Bellator 153: “Koreshkov vs. Henderson” comes to Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., tomorrow night (Fri., April 22, 2016), airing live on Spike TV with a five-fight main card that starts at 9 p.m. ET. The featured fight of the night marks the first-ever Welterweight title defense for Andrey Koreshkov, who won the title in this same venue in July 2015.
“Spartan” will face strong challenge from former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion, Benson Henderson, who will make his promotional debut.
Bellator 153 is a Welterweight division showcase, with six different fighters from the class up and down the scheduled Spike TV broadcast, including the streaking “Irish” Brennan Ward and flashy striker Michael “Venom” Page.
Let’s break down the main card action:
170 lbs.: Andrey Koreshkov (18-1) vs. Benson Henderson (23-5)
The only blemish on Andrey Koreshkov’s record to date was a fourth round technical knockout loss to then-champion Ben Askren at Bellator 97. It was Askren’s last fight for the promotion before he was released and the title was vacated. Almost two years later, Koreshkov found redemption at the expense of Douglas Lima at Bellator 140, out-wrestling the Brazilian for five full rounds to score a unanimous decision and finally earn the 170-pound Bellator bout. That decision was actually a rarity for Koreshkov, who finishes 72 percent of his wins (10 by knockout and three by submission).
Indeed, “Spartan” is a fearsome foe.
Benson Henderson, obviously, cannot be overlooked. The veteran fighter has been taking heads and titles dating back to 2006, becoming a Lightweight champion in both WEC and UFC over the years. With only two knockouts in his career, power striking doesn’t seem to be his forte, but “Smooth” is adept at submissions (43 percent of his wins) and even better at edging out decisions (48 percent of all wins) in the cage. Fans may find it frustrating at times, but Henderson has proved his ability over and over again to show judges what they want to see in order to win a fight on points.
Koreshkov may have a sizable edge as a “natural” Welterweight, which means that at 6’1″ with a 74-inch reach, he’s ideally suited to make the cut to 170 without much difficulty and be as big — or bigger — than many of his opponents. Henderson is not a newcomer to the weight class, having won two fights at 170 before leaving UFC for Bellator, but at 5’9″ with a 70-inch reach, he was already a small Welterweight before he left. Combine that with Koreshkov’s crisp stand-up game and I have to question the reason(s) Henderson showed no interest in Bellator’s Lightweight division.
Final prediction: Andrey Koreshkov scores a technical knockout win to retain the title
145 lbs.: Patricio Freire (24-3) vs. Henry Corrales (12-2)
The original iteration of this fight was an intriguing duel between contenders on the hunt. Patricio Freire is a former champion who is seeking a path to a potential fourth fight with Daniel Straus, while his original opponent, John Teixeira, was undefeated dating back to 2012 and potentially a win or two away from a title shot. After Teixeira pulled out of the fight with an injury, Henry “OK” Corrales stepped up to take his place on short notice.
I was intrigued when Corrales initially made his debut as an undefeated fighter (12-0) against the aforementioned Straus. And Straus notched that first “L” with a second round guillotine choke. Take two was a close fight with Emmanuel Sanchez at Bellator 143, but as Sanchez does to so many of his foes, he sent Corrales packing with a split decision. I still believe Corrales is a talented fighter with a great track record as a finisher (four knockouts and six submissions), but he hasn’t shown it in Bellator.
And “Pitbull” is a bad draw for him on short notice. He’s looking at a third straight loss.
Final prediction: Patricio Freire defeats Henry Corrales via knockout
170 lbs.: Evangelista Santos (20-16) vs. Brennan Ward (13-3)
It’s rough for a fighter when you’re best known for being Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino’s ex, but she has put the “Cyborg” nickname to better use in the four plus years since they split than Evangelista Santos. At one point in 2014, Santos announced his retirement after suffering a second knockout loss to Melvin Manhoef. He has always managed to stay just above the MMA Mendoza line of .500 in his win-loss record, which is impressive in itself given he’s been fighting since 1997, but with 10 of 16 losses coming by knockout it’s easy to see why he considered retirement.
Despite the fact Santos successfully came out of retirement in January against Artenas Young, it’s likely “Irish” Brennan Ward will make him reconsider that decision. Ward has knockouts in 50 percent of his fights and 61 percent of his wins (eight out of 13) and is on a four-fight win streak. He fights with a careless and some would say reckless abandon when he gets in the cage, but by his own admission, if fighting was boring he’d quit and do something else.
Crazy, young (27) and reckless versus fragile, old (38) and cautious equals a blowout fight
Final prediction: Brennan Ward via knockout in the first 10 minutes
170 lbs.: Michael Page (9-0) vs. Jeremie Holloway (7-1)
Jeremie Holloway may be one of the best fighters Michael Page has faced on paper other than Nah-Shon Burrell or Ricky Rainey, and his best just isn’t going to be good enough. Bellator has been openly accused of setting up straw men for Page to knock down, and since the promotion of Page centers around his highly stylized striking and unblemished record, it’s hard to blame them for protecting “Venom” to market him as a featured attraction. Jeremie Holloway came in undefeated and was submitted by Matt Secor in a fight that showed he wasn’t ready for the big leagues. If you don’t believe Bellator MMA brass thinks Page will treat him the same way, then you’ve got another thing coming. He needs better competition after blowing out Holloway on Friday.
Final prediction: Michael Page via spinning kick or elbow leading to a technical knockout
155 lbs.: Brent Primus (6-0) vs. Gleristone Santos (27-5)
This is possibly the most intriguing fight of the card other than the main event and, unfortunately, the one that has the least buzz going in. Brent Primus was being brought up slowly and carefully to emerge as a Bellator prospect, but had a rough time with Derek Anderson at Bellator 141 and barely escaped with a split decision. Gleristone Santos hadn’t lost a fight since 2011 until John Teixeira scored a split decision of his own at Bellator 143.
Will the jump from Featherweight to Lightweight help “Toninho Furia” return to his winning ways?
The jury’s still out on both men. He won his first two fights in North America in Titan FC, but before that he was only known in Brazil, where he always seemed to win unless facing the top guys or crafty veterans — Patricio Freire and Carlo Prater to name two. His diversity of attacks is impressive (nine knockouts and six submissions) and he’s clearly capable of winning on points if he draws out a fight. Primus is largely a submission artist (66 percent of his wins) who likes to finish fast, but when Anderson took him the distance he started to run out of gas. If his cardio isn’t better in the Santos fight then we’ll finally known which of these two men deserves their hype.
Final prediction: Gleristone Santos via unanimous decision
That’s a wrap!
MMAmania.com will deliver live coverage of Bellator 153: “Koreshkov vs. Henderson” tomorrow night, with real-time results throughout the evening followed by Spike TV fights at 9 p.m. ET. To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.