Prior to the UFC getting under way late Friday/early Saturday in Japan, there's a Bellator card to check out - the third of it's current season, the first season under new CEO Scott Coker. Bellator 125 is the first card this season that lacks a title fight, and as a result, it will be a key indicator of how Bellator's "spectacle over sport" approach will work out moving forward. As for that spectacle? The return to a major promotion of Melvin Manhoeff, as he takes on Bellator vet Doug "The Rhino" Marshall. Manhoeff might be vaguely familiar to you if you're a casual MMA fan. He's fought in Dream, Heros, Strikeforce, ONE FC, and Cage Rage, where he was light heavyweight champion. His Bellator deal allows him to fight outside the promotion, as he'll be fighting for the KSW middleweight championship in November, but for now, he's focusing on his Bellator middleweight debut against Marshall. Who else is on the card? Well, lets just say that this event lives and dies by the name recognition of Manhoeff, and by Bellator's core fan base, who the promotion no doubt hopes will tune in regardless as to who is on the card. Will that turn out to be the case? Well, that's the big point of interest, really. Bellator's season opener, Bellator 123, went head-to-head with the UFC, and came in second, averaging 667,000 viewers (the UFC's event that night, UFC Fight Night 50, averaged over 900,000 viewers). However, last week, without head-to-head competition from the UFC, but with a notably thinner card, Bellator managed 771,000 viewers on average - an increase of roughly seventeen percent. This week has no direct competition once again, but the thinnest card to date. Is it worth tuning on for? Well, if you're not a hardcore fan, maybe just sneak a peak at the main event. However, if there is one thing Bellator has always managed to deliver, it's finishes, and there are four bouts on the main card that are entirely capable of that. So lets take a look at four main card predictions for Bellator 125.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
