Paul “Semtex” Daley will face Andy Uhrich in the Bellator 148 main event on Friday from the SaveMart Center in Fresno, California. Originally, the main event was supposed to feature Josh Koscheck in his Bellator debut against Matt Secor, but an injury to the former caused the organization to move to Daley vs. Uhrich as the featured bout.
Here’s a look at predictions for the televised bouts:
Many of the early prelims will not be televised or streamed. The featured prelims will be streamed on Spike.com beginning at 7:45 p.m. ET. The main card begins at 9 p.m. ET and will air on Spike.
Daley-Koscheck Connection
Daley is one of the sport’s most devastating strikers. Honestly, he should tear through Uhrich. The latter lacks the striking prowess to hang with Daley in stand-up encounters.
Uhrich‘s only hope is to take the fight to the ground and wear down the Brit. He will have a three-inch height advantage over Daley, but that will wind up being a disadvantage in the fight.
Daley’s most dangerous strikes are his short, quick hooks on the inside. Look for him to slip Uhrich‘s long and slow jab and counter with short, powerful hooks. It would be surprising if this one goes the distance.
Daley should win inside two rounds.
The 32-year-old from Nottingham, England, has a rather dubious connection to Koscheck. When both were in the UFC, Koscheck defeated Daley by unanimous decision back in 2010.
Right after the bout, Daley sucker-punched Koscheck out of frustration.
UFC President Dana White famously announced after the fight that Daley’s contract was terminated with the organization and that he would never fight in the UFC again. Because of that incident, it’s ironic Daley would be replacing Koscheck as the main event attraction.
There was obviously an attempt being made to orchestrate a grudge match, but that can’t happen anytime soon with Koscheck‘s injury.
Honeycutt Will Take the Rematch over Bradley
Chris Honeycutt and Paul Bradley looked to be headed for a memorable scrap at Bellator 140 in July 2015. An accidental clash of heads opened a nasty gash on Bradley’s head, which caused the fight to be stopped and ruled a no-contest.
The two men are set for the rematch in the co-featured bout.
Honeycutt is undefeated in six professional bouts, but it seemed clear early on that Bradley would represent his toughest opponent to date. With over six months to ponder and prepare for the rematch, Honeycutt is the pick to win on Friday.
Athletically, he’s superior to Bradley. With 28 pro fights, Bradley has the upper hand from an experience standpoint. However, having faced Bradley for just under 10 minutes in their first fight, Honeycutt gained a measure of familiarity that will be valuable.
In the video interview below from Bellator, Honeycutt talks about how much he’s improved since the first fight:
He initially seemed a little shocked that Bradley was able to thwart his takedown attempts early, but Honeycutt looked to be settling in a bit before the clash of heads.
His power and technique in the ground game will push him to a dominant victory via third-round TKO.
Tony Johnson Will Power Past Butler
In his career, Tony Johnson has faced some big names in the sport. He defeated an over-the-hill Tim Sylvia in 2013 via TKO and lost via submission to Daniel Cormier in 2010. Johnson is now attempting to smash his way to the top of the Bellator heavyweight rankings, and Raphael Butler is next in line.
It’s all part of Johnson’s plan to one day hold the Bellator heavyweight title. The only problem is Bellator champion Vitaly Minakov has been missing in action for more than two years. Somehow the promotion has allowed him to remain the champion despite almost unprecedented inactivity.
Johnson told Mike Bohn of MMAjunkie:
It’s a little frustrating, but I can only control what I can control; and right now I have another fight. If I beat Butler it’s going to be hard for them to say no to a title shot. (Minakov) can’t hold it up for too much longer. They’ve got to do something. They have me, they have Rafael Butler, Bobby Lashley – we’re all in the hunt for the title and we just have to wait and see what happens.
Johnson will eliminate Butler’s name from immediate contention on Friday night. When he’s focused and in shape, Johnson is a wrecking ball who poses a serious threat to any Bellator heavyweight. Butler will have a length advantage, and he also possesses notable power.
However, he’ll be unnerved by Johnson’s pressure and strength in close quarters. Johnson will score a TKO victory to further pave his way toward a title shot—whenever Minakov returns or Bellator decides to do something with the title.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com