The Bellator cage lands in Hawaii this weekend for a double-header of MMA action, with the first of the two events set to pay tribute to the servicemen and women in Honolulu at “Bellator and USO Present: Salute The Troops 2019,” which takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center. The night’s main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN.
The card features the return of a heavyweight legend, a pair of women’s flyweight contenders looking to earn a second title shot and two former wrestling standouts seeking to push themselves towards the top.
Here are our five burning questions ahead of Friday night’s event in Hawaii:
Can the returning Josh Barnett surge into title contention?
It’s been more than three years since we saw Josh Barnett throwing down inside an MMA cage, but now, after a battle with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and a change of promotion, “The Warmaster” is back and ready to launch his assault on the Bellator heavyweight division.
Barnett (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) headlines Friday night’s card in Hawaii against Brazilian Ronny Markes, who has moved up from 205 pounds to heavyweight to take on the former UFC heavyweight champion at Salute the Troops.
With Bellator’s heavyweight division looking wide open right now, Barnett sees an opportunity to make an impact on his return as he bids to gatecrash the title picture and make a beeline for reigning champion Ryan Bader.
And with a record that includes nine finishes from his last 10 outings, Markes (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will need to be on his guard against a man with a chip on his shoulder and a title in his sights.
“I don’t view it as going after the title,” Barnett said. “I’m already ready for a title shot. I’m already deserving of a title shot. What I’m relishing is having the opportunity to get in there and fight. Period. I go out, I fight, I win, I get what I want.”
Will “The Warmaster” get his wish on Friday night, or can Markes upset the veteran’s return with an underdog victory?
Can ‘Goyito’ make it make it six in a row in his Bellator debut?
Mexican bantamweight Erik Perez will make his Bellator bow on Friday night in Hawaii as he bids to extend his impressive run of form and make a run in his new promotion’s 135-pound division.
“Goyito” (19-6 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is something of a rarity in that he chose to leave the UFC, rather than him being released, as he returned from a knee injury to sign for Mexican promotion Combate Americas, where he extended his three-fight win streak to five with a pair of finishes in 2018.
He then signed for Bellator in 2019 and is set to make his debut in Hawaii against Toby Misech, who is battling for consistency after alternating wins and losses through his last six outings.
Perez has the personality to be a star for Bellator and is riding the sort of win streak that could quickly see him challenging for a title. But he has to pass his audition first, and that means claiming victory over Misech (11-7 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) on Friday night.
Can “Goyito” secure a win, make it six in a row and make a run towards the vacant bantamweight title?
Which former title challenger will earn a second shot at women’s flyweight gold?
The women’s flyweights take center stage in Hawaii this weekend, with champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane putting her title on the line against Kate Jackson on Saturday night. But on Friday, two aspiring contenders will seek to position themselves for a future shot at the belt in 2020.
America’s Veta Arteaga knows exactly how it feels to challenge for the belt. She saw her title challenge come up short against Macfarlane in April, when the doctors intervened after she sustained a nasty cut on her forehead.
After being denied the chance to take the fight all the way to the final bell, Arteaga (5-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) will be keen to bounce back and earn herself a second shot. But she faces another contender looking for a second shot of her own.
Colombia’s Alejandra Lara lost out to Macfarlane via third-round armbar in June 2018 in only her second bout as a Bellator athlete. But after a dominant first-round win over Taylor Turner at Bellator 225 in August, Lara (8-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) stands arguably one more impressive win away from another crack at the gold.
It’s a bonafide battle of the flyweight contenders between two women who are desperate to earn another shot at the title. But who will be victorious?
Will Tywan Claxton bounce back with a win?
After a blistering stat to his Bellator career that saw him reel off five wins on the spin, Tywan Claxton suffered his first career loss in the Bellator featherweight grand prix, as he was triangle-choked by Emmanuel Sanchez. Now the rising prospect faces a new test as a professional MMA fighter as he seeks to bounce back from defeat.
Claxton (5-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) will take on undefeated newcomer Braydon Akeo, who arrives in Bellator with a 3-0 record that features two stoppage victories, both by TKO.
After getting his first taste of the upper echelons of the Bellator featherweight division, Claxton will be keen to get back to that level as swiftly as possible, and handing Akeo (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) his first career defeat will go some way to pushing him back towards the division’s top men.
Can Claxton bounce back? Or will Akeo announce himself as a dangerous new arrival to Bellator’s 145-pound class?
Can Joey Davis continue his unbeaten start?
Another hot prospect to come off the Bellator production line, former NCAA Division II wrestling phenom Joey Davis returns to action on Friday looking to extend his undefeated record against the experienced Chris Cisneros.
Davis (6-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) went through his entire collegiate wrestling career undefeated and has made a similarly impressive start to life as a professional mixed martial artist after racking up six wins in a row, all under the Bellator banner.
He’ll face Cisneros (19-10 MMA, 0-2 BMMA), who returns to Bellator looking to capture victory at the third time of asking after losses to Ben Saunders in 2011, then Maki Pitolo in 2018.
But while Cisneros has a chance to prove the third time’s a charm, all eyes will be on Davis, whose last two appearances inside the Bellator cage saw him register spectacular first-round knockout victories.
Can he make it a hat-trick on Friday night?
