Preview: Bellator Fighting Championships VII

Last week, Bellator Fighting Championships kept on rolling with its sixth event in seven weeks, as BFC VI saw two featherweight finalists emerge with a chance to fight for the first-ever featherweight belt in the upstart promotion.

First up was the semifinal match between Yahir Reyes and Estevan Payan in a bout that saw both fighters land effectively throughout the first round. As the bell sounded to start the second, however, Reyes appeared to be measuring Payan calmly as he searched for an opening to exploit in his advancing opponent. That opening came 1:56 into the round, as Reyes executed a deft sidestep and used the torque in his hips to whip a picture-perfect spinning back fist that sent Payan crumbling to the canvas.

The knockout was the fourth of Reyes’ career, as he moved to 14-5 as a pro with the victory, his sixth straight in the last two years.

In the main event of the evening, up and coming featherweight threats Wilson Reis and Joe Soto—both undefeated prior to their May 8 meeting in Robstown, Texas—battled to see who would face Reyes in the tournament finals.

While Reis (7-1 MMA) may have been a slight favorite over the aggressive Joe Soto (6-0 MMA) heading into their semifinal tilt, fans in attendance learned early on that Soto was not going to play along. The bout was handled so thoroughly by Soto, in fact, that it could hardly be called an upset, as Reis was handled on the feet and on the ground by a stronger, more aggressive and technically sound opponent from the opening bell until the end of the fifteen minute affair, after which the judges awarded a Unanimous Decision to the dangerous up and comer. Soto has finished five of his six professional fights, while Reis collected the first loss of his two-year career.

Bellator’s next event, which will host the semifinal match ups of the welterweight tournament is set to take place May 15 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois with the replay airing via one-day tape delay on ESPN Deportes on Saturday, May 16.

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Week 7 BFC Predictions:

BFC VII – Welterweight Tournament Semifinals:

Dave Menne vs. Omar De La Cruz

• Menne (43-15-2 MMA) surprised many with his convincing and workmanlike third round submission victory over Norman Paraisy in the welterweight tournament quarterfinals, erasing some of the doubt lingering concerning the former UFC middleweight champion’s age (34) and competitive drive. Although De La Cruz (4-1 MMA) was also impressive with a Unanimous Decision nod over Victor Meza in the quarterfinal bracket, he does not even have 10% of the professional experience as his opponent. If one were to disregard Menne’s last two performances, both impressive finishes, a case could be made for the younger De La Cruz (29) running over an aging veteran, however, Menne seems to have finally begun to settle into his new weight class and should establish himself as tournament favorite with a second round stoppage of the green De La Cruz.

Lyman Good vs. Jorge Ortiz

• This one will not be pretty for Ortiz. It’s really that simple. Lyman Good (8-0 MMA) was already considered a proficient and very physically capable striker prior to entering Bellator’s inaugural welterweight tournament, but after finishing the submission-savvy Hector Urbina off with a second round rear naked choke in the quarterfinals on April 10, Good may have established himself as the tournament’s odds-on favorite. Ortiz is good at everything, but he is not great at anything. His mediocre striking skills will pale in comparison to the fast, crisp stand up game of Good, as he will be handled on the feet and on the ground, should the fight go there, ultimately succumbing to a TKO in the second or third round.

Look for previews of all of Bellator’s events to be up in the future on ProFighting-fans.com.

By Steven T. Kelliher
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer