Bellator 86 Predictions

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Ben Askren vs. Karl Amoussou: This is the most dangerous fight for Askren out of all the welterweights in Bellator right now. Amoussou has been a killer in Bellator and his last win was a submission of the year candidate over Bryan Baker: an inverted heel hook in only 56 seconds. Askren is the complete opposite of Amoussou; he is methodical and takes his time. Though people may look at him as boring, he has gotten this far with what he’s done, why stop now? = Askren via unanimous decision.

Muhammed Lawal vs. Przemyslaw Mysiala = Lawal via 2^nd round KO.

Douglas Lima vs. Michail Tsarev = Lima via unanimous decision.

Ben Saunders vs. Koffi Adzitso  = Saunders via unanimous decision.

Brent Weedman vs. Marius Zaromskis = Weedman via unanimous decision.

Prelims

Raul Amaya vs. Jose Gomes = Amaya via split decision.

Cortez Coleman vs. Matt Jones = Cortez via 1^st round TKO.

Chris Pham vs. Jason Sampson = Sampson via 2^nd round submission.

Zach Church vs. Damon Jackson = Jackson via unanimous decision.

Mike Maldonado vs. Joseph Salas: Maldonado via 3^rd round.

Javier Obregon vs. Hunter Tucker = Tucker via 1^st round TKO.

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Ben Askren vs. Karl Amoussou: This is an intriguing matchup but this will be just like every other Ben Askren fight. Askren will take Karl down and hold him there until his hand is raised. Karl has nothing that can stop Askren from doing this and Askren will remain to be one of the best fighters on earth that is not in the UFC = Askren by unanimous decision.

Muhammed Lawal vs. Przemyslaw Mysiala = Lawal by unanimous decision.

Douglas Lima vs. Michail Tsarev = Lima by unanimous decision.

Ben Saunders vs. Koffi Adzitso = Saunders by unanimous decision.

Brent Weedman vs. Marius Zaromskis = Weedman by unanimous decision.

Prelims

Raul Amaya vs. Jose Gome = Gomes by submission in round 2.

Cortez Coleman vs. Matt Jones = Cortez by unanimous decision.

Chris Pham vs. Jason Sampson = Sampson by submission in round 1.

Zach Church vs. Damon Jackson = Jackson by unanimous decision.

Mike Maldonado vs. Joseph Salas = Maldonado by split decision.

Javier Obregon vs. Hunter Tucker = Tucker by unanimous decision.

CR Exclusive Interview with Isaac Vallie-Flagg

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

On May 19^th of this year, Isaac Vallie-Flagg burst onto the MMA scene with a split decision victory over Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante, which proved as one of the biggest upsets of the year thus far. The Jackson’s MMA product came into the bout while many viewed him as a stepping-stone for the former DREAM lightweight star. 

He changed that after 15 minutes of an amazing fight.

Although JZ clearly won the first round, Vallie-Flagg came back to win the second two rounds on two of the judges scorecards, many journalists, and us at CR.

Isaac is looking to continue his hot 10-0-1 streak as he will be fighting Adriano Martins on September 29^th. And we got an interview with him on this upcoming fight.

Championship Rounds: So your next fight is with Adriano Martins at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Healy. Talk about this fight, how has training camp been going?

Isaac Vallie-Flagg: I’m excited for my fight with Adriano. He is another tough dude and a real test! Even though people haven’t heard of him, he is legit.

Training camp is going well, I spent my first bit of it with Cub Swanson and his boxing coaches, Joel Diaz and Antonio Diaz working on some stuff. Now I’m in Albuquerque training at Jackson’s with my great team and then going to Gracie Barra in New Mexico with some real beast jiu-jitsu guys.

CR: How do you envision the fight going?

IVF: I envision the fight like this: we are both going to punch each other in the face several times (laughs). This fight honestly could go anywhere but I want to dictate where it goes.

CR: You pulled off a huge upset against Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante in your last fight. How does the underdog status affect you?

IVF: I love being the underdog. I fight better when I’m the underdog. I have been the underdog my entire career and it feels good to prove people wrong.

CR: Your fight with JZ was a barnburner, what was your mentality going into that fight?

IVF: I am a fan of JZ. I knew how tough he is and what he is capable of. I knew I was just as capable and had better conditioning so my mentality was to push this dude hard for 3 rounds no matter where the fight goes, just attack. And it ended up being an entertaining fight from what I saw.

CR: After beating a big name like JZ, where do you believe you stand in the lightweight title picture in Strikeforce?

IVF: You know, I hope my name is getting thrown around to compete for a Strikeforce belt sometime, but the task at hand is beating Adriano, so that is what I’m focused on.

CR: Most people scored the fight for you, 29-28. What was going through your head when they announced the 29-28 score for JZ?

IVF: I really felt like I should have gotten the unanimous decision over JZ. He won round 1 for sure but 2 and 3 were mine, but that is judging for you. You never want to leave it in judge’s hands if you can avoid it

CR: What is it like training at Jackson’s MMA with so many champions? Who are your training partners most of the time?

IVF: Training at Jackson’s is great. Our talent pool speaks for itself. My main training partners are usually everybody; I like to get looks from every person in the gym. It’s a huge benefit to have so many guys and girls that are top caliber fighters. I would like to name drop more but I would have to put a huge list of big names as well as some super talented up and comers.

CR: Are there any names that we should keep an eye on fighting out of Jackson’s MMA that we might not know?

IVF: Guys you should keep an eye out for at Jackson’s are Rustam Habilov, Hunter Tucker, Landon Vannata, Clint Roberts, and Nick Urso: the Jackson 5. Oh, also there is this guy Cub Swanson that you should for sure keep an eye on (laughs).

CR: Who’s Cub Swanson?

IVF: Eh, just some dude that looks like Diego Brandao.

Thanks again to Isaac Vallie-Flagg for the great interview. He’s a great guy with a charismatic personality, he also just happens to also be one of the best up and comers in MMA.

Go follow him on Twitter @ikevallieflagg and watch his fight on September 29^th!