Bellator 260 Preview: Douglas Lima – Yaroslav Amosov

May 11, 2019; Rosemont, IL, USA; Douglas Lima (red gloves) defeats Michael Page (blue gloves) during Bellator 221 at Allstate Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Tomorrow night in the headliner of Bellator 260, the welterweight title is on the line. Welterweight champion Douglas Lima (32-8) is back to defend his title against the undefeated top contender Yaroslav Amosov (25-0).

Lima is actually looking to bounce back after his last performance. The welterweight champion moved up to middleweight last October at Bellator 250 to challenge the middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi.

While Lima had his moments in that fight, he lost by unanimous decision. That loss snapped the three-fight win streak that Lima was on that led him to the Bellator welterweight championship. His last fight at welterweight came at Bellator 232 when he defeated Rory MacDonald.

Standing across from Lima tomorrow night is Yaroslav Amosov. Amosov has obviously been perfect for his entire professional career, but he’s really stood out since joining Bellator back in 2018.

Since making his debut with the promotion, Amosov has gone an impressive 6-0. In his last fight at Bellator 252 in November, Amosov took on the tough Logan Storley. It was a grueling back-and-forth fight, but ultimately Amosov walked away with a split decision and a welterweight title shot.

Bellator 260 Prediction

I’m so intrigued by this Bellator 260 main event and I’m expecting a very competitive fight. For Amosov, it’s really no secret as to what he’s going to do. I’m looking for Amosov to immediately pressure Lima when the fight starts.

If Amosov is going to become welterweight champion tomorrow night, it’s going to be through his grappling and activity. In Douglas Lima’s last fight, he was a bit too passive and it allowed Gegard Mousasi to get way out ahead on the scorecards.

If Lima wants to keep his title tomorrow night, he’s going to have to engage with Amosov. One big concern I have about Amosov is his cardio. We saw him completely exhausted at the end of his fight with Storley at Bellator 252.

That was only a three-round fight and if he gets that tired again, I think he’s going to be in massive trouble. I think the first half of this fight is going to favor Amosov, but I think Lima comes on strong late. My prediction is that Amosov will get too tired and Lima was score a championship round TKO to retain his Bellator crown.

Prediction: Douglas Lima by TKO – Round 4

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