This Thursday, Bellator makes it’s debut on Spike TV in a huge way with multiple title fights and three high-profile Season 8 Light Heavyweight Tournament quarterfinal bouts that look like they will deliver some exciting action. Starting at 7 p.m. (ET), the Spike.com prelims kick off with two of the quarterfinals, the first of which pits Jacob Noe (10-1) against Kimbo-killer Seth Petruzelli (14-6). MMA fans last Petruzelli Seth in August of 2011, when he knocked out the much larger Ricco Rodriguez in a heavyweight catchweight bout at Bellator 48. Now he is back in his preferred weight class, fighting an opponent in Noe who likes to come forward and push the pace, something which may work to his advantage. Obviously, Petruzelli has dangerous hands, and if he gets a chance to use them, it may be a short night. But Noe is a grinder who will close the distance quickly and put Petruzelli’s back up against the cage or down to the mat if all goes to plan. It what could be a close fight, Petruzelli opened as a -165 favorite (bet $165 to win $100) compared to the underdog Noe at +135 (bet ($100 to win $135). The next quarterfinal matchup features Bulgarian Atanas Djambazov (17-2), who wants to bring his killer instincts to the Bellator cage in a way that will make the United States take notice. Meanwhile, his opponent Emanuel Newton (18-7) wants to stifle his debut with his solid ground game. Djambazov is riding a 10-fight winning streak and has finished all 17 of his opponents with his fists or submission, mostly taking in the Euro MMA scene. Newton was last seen losing to Attila Veigh in the Bellator 2012 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament, but he fights out of Kings MMA and has the skillset to ruin anyone’s night by neutralizing their offense with his smothering style. Djambazov (+205) may be the latest European killer that Bellator has discovered, but there is a wide gap in the talent fighting in that scene compared to where the solid favorite Newton (-275) trains every day. Finally, a very experienced fighter, fan favorite and former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion will compete in the first fight on the main card starting at 10 p.m. on Spike. That would be Babalu Sobral (37-9), who will makes his Bellator debut against M-1 veteran Mikhail Zayats (19-6) leading up to the two title fights later in the evening, Michael Chandler vs. Rick Hawn and Pat Curran vs. Patricio Freire. Babalu is one of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in MMA, whereas Zayats’ greatest strength is by closing the distance and bringing his opponent to the ground. Zayats is a Russian sambo champion and Jiu-Jitsu ace that was a contender to Vinny Magalhaes’ M-1 light heavyweight title. Since losing to Magalhaes, Zayats has won five in a row, and now he feels it’s time to test himself against tougher competition. Sobral is nearing the end of his career, yet at 37 years of age, he feels he has enough left in him to take one last run. The Bellator Season 8 Light Heavyweight Tournament looks to be the perfect vehicle for him, and he opened as a -280 favorite due to the fact that he is more experienced and a better all-around fighter. Not since Magalhaes has Zayats (+210) faced such a high-level BJJ player, and he will face a serious test here in hopes of advancing to the next round.
