Tomorrow we are going to see a helluva card in Saudi Arabia when the best from the PFL square off against the best from Bellator. Earlier today we posted extended previews of both the heavyweight main event as well as the middleweight co-main event.
Personally, I think PFL and Bellator split the main and co-main event. That said, I wanted to look at the rest of the card and give my thoughts on who I thought would come out on top in terms of the overall score. There are a number of tremendous fights on this card and we will go over a few in-depth, but who wins tomorrow night on the main card? Will it be Bellator or will it be the PFL?
PFL vs. Bellator Prediction
Patricio Pitbull – Gabriel Braga
This matchup was supposed to be Pitbull taking on PFL champ Jesus Pinedo, but Pinedo had to pull out of the fight. With him out of the fight, last year’s runner-up Gabriel Braga steps in. Honestly, it’s just hard to pick against Pitbull in this matchup. I think the speed and the overall game is just going to be too much for Braga and Bellator’s best gets his hand raised tomorrow night.
Predicted Winner: Patricio Pitbull
Jason Jackson – Ray Cooper III
Next we have the welterweights taking center stage in Bellator champ Jason Jackson taking on Ray Cooper III. This is another fight that’s a replacement on the PFL side. Jackson was supposed to take on Magomed Magomedkerimov but with the PFL champ suffering an injury, Ray Cooper steps in.
I don’t like this fight for Ray Cooper at all. I have not been impressed with him as of late and I think Jason Jackson has just taken his career to the next level. “The Ass Kicking Machine” is going to deliver a performance tomorrow that is suitable for his nickname.
Predicted Winner: Jason Jackson
Bruno Cappelozza – Vadim Nemkov
This is a very intriguing matchup on the main card. Former Bellator heavyweight champ Vadim Nemkov is moving up to heavyweight to take on Bruno Cappelozza. This to me is a showcase matchup for Nemkov. Nemkov vacated the light heavyweight title to move up and I think he’s going to look dominant in his heavyweight debut tomorrow. Don’t expect this one to go the distance.
Predicted Winner: Vadim Nemkov
Thiago Santos – Yoel Romero
This is fight that everyone has circled because it’s big time names and it’s incredibly intriguing. Thiago Santos and Yoel Romero are both destroyers when they fight aggressively. However, they both can fall completely flat whenever they don’t engage. I’m expecting something in the middle tomorrow night.
Santos failed to impress in his PFL debut last year and while I see him having some striking success with Yoel Romero, I don’t see him getting the win. I think Romero will mix in enough wrestling to give Santos a lot of pause to which Romero will take advantage.
Predicted Winner: Yoel Romero
Clay Collard – AJ McKee
Kicking off the main card is the fight I’m probably looking forward to the most tomorrow. The lightweight matchup between Clay Collard and former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee. This fight is going to be very interesting and I cannot wait to watch this one unfold.
AJ McKee looked like a superstar at featherweight, but he’s really failed to impress at lightweight. I think he’s going to struggle with PFL’s Collard tomorrow. If he can land takedowns, he can win, but on the feet, I see him really struggling with the crisp boxing of Collard. Collard is going to put on a show tomorrow and I think the PFL picks up the win here.
Predicted Winner: Clay Collard
Final Thoughts
In my main event preview, I picked Renan Ferreira to knock out Ryan Bader. In my co-main event preview, I picked Johnny Eblen to win a decision over Impa Kasanganay. With those predictions and the ones above, I have Bellator winning fairly easily tomorrow going 5-2 over the PFL in the seven fights.
I just think the matchups greatly favor the Bellator fighters. There are some close matchups in there so things could definitely swing the other way, but the top talent of Bellator is going to shine tomorrow night.
Prediction: Bellator Wins