Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (36-11) is back.
On Friday night at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, the 38-year-old MMA legend will take on Satoshi Ishii (14-5-1) in Jackson’s first Bellator bout since he won a controversial decision over Muhammed Lawal in May 2014.
Ishii is a 29-year-old veteran from Japan who has been knocked out a lot recently (three times in his last five fights), and there’s a good chance he goes night-night against Rampage.
Ishii wants to get the fight to the ground, where he’s secured six of his 14 wins by submission. The problem Ishii will have is securing a takedown.
He isn’t an explosive athlete, and he could run into one of Jackson’s nasty uppercuts and right crosses. The punching power is the last thing to go.
Bet on Rampage catching Ishii with a bomb and finishing him in the first round.
Here’s a look at the rest of the televised card with the viewing information and predictions for each bout. There’s also a kickboxing portion of the card. You can see the list of the televised fights in that sport here:
Date and Time: Friday, June 24 (prelims begin at 7:30 p.m. ET and main card starts at 9 p.m. ET)
TV: Spike
Michael Chandler Will Outscrap Patricky “Pitbull” Freire
Michael Chandler (14-3) and Patricky Freire (16-7) will battle for the lightweight title vacated by Will Brooks’ exit from the promotion.
This is a bout that could easily be the main event, and it’ll be a memorable battle. Dave Meltzer of MMA Fighting calls the lightweight division the deepest in Bellator, and he’s not mistaken.
Josh Thomson and Benson Henderson only made it deeper with their arrivals from the UFC.
Chandler beat Pitbull by unanimous decision back in 2011, and he’ll win again on Friday. Chandler is the more well-rounded of the two, and he’ll outsmart Pitbull en route to another unanimous-decision win.
Matt Mitrione Will Hammer Carl Seumanutafa
Former UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione (9-5) makes his Bellator debut in this one, and he’ll have a size and speed advantage over Carl Seumanutafa (10-6). Per his Instagram account, Mitrione left camp looking fit and ready for battle:
Mitrione can be a devastating finisher, and Seumanutafa will learn that firsthand. The latter doesn’t have the movement to elude what figures to be an amped Mitrione, who will be hungry for a finish.
Chances are this one won’t make it out of the first round.
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane Will Submit Rebecca Ruth
Rebecca Ruth (6-1) is a savage in the cage, but she’s one-dimensional. Ruth comes looking for the finish every second of every fight, but her aggression will be her undoing against Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (3-0).
Macfarlane has all the tools to become a star. She’s a good striker and grappler, and she has shown the ability to work a submission game in her young MMA career.
Her biggest test will come if she’s caught with one of Ruth’s hard punches. As long as Macfarlane can withstand the onslaught that is surely coming in the first round, she should be able to grab a submission win.
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