MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the Bellator’s top bouts. Today, we look at the co-main event for Bellator 241.
Bellator 241 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Daniel Weichel (40-11 MMA, 9-3 BMMA)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’10” Age: 35 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 71″
- Last fight: Decision win over Saul Rogers (Sept. 28, 2019)
- Camp: MMA Spirit (Germany)
- Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
- Risk management: Good
Supplemental info:
+ M-1 Global lightweight title
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ 5 KO victories
+ 22 submission wins
+ 20 first-round finishes
+ Consistent pace and pressure
+ Solid feints and footwork
+ Fundamentally sound striker
^ Seldom out of position
+ Strong inside of the clinch
+ Serviceable wrestling ability
+ Good transitional grappler
+ Excellent submission acumen
Emmanuel Sanchez (19-4 MMA, 11-3 BMMA)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’9″ Age: 29 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 76″
- Last fight: Submission win over Tywan Claxton (Sept. 7, 2019)
- Camp: Roufusport (Milwaukee, WI)
- Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
- Risk management: Fair
Supplemental info:
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ 1 KO victory
+ 8 submission victories
+ 6 first-round finishes
+ Relentless pace and pressure
^ Improves as the fight wears on
+ Solid combination striker
^ Punctuates well with kicks
+ Excellent transitional grappler
+ Superb scrambler
^ Impeccable improvisation
+ Active and attacking guard
^ Strikes, sweeps, scrambles
Point of interest: Striking the second time around
The co-main event in Uncasville features a fun rematch that takes place within the confines of Bellator’s featherweight grand prix.
In their first meeting, Daniel Weichel was able to edge out Emmanuel Sanchez via well-placed counters and instances of control. Both men have continued to sharpen their tools since then, as I will be curious to see if either adjust their vaunted styles for their second meeting.
Hailing from the Roufusport academy, Sanchez possesses all the well-rounded tools you would suspect to see from that gym, something that further fills the bank of techniques that his combinations draw from. Not afraid to string his punches together, Sanchez will vary his levels of attack, punctuating his presence with weapons that range from switch-kicks to spinning assaults.
The 29-year-old’s talents and vigor only seem to pick to up steam as the fight wears on, however – despite Sanchez’s best efforts to roll his head offline after his attacks – his aggression traditionally tends to make him a bit hittable in the early going, which could be, once again, problematic against a sharpshooter like Weichel.
Despite starting his career as an overly enthusiastic striker who shot sporadically, Weichel has shored up his fundamentals over time and become a sound defensive fighter. The 18-year pro works well behind a high guard, keeping short, jab-cross counters on a hair-trigger.
When feeling in stride, Weichel will punctuate his offensive flurries with hard kicks that range from up high to down low. Still, with Weichel not beyond being countered himself, I will be interested to see if the German fights more or less conservative considering both the high-output opponent and five-round affair that will be in front of him.
Next point of interest: Potential grappling pitfalls
Point of interest: Potential grappling pitfalls
Between Weichel’s point-scoring propensities and Sanchez’s submission savvy, there plenty of potential pitfalls within the grappling realm of this fight.
Sanchez, who is much more of a transitional threat, comes to life when fighting through scrambles and slicing through positions. The Daniel Wanderley black belt can play from topside or secure a back mount just fine, but his arguable bread and butter lie within his ability to improvise inside the chaos of a fight.
Even when Sanchez slips a position or misses an attack, the 29-year-old is quick to creatively parlay his motion into other opportunities, whether they be mid-scramble or otherwise. As Sanchez’s skills have grown, so has the validity of his submission threats in these scenarios – something that Weichel can’t afford to sleep on.
The potential problem for Sanchez, however, may lie within the wrestling department.
Sanchez has shown to progress his wrestling abilities (both defensively and offensively), but this is, without a doubt, a hurdle that the Roufusport product will need to clear in this contest.
Weichel, who is the more process-driven man on paper, typically keeps level-changing takedowns in his back pocket to help dissuade pressure and has a knack for kick-catch counters (e.g. catching an opponent’s kick and tripping them to the floor).
Once topside, Weichel – who is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Din Thomas – does a good job of keeping his hips tight to his opposition, shutting down a large portion of butterfly hooks and get-ups that the person on bottom may be working for. This approach, coupled with the appropriate passing and shoulder pressure, helps Weichel cook his counterparts into either giving up chokes or their backs in transit.
Weichel’s defensive sensibilities translate well to the mat (as he hasn’t suffered a submission loss since 2012) but he’ll still need to respect the opportunistic creativity that Sanchez brings to the table.
Next point of interest: Odds, opinion and prediction
Point of interest: Odds and opinions
The oddsmakers and public seem to be favoring the younger man, listing Sanchez -150 and Weichel +130 as of this writing.
Despite Weichel winning the first fight, I can understand why Sanchez ended up being the betting favorite here. Like Weichel, Sanchez also has faced a slew of former Bellator champs and title contenders, quietly getting better in the process. Couple that with the fact that Sanchez has yet to be stopped or submitted, seemingly only getting better as the fight wears on, and it gets a bit easier to make a case for him.
That said, the line is close for a reason, as no one should really be surprised if the 35-year-old Weichel is able to neutralize enough exchanges via counters and control time to edge out the scorecards in his favor. I, however, will be siding with Sanchez’s high-volume nature over the course of 25 minutes, as I suspect that he’ll pull away in the later rounds to get the nod from the judges.
Prediction: Sanchez by decision
