The SAP Center will play host to Bellator 226 on Saturday night as a stacked card of fights plays out to a packed crowd in San Jose. And a glance at the main card of the event shows a slate of fights that each hold major significance within their respective divisions.
With the heavyweight title on the line and the opening round of the featherweight grand prix tournament getting underway, the 10 athletes set for action at the top of the card face “win or go home” scenarios. It should make for an exciting night, with each of the top five fights on the card carrying additional importance to the athletes involved.
Here are our five burning questions ahead of the big night at the “Shark Tank.”
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Will Ryan Bader cement his dominance with victory over Cheick Kongo?
The night’s main event pits two-division champion Ryan Bader up against hulking French contender Cheick Kongo as “Darth” looks to successfully defend his Bellator heavyweight title.
Kongo stayed relevant in the heavyweight division despite not being a part of the recent grand prix tournament. And now, after handing former champ Vitaly Minakov the first defeat of his career, he’s ready to step into his first major MMA title fight and claim the belt after 42 career fights.
But Bader is in the best form of his career. Since moving to Bellator, he seems to have found his mojo and has surged through the competition to capture titles at light heavyweight and heavyweight. The heavyweight grand prix winner now wants to build a legacy in both divisions, starting with a dominant win over Kongo.
Can he get it done, or can Kongo upset the odds and throw the heavyweight division’s chips up into the air once again?
Which featherweight grand prix star will stand out from the crowd?
As well as the heavyweight title fight headliner, Bellator 226 marks the start of the promotion’s 16-man featherweight grand prix tournament, as the organization’s top 145-pound fighters look to run the table and leave with the tournament title, Bellator gold and a cool $1 million.
This weekend sees the first four fights from the first round get underway as the first half of the tournament field looks to lay down a marker and book themselves a place in the quarterfinals.
But who will deliver the standout performance?
Will one of the two unbeaten prospects – Tywan Claxton or Adam Borics – or fellow rising star Pedro Carvalho show they’re ready to gatecrash the division’s established order?
Will one of the former champions set for action – Daniel Straus or Pat Curran – show they’re ready for another run at Bellator gold?
Or could a seasoned veteran – we’re looking at you, Emmanuel Sanchez, Sam Sicilia and Derek Campos – show that, after doing the hard yards earlier in their career, the time has come to go all the way to the very top?
The field is absolutely wide open heading into this weekend, and it’s going to be a lot of fun finding out the answers as the tournament begins to take shape.
Can Adam Borics extend his unbeaten run?
Unbeaten Borics faces a particularly interesting test as he puts his 13-0 record up against the world championship resumé of ex-title holder Curran.
The Hungarian exploded into the mainstream MMA consciousness with his stunning flying-knee knockout of Aaron Pico at Bellator 222 in June, but in Curran he’s facing a former champion looking to make a statement of his own by handing Borics the first defeat of his career and moving one step closer to his old title.
Can “The Kid” prove that he’s ready to mix it with the big boys at the sharp end of the division by defeating a respected former champion?
Will the veteran beat the prospect when Sanchez and Claxton collide?
Arguably the most intriguing grand prix matchup at Bellator 226 is the battle between undefeated former wrestling standout Tywan Claxton and former title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez.
Claxton has looked every inch a top prospect since arriving in Bellator and his progression under the bright lights of the Bellator cage has certainly ben impressive. But he faces a significant step up in class against Sanchez, who has faced a who’s who of the Bellator featherweight division, including SEVEN members of the featherweight grand prix field.
Claxton wants to prove his worth and extend his undefeated run all the way through the tournament, while Sanchez says he is the tournament’s dark horse, with the talent and the experience to upset some of the more prominent names in the draw.
It’s a battle between an undefeated prospect and a seasoned veteran who has gone the distance with the current champion. But who will prevail on fight night?
Which Bellator veteran will march on when Campos and Straus face off?
While the other three first-round grand prix matchups at Bellator 226 pit a rising prospect against a seasoned campaigner, the clash between Derek Campos and Daniel Straus sees two of the tournament’s experienced heads go toe to toe.
Former featherweight champion Straus is looking to win back his old title with a victorious tournament run, while Campos has been given a chance to reignite his career after a run of three straight losses.
Can Campos snap his losing streak and make a winning start to the tournament, or will Straus move one step closer to reclaiming his old title? They’re coming from two different places, career-wise, but both have a big point to prove.
