Bellator 55 Bold Predictions

With another weekend without a ZUFFA event Bellator will once again have the full attention of the MMA community for Saturdays Bellator 55. Making their second trip to the Grand Canyon State, Bellator 55 will be live from the Cocopah Resort and Casino Yuma, Arizona. The semi-final round of the bantamweight tournament will headline Saturday’s event but the Bellator light heavyweight champion is also on the card in non-title fight action.

Light heavyweight champion Christian M’Pumbu (18-3-1) makes his first appearance since winning the inaugural 205 lbs. tournament in season four. His opponent in the non-title fight is MMA veteran Travis Wiuff (65-14, 1NC) who will be by far the most experienced fighter M’Pumbu has faced. Thus far no current Bellator champion has lost a non-title bout and M’Pumba does not want to be the first.

The season three bantamweight tournament runner-up, Ed West (17-5) looks to get back to the finals and hopefully another shot at the Bellator champion, Zach Makovsky. Standing in his way is the youngster, Eduardo Dantas (11-2) who knocked out Wilson Reis in the opening round of the tournament.

In the main event Marcos Galvao (10-4-1) will look to improve on his split decision performance against Chase Beebe to earn a spot in the finals. His opponent is the undefeated Alexis Vila (10-0) who is coming off a devastatingly impressive knockout of the Bellator featherweight champion, Joe Warren. It’s the explosiveness of the Olympic wrestler Vila against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Galvao.

A late addition to the undercard (local feature fights) is the former UFC fighter and Ultimate fighter season 8 winner, Efrain Escudero. Since being released from the UFC, Escudero has gone 4-1 across five different promotions.

Main Card (MTV2)

135 lbs. Semifinal bout: Alexis Vila will defeat Marcos Galvao by 1^st rd TKO

• Vila won’t get a standing knockout against Galvao but he’ll get the fight to the canvas and start dropping bombs until the referee pulls him off.

135 lbs. Semifinal bout: Ed West will defeat Eduardo Dantas by Unanimous Decision

• Dantas will start out strong and won the opening round but West will take over as the first round comes to a close. The style of West will keep Dantas off his game plan allowing West to out point him and move onto the finals.

205 lbs.: Christian M’Pumbu will defeat Travis Wiuff by 3^rd rd TKO

• The veteran Wiuff will keep this fight close as M’Pumbu takes to the Bellator circle for the first time as a champion. Wiuff will fade in the later rounds and the champ will take over for a late TKO.

155 lbs.: Ricardo Tirloni will defeat Steve Gable by Unanimous Decision

• Both fighters are making their Bellator debut but it’s Tirloni who is highly touted prospect. Tirloni will come out and impress the Bellator crowd but Gable will hang tough and take the to the judges’ scorecards.

Local Feature Fights (Spike.com)

155 lbs.: Efrain Escudero will defeat Cesar Avila

205 lbs.: Richard Hale will defeat Carlos Flores

185 lbs.: Edgar Garcia will defeat Jacob Ortiz

155 lbs.: Erin Beach will defeat Roscoe Jackson

145 lbs.: Jade Porter will defeat Nick Piedmont

185 lbs.: Steve Steinbeiss will defeat Dano Moore

Tags: Alexis Vila, Bantamweight, Bellator, Bellator 55, Christian M'Pumbu, Ed West, Edgar Garcia, Eduardo Dantas, Efrain Escudero, Marcos Galvao, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, Ricardo Tirloni, Steve Gable, Steve Steinbeiss, Travis Wiuff, Zach Makovsky

Category: Bellator, Exclusive, Featured, MMA, Predictions