Davis.
Liam McGeary's Impressive Power Display Will Continue
This Friday, KO speacialist @liam_mcgeary returns to the Bellator cage,fighting for #1 contender status pic.twitter.com/HFTd2XYRCR
— Anthony Geathers (@BrooklynsSon) September 9, 2014
With knockouts in five of his eight fights, Liam McGeary is establishing himself as one of the most feared strikers in Bellator.
McGeary finished Mike Mucitelli and Egidijus Valavicius en route to the light heavyweight tournament final, and there's a good chance he'll rock Kelly Anundson on Saturday night.
.@liam_mcgeary exposes the art of a great fight & more in this episode of #5Rounds | WATCH: http://t.co/aLNq7iWsVM pic.twitter.com/AdRaxgUNqr
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) September 9, 2014
The best way to slow down a devastating striker is to take him down, or to have enough power to discourage his assault. Anundson is a solid wrestler, but not advanced enough to outclass McGeary to the degree that he'll need to circumvent his power.
.@BellatorMMA 124's @Liam_McGeary: ‘I’ve got power, speed, everything, and it’s only getting better’ http://t.co/U3H3SrTLNT via @FrankTrigg
— MMAOddsBreaker (@MMAOddsBreaker) September 10, 2014
He also only has two KO wins in his career. McGeary will find him with power shots and put an end to the night.
Emanuel Newton Will Beat Joey Beltran Easily
Beltran will always give a good effort, but he simply isn't skilled enough to take out a well-rounded fighter like Newton. In recent bouts, Newton has proved he can strike and we always knew his grappling was excellent.
He does own eight wins by submission in his career.
Because of the versatility in his game, Newton could approach this bout in several ways. Because he's been out of the cage since March, the champion will be eager to impress.
He'll avoid Beltran's haymakers, counter him, and take him to the ground. Once he has him there, he probably won't be looking for a submission. Expect him to finish the deal with ground and pound to retain his title.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.
