In the paper version of last Saturday’s Bellator 57 Welterweight Tournament Final, Ben “Killa B” Saunders was something of a favorite to win and face Ben Askren.
He’d scored a TKO over Chris Cisneros in the quarterfinals, and earned a submission win by key-lock over the very experienced Luis Santos, where as Douglas “The Phenom” Lima had literally punched his ticket to the finals by building off of his quarterfinal victory by decision over Steve Carl with a big knockout victory over Chris Lozano.
Still, Saunders was more of the favorite, because as if him being a UFC veteran was not enough, Saunders had shown a bit more of a well-rounded game than Lima, and therefore was seen as a favorite to win it all.
Whoever told Saunders that he’d be the guy to beat Ben Askren for the Bellator Welterweight Title probably did not look too hard at Lima, as Saunders got knocked out in devastating fashion in the second round of their tourney bout.
Ben Askren is the Bellator Welterweight Champion for a reason, but every fight starts standing, and it takes an extremely powerful striker to combat the striking Lima presents.
Askren is a solid wrestler but his striking is still developing and at its best right now, his striking will do little aside from annoying Lima.
In contrast, Lima has shown that he can knock people out with one big shot once he finds an opening to let the knockout find itself, and despite surviving Jay Hieron and escaping with a split decision win as well as his title, he might not have that same luck against “The Phenom.”
Askren is a tough fighter and a durable sort, but the shots Hieron landed on Askren are not the same shots that Lima is capable of landing, but Askren doesn’t have to hear about how good Lima’s shots are.
All he has to do is tell Bjorn Rebney through a touch of ink to some paper that he will willingly face the challenge of the new “Phenom” on the Bellator-brand of the MMA block, and Askren can feel just how hard Lima hits, but hopefully it won’t shock him if he regains consciousness and finds that Welterweight title leaving his waist and wrapping itself around the waist of arguably one of the hottest prospects in the sport right now.
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