Finally, after months of anticipation, here is my final preview before Bellator’s 2nd season kicks off. All middleweight contestants will have their sights set on current Bellator champion Hector Lombard. The Cuban Lombard made his United States debut last season in the quarterfinals of the inaugeral Bellator middleweight tournament. He blasted his first two opponents, Virgil Lozano and Damien Stelly with first round striking stoppages before running into Oklahoma native, Jared Hess. Jared Hess managed to take Lombard to the 4th round in the championship fight but got turned into a bloody mess in the process, eventually losing via doctor stoppage in the middle of the 4th round. Hess is the only middleweight from last season returning to this year’s tournament.
Since their champions aren’t defending their titles until the end of the tournament, Bellator needed someone for their title holders to fight without risking losing their belts. They decided to showcase their champions in non-title “super fights” against solid competition. Of all the super fights, I’m most excited for Hector Lombard’s. Lombard will square against former WEC champion and top ranked middleweight Paul Filho on April 29th. There are a ton of questions about the mindset of Filho who has been battling some inner demons recently and I’m anxious to see what the former champion brings to the cage. A win over Filho would really cement Bellator’s relevance in the MMA world in my eyes.
Not every middleweight contestant has been announced yet, and all 4 middleweight tournament fights will take place in week 4 of the tournament on April 29th. Here is the information we have thus far.
- Bryan Baker (11-1) vs. Sean Loeffler (18-4)
- Jared Hess (10-1-1) vs. Ryan McGivern (13-6)
- Eric Schambari (11-1) vs. Matt Major (6-1)
- Luke Zachrich (10-1) vs. TBA
Links to Bellator’s middleweight preview videos are posted below.
Bellator Middleweight Preview 1
Bellator Middleweight Preview 2
Bellator Middleweight Preview 3
