Breaking Down Bellator 44 Lightweight Tournament Final: Freire Vs. Chandler

Added on May 14, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

Tonight in Atlantic City, New Jersey Bellator 44 will take place, and by the time its over we will know Eddie Alvarez’s next opponent. Tonight marks the conclusion of the Bellator Lightweight Tournament when Michael Chandler and Patricky Freire will face off the in the Bellator Cage in front of a sold out crowd. The event will air tonight on MTV-2, and check your local listings for specific times.

Patricky Freire is currently 9-1 in his 3 year career, and he has finished 6 of them by knocking out his opponent. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has only displayed his ground skills once in the cage, but he has been able to display his striking and his fights in exciting manners. His road to the Bellator Lightweight finals have been paved with two highlight reel knockouts. In his first fight he was able to defeat Razor Rob McCullough by KO in the 3^rd round, in a fight many thought he had little chance of winning. In his second fight he was able to defeat Toby Imada by flying knee that even ended up on ESPN’s op plays of the week. The Noguierra black belt is dangerous on the ground, but he obviously has the striking acumen to knock out a good number of fighters.

Michael Chandler is undefeated in his 2 year career and he has finished 6 of his 7 fights this far. The Division 1 wrestler trains out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, and he has only seen the third round once. Chandler had two wins in Bellator before he entered the tournament, and his experience is paying off. To get to the finals he beat Lloyd Woodard by decision, and he beat Marcin Held by arm triangle in the first round. Chandler has the ability to control a lot of fighters on the floor, and even though Patricky has a solid ground game, I think he will be able to roll with him safely.

When you look at Patricky’s last 2 fights, its easy speculate that he could knock out Micheal Chandler, and that he will want to stand with him. Chandler might oblige him standing as he hasn’t been knocked himself either. I do see Chandler being able to survive submission attempts, and I think he will want to get this fight to the floor early in the fight. However, he is going to have to get the fight there first, and I’m convinced that Patricky has the power to really rattle Chandler. This is a close fight, and the odds reflect that, but I am picking Chandler to win this fight by decision.