Council Bluffs, Iowa is the town, and the Mid-America Center is the site for Bellator 129 on Friday night. The promotion has been on a solid run over the last two months under the direction of new head man Scott Coker. In recent shows, there’s been a consistent and action-packed theme to the events, and that’s sure to earn the promotion new fans while satisfying the diehards.
This card doesn’t look especially strong on paper, but in mixed martial arts, things can shift once the fighting begins.
The main event pits two longtime veterans and local products against one another in a welterweight clash. Des Moines, Iowa, native and 50-fight veteran Josh “The Dentist” Neer will take on a former NCAA All-American wrestler from the University of Iowa, Paul “The Gentleman” Bradley.
Both men figure to have the Iowa crowd excited when they battle for bragging rights and positioning in the Bellator welterweight rankings.
In the co-main event, the exciting Houston “The Assassin” Alexander will face a late replacement in the form of Virgil “Rezdog” Zwicker. Alexander was originally slated to face veteran James Thompson, but the latter was forced out of the bout because of an injury, per MMA Junkie. The fight is being fought at a 215-pound catchweight.
Alexander is a defensively flawed but dynamic finisher. Of his 16 wins, 14 of them have come by stoppage. That’s undoubtedly what he’ll be looking for against Zwicker. However, it may not come so easy.
Zwicker is a tough and powerful striker in his own right, and Alexander has been stopped in seven of his 10 losses. Alexander somehow managed to lose a decision to Kimbo Slice in the latter’s UFC debut, so there’s definitely hope. Just as Zwicker took this bout on short notice, the 32-year-old from Temecula, California, won’t back down from a stand-up confrontation.
This scrap might just wind up being the best of the night.
Here’s the viewing information for the entire card and predictions for each fight. Just beneath the table is a closer look at the co-feature and main event.
- When: Friday, Oct. 17 at 9 p.m. ET
- TV: Spike TV
- Live Stream of Undercard: Spike.com
- Venue: Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Why Alexander Wins
At 42 years old, Alexander may not have a ton of time to make hay in MMA, but he won’t waste a lot of it in the cage Friday night. It would be shocking if The Assassin doesn’t attempt to jump all over Zwicker at the beginning of the bout in order to overwhelm the late replacement.
Early in the first round, Zwicker will have his chances to slow Alexander’s pursuit or even stop him with his own heavy counter. If he doesn’t take advantage of that window of opportunity, Alexander will catch him with a big shot within a matter of minutes that leads to the end of the bout.
This result will be based on simply beating the opponent to the punch, and Alexander has the quicker hands.
Why Bradley Wins
While Neer is a veteran whose exciting style helped to produce three Fight of the Night bonuses when he fought in the UFC, he’s not the accomplished wrestler that Bradley is. From a pure strength standpoint, The Gentleman also trumps Neer. It is difficult to overcome a strength and technique advantage on the ground.
Perhaps Neer‘s best chance to win is to attempt to use his two-inch height advantage during stand-up exchanges; however, Bradley is more explosive and should be able to close the distance.
That said, this fight seems destined to go to the ground. When it does, Bradley will overpower Neer en route to a TKO victory via ground-and-pound.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com