Bellator 130 will be the end of an era, since it is the last weekly fight card the organization will hold. Moving forward, Bellator will run more of a traditional schedule with 12 to 16 planned events per year. Before that change in operational model goes through, there’s still some business to attend to on Friday night however. Bellator’s light heavyweight champion has been one of their busiest, as his title defense against Linton Vassell will be his fourth title bout in the last 12 months. Newton has won his last six bouts, and 12 of his last 13, with the lone blemish being an avenged loss to Attila Vegh back in 2012. Vassell is one of a handful of British fighters who has found success in Bellator, going 3-0 in the organization, part of an overall nine-fight win streak. The co-main event on the card features former TNA heavyweight champion Bobby Lashley. Two weeks after Lashley beat Josh Burns by submission, he lost his wrestling title on a previously taped edition of “TNA: Impact”. He must have been worn out from all the resistance Burns put up. His opponent in this bout will be Karl Etherington, an undefeated British heavyweight. Etherington has not fought since July 2013, and his opponents hold a combined record of 11-38, but he has shown quick finishing power in many of his bouts. The revamped Strikefor… er, Bellator women’s division has it’s first bout on this card as well, with former Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen taking on Italian Annalisa Bucci. The opening bout on the Spike TV broadcast could be the best fight on the entire card, as two tournament champions face each other in what could be a lightweight title eliminator. Rick Hawn and Dave Jansen should have a very evenly matched bout which could turn into a striking or grappling battle. The depth on this card extends to the prelims, as fighters like David Rickels, Darrion Caldwell, Sam Oropeza and Nate Jolly are all in prelim bouts. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting lines for these eight bouts today at Several Bookmakers. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (Spike TV, 9pm ET) Bellator Light Heavyweight Title Emanuel Newton -475 Linton Vassell +325 Bobby Lashley -1500 Karl Etherington +700 Marloes Coenen -900 Annalisa Bucci +500 Rick Hawn -260 Dave Jansen +180 ——————– PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com, 7pm ET) Nate Jolly -185 Aaron Derrow +145 Darrion Caldwell -705 Anthony Dizy +435 Sam Oropeza -405 Gary Tapusoa +285 David Rickels -270 Davi Ramos +190 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: After seeing Emanuel Newton’s last performance, I’m not sure that a six-week turnaround is the best thing for him. He looked downright bad against Joey Beltran, and Vassell is a more dangerous fighter than Beltran. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the belt change hands here, but at the same time I’m not sold on Vassell as a top fighter. The most likely scenario is Newton keeping this on the feet and outpointing Vassell, but if I was betting this, I’d take a flier on the underdog or count on both men surviving to the final bell, rather than trusting Newton at this point. Etherington’s record looks a whole lot better on paper than in practice. His opponents have been dreadful, he’s never shown any semblance of cardio. Bobby Lashley’s cardio hasn’t been good in the past, but he’s got huge advantages in that area, not to mention wrestling and overall grappling. This should be over quickly regardless, but I’d be shocked if Etherington’s limited skill set allows him to do anything other than get keylocked here. A similarly mismatched fight is Coenen/Bucci. Bucci simply isn’t that good in any area, and no matter where she takes the fight she going to be overmatched. Even if Coenen is on the back end of her career, I think the only difference it will make is how long it takes her to find a sub here. Hawn/Jansen is the best fight on this card by far, although it may not be the most exciting. Hawn has a power edge on the feet and the better hands, but Jansen could be the better kicker and his grappling is overall more solid if he manages to get this fight to the ground. Personally, I consider this just about a pick em bout, so the value is on Jansen to me.
