Although the majority of the attention in the MMA world this weekend will be geared towards the UFC, that does not mean that Bellator 164 should be ignored. The event will be headlined by a welterweight title rematch as Andrey Koreshkov defends against former welterweight champion Douglas Lima. Also, UFC veteran Noad Lahat makes his promotional debut and Georgi Karakhanyan looks for another win.
Main Card
Main Event
Bellator MMA Welterweight Title Fight
Andrey “Spartan” Koreshkov (19-1-0) (Champion) vs. Douglas “The Phenom” Lima (27-6-0)
Koreshkov will be making the second defense of his championship, a championship he won by defeating Douglas Lima in their first bout at Bellator 140. Lima earned an opportunity at the gold when he defeated Paul Daley by unanimous decision at Bellator 158. Koreshkov enters the fight on a six fight winning streak, which includes wins over a pair of UFC veterans in Ben Henderson and Nah-Shon Burrell. Lima will be competing in a title fight for the fourth time in his Bellator MMA run, his record is 1-2-0 in past title fights.
Prediction: Lima will use his striking to keep things interesting for a round or two, but Koreshkov is bigger and his wrestling game suffocates Lima on route to a unanimous decision win.
Co-Main Event
Bellator MMA Featherweight Division Fight
Scott Cleve (15-5-0) vs. Noad “Neo” Lahat (9-2-0)
Cleve has rotated wins and losses throughout his Bellator MMA run, with his last fight being a loss to John Teixeira at Bellator 128. Lahat will be competing for the first time since his UFC release, which came after a loss to Godofredo Pepey at UFC Fight Night 82. Cleve has defeated one UFC veteran earlier in his career as he defeated Abel Trujillo at a March 2011 Extreme Beatdown event. Lahat did earn a pair of victories during his time in the UFC, those wins came over Steven Siler and Niklas Backstrom.
Prediction: Cleve has been out of action for a while now and he has a decent ground game, but Lahat will get the fight to the ground and submit Cleve in the second round.
Bellator MMA Featherweight Division Fight
“Insane” Georgi Karakhanyan (25-6-1) vs. Kirill Medvedovsky (7-2-0)
Karakhanyan has only won two fights in the last two years under the Bellator MMA banner, both wins came over Bubba Jenkins. Medvedovsky will be making his Bellator MMA debut in this fight and he has only won just one of his last three fights. Karakhanyan is a former World Series Of Fighting Featherweight Champion, he lost the belt in his first defense against Rick Glenn at the WSOF 10. Medvedovsky will be competing for the third time so far this year, which is the most active he has been since turning pro in November 2010.
Prediction: Medvedovsky does have a quality striking and ground game, but Karakhanyan is better than him in all ways inside the cage, Karakhanyan finishes him with strikes in the first round.
Bellator MMA Women’s Flyweight Division Fight
Karla Benitez (13-9-1-1NC) vs. Lena “Hunter” Ovchynnikova (10-4-0-1NC)
Benitez will be making her Bellator MMA debut in this fight and she has not earned a victory in well over a year. Ovchynnikova is currently winless under the Bellator MMA banner, dropping a bout to Rebecca Ruth by decision at Bellator 150. Benitez previously competed against current UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in May 2014, she lost by unanimous decision. Ovchynnikova has not earned a victory in well over two years and 2016 has been the most active year of her pro MMA career.
Prediction: Ovchynnikova is a submission ace and Benitez is far below her in skill set, Ovchynnikova submits Benitez in the opening round.
Preliminary Card Quick Picks
Kfir Eittan over Chen Shhori
Hitham Kayof over Moish Rand
Elazar Tariku over Ron Becker
Alex Trofimov over Sol Renato
Almog Shay over Vitaly Khmeinytsky
Olga Rubin over Laurita Likker-Cibirite
