Bellator Fighting Championships has unveiled the pairings for the first round of its eight-man Season 2 featherweight tournament, and on first glance I like the way Bellator has matched up its first-round fights.
The breakdown is below.
April 8
Joe Warren (2-1) vs. Eric Marriott (17-2): I love this match-up, featuring the MMA newcomer Warren (whose two wins include one of the MMA upsets of 2009 in a win over Kid Yamamoto) against the much more experienced Marriott (whose 17 victories don't include any with quite the cache of Warren's two).
Georgi Karakhanyan (12-1-1) vs. Bao Quach (17-9-1): The 24-year-old Karakhanyan has outstanding Brazilian jiu jitsu and I like him to submit Quach.
April 15
Wilson Reis (9-1) vs. Shad Lierley (5-2): Reis entered Season 1 as the favorite to win the featherweight title, and it was a surprise when he didn't make it to the finals. He's my favorite heading into Season 2.
Patricio "Pitbull" Freire (12-0) vs. William Romero (5-0): Nice to see the two undefeated fighters paired up together; I like Pitbull to improve to 13-0.
All four fights will be broadcast live on FOX Sports Net.
The breakdown is below.
April 8
Joe Warren (2-1) vs. Eric Marriott (17-2): I love this match-up, featuring the MMA newcomer Warren (whose two wins include one of the MMA upsets of 2009 in a win over Kid Yamamoto) against the much more experienced Marriott (whose 17 victories don't include any with quite the cache of Warren's two).
Georgi Karakhanyan (12-1-1) vs. Bao Quach (17-9-1): The 24-year-old Karakhanyan has outstanding Brazilian jiu jitsu and I like him to submit Quach.
April 15
Wilson Reis (9-1) vs. Shad Lierley (5-2): Reis entered Season 1 as the favorite to win the featherweight title, and it was a surprise when he didn't make it to the finals. He's my favorite heading into Season 2.
Patricio "Pitbull" Freire (12-0) vs. William Romero (5-0): Nice to see the two undefeated fighters paired up together; I like Pitbull to improve to 13-0.
All four fights will be broadcast live on FOX Sports Net.