Bellator 169: “King Mo vs. Ishii” takes place this tomorrow night (Fri., Dec. 16, 2016) at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. It’s a co-promoted show that offers some BAMMA fare for the local fans, and some Bellator fare for the live viewers on Spike TV, the latter of which we’ll be focusing on in this preview.
Like so many other Bellator cards of late this one has had significant shifts in the final weeks before it took place, but the top match with a “moneyweight” fighting an Olympic gold medalist has stayed in tact through it all, and a popular local fighter will look to pick up his second Bellator win.
Let’s break it down:
265 lbs.: Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (19-5, 1 NC) vs. Satoshi Ishii (14-6-1)
Both of our main events return after a loss in 2016 followed by a long layoff. Lawal went into Bellator 154 in San Jose to prove he deserved No. 1 contender status more than Phil Davis, but it was “Mr. Wonderful” who proved his point and scored the unanimous decision. A short time later at Bellator 157, Satoshi Ishii had a close fight with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, one where Jackson scored a split decision that saw one judge give him all three rounds. I still have trouble wrapping my head around that one give the Olympic gold medal winner repeatedly took Jackson down in round one.
That is unlikely to happen to Lawal, a highly decorated wrestler who succeeded over and over again in high school, college and world competitions before finally making the jump to mixed martial arts in 2008. He’s used that wrestling ability to defeat larger opponents in the past, and it took an equally decorated wrestler in Davis to snap his seven fight winning streak. Ishii is quite literally not a pushover though – his judo base will make him hard to take down and dangerous in any clinch, which we saw him use to trip and throw Jackson until he decided to press Ishii into the fence.
Who has the advantage then? Lawal stands 6’0″, has a 79″ reach, and is 35 years old. Ishii is 5’11”, has a 73.5″ reach, and is 29 going on 30 just a few days after this fight. Lawal has the reach advantage, and with 13 knockouts out of 19 wins (68%) vs. one knockout out of 14 wins (7%) he CLEARLY has the striking advantage. Don’t take Ishii too lightly on the feet though — he trains with Gegard Mousasi among others and could surprise Lawal with a well timed shot much like Davis did in round three of their fight. Ishii will likely be the heavier fighter but as noted Lawal has never minded that difference before.
Final prediction: “King Mo” Lawal scores a unanimous decision victory
145 lbs.: James Gallagher (4-0) vs. Anthony Taylor (1-1)
All eyes will be on Gallagher on this card, a fighter who hails from Strabane, Northern Ireland who will cross the border to fight in Dublin, Ireland on the 16th. His regional appeal should be strong given that he’s a charming young fighter and a training partner of Conor McGregor’s, whose appeal has been shown to transcend ALL borders. After getting a proper test at Bellator 158 in London, he’s been given another opponent he should not take for granted given Taylor won his last Bellator fight in 27 seconds. Still you could hardly ask for a better sparring partner than McGregor, and Gallagher’s pretty good on the ground too with 75% of his wins coming by submission. A submission accounts for Taylor’s lone loss so it’s not hard to see what’s being set up here.
Final prediction: James Gallagher scores a first round guillotine choke
145 lbs.: Daniel Weichel (37-9) vs. Brian Moore (9-4)
Weichel’s high fight total reflects both his impressive amount of experience before joining Bellator in 2014 and the seven fights he’s had in it since. To date his only promotional loss is a title fight against Patricio Freire, and his most recent win saw Weichel defeat Emmanuel Sanchez by split decision, giving “El Matador” a taste of his own medicine. Originally scheduled to face Paul Redmond, the former UFC fighter withdrew due to injury and will make his Bellator debut another day. The Wexord, Ireland replacement Brian Moore will have crowd support and the momentum of two straight wins coming in, and he finishes 77% of his wins, but there’s no substitute for a full camp and a full career.
Final prediction: Daniel Weichel wins via rear naked choke submission
145 lbs.: Sinead Kavanagh (3-0) vs. Elina Kallionidou (5-0)
After two opponents for Helen Harper fell through, Bellator made a last minute addition of Sinead Kavanagh vs. Elina Kallionidou to feature on the main card for Spike TV. The undefeated Kavanagh is like James Gallagher the popular member of the match-up as a Straight Blast Gym fighter, but Kallionidou has won 60% of her fights by knockout (three out of five) and got her start as a pro at only 16 years old. She could be a phenom but it’s also possible she hasn’t faced top caliber competition like SBG can offer, and one can reasonably assume Bellator wouldn’t make this late change to the card if they didn’t expect Kavanagh to deliver a crowd pleasing performance.
Final prediction: Sinead Kavanagh wins via technical knockout
145 lbs.: Dylan Tuke (3-0) vs Cameron Else (3-3)
This very late addition to the Bellator 169 card should provide a little more local flavor for the fans in Dublin. Tuke hails from the Straight Blast Gym like fellow main card fighters Gallagher and Kavanagh and he’s finished all three of his wins (two rear naked chokes and a knockout). The English fighter Else trades wins and losses almost every time out and seemingly has no consistency. Unless “The Nuke” Tuke is giving up too much of an experience edge to the more veteran Else this should go his way.
Final prediction: Dylan Tuke wins via submission
That’s a wrap!
MMAmania.com will deliver coverage of Bellator 169 tomorrow night, with results throughout the evening for the 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.