BY MICHAEL OWENS
The final event of Bellator’s ninth season is upon us, and the promotion is set to go out with a bang.
Following last week’s successful show, which saw Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson make his promotional debut, Bellator 109 is packed with exciting fighters and important fights.
Bellator Middleweight Championship: Alexander Shlemenko vs. Doug Marshall
This fight promises violence. Shlemenko has rattled off 11 wins in a row all over the world, causing havoc with his fists along the way. Fortunately for fight fans, he often saves his best performances for the Bellator cage. His KO of Maiquel Falcao in particular was a wonderful tapestry of brutality, where he mixed up a barrage of head and body punches to fell the Brazilian as he tired in the second round. His last fight demonstrated his resilience as he fought back from two rounds down to defend his strap against Brett Cooper. He is a justified favourite in this fight against Doug Marshall, but no-one should count ‘The Rhino’ out at this stage.
Marshall is not a particularly well rounded fighter, but he brings devastating power from his feet and fists. The 36-year-old has had something of a career renaissance since joining Bellator, and even managed to show off his ability to go a hard 15 minutes against Sultan Aliev. He has the power to take advantage of any opening his Russian opponent might give him, but ultimately Shlemenko should have superior cardio, outlast the former WEC champion, and retain his title.
Welterweight Tournament final: Rick Hawn vs. Ron Keslar
Could this be the end of a fairytale story for Ron Keslar? He entered this season’s welterweight tournament as a late replacement for UFC veteran, Matt RIddle and was fairly unfancied. However, he has impressed in a win over Luis Melo and then in a huge upset defeat of War Machine.
Sadly for him, MMA has a bit of denying fairytale endings, especially when they involve the task of overcoming a powerhouse like Rick Hawn. The former Olympic judoka has not showed the kind of ferocious finishing ability that catapulted him to prominence in previous lightweight and welterweight tournaments, but he has cruised through each of his fights this season. Bouts against Herman Terrado and the tough Brent Weedman ended in comfortable unanimous decision verdicts. Hawn’s well rounded game and experience should be just too much for his in-form opponent.
Lightweight Tournament Final: Will Brooks vs. Alexander Sarnavskiy
This fight will be sprint to the finish from the Russian or a drawn out grind from Brooks.
The 24-year-old Sarnavisky has looked unstoppable in his tournament run. He has spent just two minutes and 48 seconds in the cage and emerged with two finishes, including a submission over savvy veteran Marcus Davis. Brooks, on the other hand, has looked unspectacular, but impressive during two dominating decisions over John Alessio and Saad Awad. Brooks has been caught early before, but I’ll give him the nod this time to withstand an aggressive opening salvo from his opponent before he takes over the fight and claims a decision win.
Terry Etim vs. Patrick Cenoble
British favourite Etim returns to America after a disappointing 1-3 run that saw him cut from the UFC. Etim picked up five post-fight bonuses in the UFC and was the kind of fighter that only lost to highly regarded opponents until he faced Renee Forte in London. His good striking and sneaky submission game should be too good for Patrick Cenoble, who is 1-2-1 in his last four fights.
On the Undercard
Watch out for Bulgarian sambo star, Blagoi Ivanov, who is set to fight Keith Bell.
Ivanov was the man who famously beat Fedor Emelianenko at the 2008 world sambo championships and is a perfect 8-0 in MMA. Bellator 109 will also see the return of wrestling 2011 NCAA national champion wrestler, Bubba Jenkins.
‘The HIghlight Kid’ was touted as one of Bellator’s top prospects, but suffered a setback when he was knocked out by 2-0 unknown Larue Burley at Bellator 100.
