Here is everything you need to know about Bellator 169 from Dublin, Ireland; including a heavyweight bout between King Mo and Satoshi Ishii.
Bellator MMA is headed to Dublin, Ireland as King Mo and Satoshi Ishii are set to clash in a Bellator 169 heavyweight headliner. Also fighting on the card, will be the undefeated featherweight prospect James Gallagher facing the American Anthony Taylor, and former Bellator featherweight title contender Daniel Weichel taking on Ireland’s own Brian Moore. Bellator 169 can be seen this Friday night, on Spike TV at 9:00 P.M. ET (Tape Delay), immediately followed by Bellator Kickboxing (Previously Recorded).
Main Card: Spike TV at 9:00 P.M. ET
Muhammed Lawal (19-5-1 MMA; 8-4 Bellator) vs. Satoshi Ishii (14-6 MMA; 0-1 Bellator): Heavyweight
In his last outing, King Mo came up short in a unanimous decision loss, to the now Bellator light heavyweight champion Phil Davis, and will now be moving back up to the heavyweight division to face acclaimed grappler, Satoshi Ishii. It should be noted that Muhammed Lawal sports a 7-0 record when he has weighed in at over 206 lbs, including a win over streaking Bellator heavyweight Cheick Kongo at Bellator 134.
King Mo brought a solid wrestling base into MMA as the NCAA Div. I All American has found ample success through grounding his opponents, and delivering decapitating floor strikes. Although the 25-fight veteran came into MMA as a wrestler, King Mo has proven his ability to shut out anyone’s lights with a single blow; see King Mo vs. Jiri Prochazka. In the event that King Mo is unable to takedown the Olympic Gold Medalist in Judo, Satoshi Ishii, will he be able to fall back on his boxing in hopes of continuing his successful run in the heavyweight division?
Satoshi Ishii brings a wealth of experience into the cage as the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist has faced a who’s who of top MMA competition, everyone from Fedor Emelianenko to Mirko Cro Cop, twice. Following his promotional debut loss to Quinton Jackson at Bellator 157, Ishii is looking to get back on the winning track and prevent a 3-fight losing skid. Look for Ishii to want to close the distance and force King Mo to carry his weight. Look for Ishii to pull from his Judo experience to try and put King Mo on his back in search of his seventh career submission. Will Satoshi Ishii be able to out-grapple the grappler in King Mo to move himself back into the win column?
James Gallagher (4-0 MMA; 1-0 Bellator) vs. Anthony Taylor (1-1 MMA; 1-1 Bellator): Featherweight
Undefeated Irish prospect James Gallagher is set for his second fight under the Bellator banner, as he defends his home turf against the American, Anthony Taylor. The 4-0 Gallagher is a product of SGB Ireland, the same camp that produced MMA megastar Conor McGregor.
In his promotional debut at Bellator 158 this past July, we saw James Gallagher step onto the main card to earn a unanimous decision victory over the angle-cutting Mike Cutting. Entering into his fifth pro MMA fight as the Bellator 169 co-main event, will James Gallagher be able rise to the occasion and put on for his home crowd in Dublin, Ireland, or will Anthony “Pretty Boy” Taylor play the part of spoiler?
Daniel Weichel (37-9 MMA; 6-1 Bellator) vs. Brian Moore (9-4 MMA; Bellator Debut): Featherweight
Bellator featherweight contender Daniel “Drake” Weichel was moments away from realizing the dream of becoming a world champion at Bellator 138 before one well placed punch from Patricio Freire sent Weichel back down the the proverbial ladder. Since falling short in his featherweight title shot, Daniel Weichel has successfully stormed the castles of top competitors Georgi Karakhanyan and Emmanuel Sanchez. If the 48-fight veteran in Daniel Weichel can silence the Irish crowd, and best Bellator newcomer Brian Moore, then expect to see “Drake” move back into title contention in Bellator’s featherweight division.
Sinead Kavanagh (3-0 MMA; Bellator Debut) vs. Elina Kallionidou (5-0 MMA; Bellator Debut): (W) Bantamweight
Two undefeated female fighters will be making their promotional debuts as SBG Ireland’s Sinead Kavanagh will be squaring off against the 5-0 Greek, Elina Kallionidou in the Bellator bantamweight division. Although Kavanagh is a product of a reputable camp, Kallionidou is the one who brings 5 round experience with her to the table. Which undefeated fighter will make the most of their main card debut and leave Bellator 169 with their ‘0’ intact?
Cameron Else (3-3 MMA; Bellator Debut) vs. Dylan Tuke (3-0 MMA; Bellator Debut): Featherweight
Bumped up to Bellator 169 from BAMMA 27 will be undefeated SBG Ireland product Dylan Tuke taking on the 3-3 Cameron Else. Both competitors has successfully finished each of their 3 professional wins before ever seeing a third round. You can expect these two finishers to put on an exciting tilt for the Dublin crowd.