Bellator 206 is now just a day away. A massive super fight between the current middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi and the reigning welterweight champion Rory MacDonald is only the tip of the iceberg.
The co-main event features the fourth fight in the rivalry between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva. Rampage got the better of the pair’s exchange in their most recent bout in 2008, and he will seek to even the score of the series at two fights each — Silva leads the series 2-1. The only differences in the match-up this time are that both men are now in their forties and will contest the bout at heavyweight, instead of middleweight or light heavyweight.
Another rivalry receives a new chapter this weekend. The trilogy will be closed on Saturday night when Douglas Lima and Andrey Koreshkov go toe-to-toe once again. They have met twice in the past. Koreshkov was able to get the nod from the judges in their first encounter, but Lima was able to even the score by knocking out Koreshkov in their second outing. What makes this match-up particularly exciting is that Koreshkov, since taking the loss to Lima, has looked better in his next two fights, where he was able to finish both of his opponents. Lima, on the other hand, is coming off a title loss to the aforementioned MacDonald. Common sense tells us the momentum is on Koreshkov’s side, but the mental edge should be on Lima’s side, given that he notched a knockout in their last affair.
Further down the main card, Aaron Pico looks for his fourth career win. Since coming into Bellator as a blue-chip prospect, the decorated freestyle wrestler and boxer has been able to impress most fans. He finished all three of his wins after losing his first professional fight via submission to Zach Freeman. Pico draws a tough fight against former title challenger Leandro Higo.
The main card kicks off with young contender Dakota Zimmerman, in her Bellator debut, against Keri Melendez.
This card is quite possibly the best offering Bellator has ever put together. The headliner by itself is ridiculous. This fight, even in the UFC, would have been a great super fight. Now, it is even better, with both guys holding titles and adding name value to the match-up. If you’re a fight fan, you cannot wait for this one. Then, add on all the other great fights on the rest of the card.
Bellator is growing at a ridiculously fast rate right now, and cards like this one will only help to raise the name of the promotion to the point where it can compete on even footing with the UFC.