On Saturday, Scott Coker brings Bellator back to San Jose, Calif., with a fun card that marks the start of the organization’s featherweight grand prix.
The tournament features current dual champion Patricio Freire, who will defend his title amidst the mayhem of a 16-man field. Bellator 226 has the first four opening-round fights in the tournament and takes place at SAP Center in San Jose. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Although Freire will not be fighting in the first half of the bracket, I thought that this would be an opportune time to highlight some of the other talents on the roster. Bellator’s featherweight division, in my estimation, is quietly on it’s way to becoming an embarrassment of riches that I am genuinely excited about.
Sure, the UFC may still carry more valuable commodities division-for-division, but its long-questioned ranking system and rigorous, year-round schedule makes it difficult for new blood to break through. And though all promotions fall victim to polluting their matchmaking with politics, throwing things back to similar grand prix formats of old allows for organic storylines to unfold, all while giving chances for contenders to shine against name fighters who can share their value.
So with that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the dark horses in this tournament who I believe should be on your radar.
No. 1: Tywan Claxton
Record: 5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA
Next matchup: Emmanuel Sanchez
Why he should be on your radar: Exploding into his professional debut under the Bellator banner with a flying-knee knockout that will be hard to beat, Tywan Claxton has been able to continue being impressive without falling into the trappings of trying to become a highlight-reel fighter.
The slick southpaw offers some legitimate striking threats outside of his ability to produce viral knockouts, but Claxton – the former Division 2 All-American wrestler – keeps an incredibly strong skill set in his back pocket that he’s not afraid to pull out. A strong takedown artist, Claxton appears comfortable operating both in the open or against the fence, as he seems ridiculously strong from the clinch.
More importantly, Claxton has been able to hook up with solid ground coaches like catch wrestling guru Neil Melanson, whose grappling style and technical guidance on top tends to mesh well with the high-level wrestlers he’s worked with (like Michael Chandler, for example, who made a good account of himself when he took part in a Bellator tournament). Claxton refreshingly displays a lot of Melanson’s schoolings, checking off all the boxes when it comes to positional rides and punishment from topside.
There are a ton of talented fighters taking part in this grand prix, but I believe that Claxton’s ability to put forth composed wrestling pressure (without showing signs of tiring, no less) can be a big difference-maker in this format. The biggest problem for Claxton, however, is that he drew the man whom I believe may be the toughest fighter in the entire tournament – Emmanuel Sanchez.
Sanchez is a well-rounded fighter whose style I’ve long respected, and see his high-output kickboxing and scramble-heavy submission attacks providing a stern test for Claxton. In fact, I see the winner of this matchup being favored to win this side of the bracket outright, if that’s not too bold of a claim.
No. 2: Adam Borics
Record: 13-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA
Next matchup: Pat Curran
Why he should be on your radar: No matter what type of fighting style you prefer, I’m not sure how anyone can walk away from an Adam Borics fight and not be impressed.
Another young, undefeated and well-built featherweight that this tournament features, Borics fits the bill when it comes to the new era of mixed martial artists. Though his background primarily consists of striking, the 23-year-old Hungarian can do it all.
A natural submission grappler, Borics conducts himself accordingly in scrambles and will get right to work from his back if taken down to the mat. Cross-training with Henri Hooft at Hard Knocks 365 in South Florida, Borics has also been able to work on his wrestling with Bellator standouts like Logan Storley and Michael Chandler.
Borics takes another big step up on Saturday when he meets former champ Pat Curran, who is a seasoned vet that is known for his defense and ability to stimy a contest. That said, Borics’ background in kenpo karate and muay Thai gives his striking style an explosive accuracy that he can attach to the “art of eight limbs,” which could serve him well opposite Curran’s shelling defense.
To Aaron Pico’s credit, the popular prospect did show us some potential holes in Borics’ game that pressure can help produce. However, Hungary’s Borics also proved (with his patented flying knee) that he is a talent that is going to be both hard to discourage and deny. Should Borics be your last man standing, I’m not sure any of us should be all that surprised.
No. 3: Pedro Carvalho
Record: 10-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA
Next matchup: Sam Sicilia
Why he should be on your radar: When first approaching this list, I will admit that Pedro Carvalho was not amongst the names I had initially intended on writing about.
Aside from his affiliation with the Straight Blast Gym in Dublin, Carvalho has a resume that can be easy for the common eye to overlook. The 24-year-old from Portugal comes from a region that is not known for producing high-level mixed martial arts talent, which makes his past losses draw questions about his overall ceiling.
In Carvalho’s defense, he’s been fighting since 2012 and has become a much better fighter since moving shop to SBG to work with John Kavanagh, who has helped him further fledge out his game. Primarily fighting from the southpaw stance, Carvalho demonstrates a similar flare to some of his more well-known stablemates.
However, if you sit back and watch him operate, Carvalho’s sporadic, stance-switching attacks remind me of former SBG fighter Paddy Holohan. Similar to Holohan, Carvalho’s aggressive flow doesn’t stop on the feet, as the man from Portugal gives little room to breath when moving through the phases.
Whether he is attacking off of his back to create a scramble or initiating a takedown of his own, Carvalho appears to do it all. He has a tough test ahead of him in Sam Sicilia (who is also a fighter I have a ton of respect for), but I can see Carvalho’s seemingly-endless engine giving a lot of fighters trouble if he can get past another veteran name Saturday.
