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Last week was all about the featherweight tournament, but this week will be about the kick start of the middleweight tournament. There is a lot of great talent competing in the tournament, including a veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Also, the finals of last season’s heavyweight tournament will happen again following the controversial ending of the last encounter.
Kicking off the action is a BFC Middleweight Tournament Opening Round Fight as Giva “The Arm Collectos†Santana (17-1-10) does battle with Bruno “Carioca†Santos (12-0-0). Giva Santana is currently undefeated in Bellator competition, having defeated Darryl Cobb at Bellator 53. Bruno Santos will be making his Bellator debut in this fight after spending the majority of his career competing in Brazil. This is an excellent fight to highlight Bellator’s international talent, but it will be Giva Santana picking up the victory.
The BFC Middleweight Tournament Opening Round continues next as Vyacheslav “Slava†Vasilevsky (15-1-0) competes against Victor O’Donnell (11-3-0). Vyacheslav Vasilevsky will be making his Bellator debut in this fight, but he does hold a victory over UFC veteran Xavier Foupa-Pokam. Victor O’Donnell is currently winless in Bellator competition, having lost to Brian Rogers at Bellator 50. While Victor O’Donnell is a talented fighter, he is nowhere near the talent level of his opponent and Vyacheslav Vasilevsky will get the win in the end.
BFC Middleweight Tournament Opening Round action continues as Brian “The Predator†Rogers (8-3-0) battles Vitor Vianna (12-2-0). Brian Rogers made it to the semi-finals of the season five middleweight tournament, losing to Alexander Shlemenko by TKO. Vitor Vianna made it to the finals of the season five middleweight tournament before losing to Alexander Shlemenko. Both fighters fell to the same opponent in the last tournament, but it will be Vitor Vianna advancing in this one.
Up next is another BFC Middleweight Tournament Opening Round Fight as Maiquel “Big Rig†Falcao (28-4-0) faces Norman Paraisy (10-1-0). Maiquel Falcao will be making his Bellator debut in this fight, but he does have experience competing in the UFC with a victory over Gerald Harris. Norman Paraisy returns to Bellator after a three year break, where he lost to UFC veteran Dave Menne at Bellator 3. This will definitely be an interesting battle to watch, but Maiquel Falcao will be advancing to the semi-finals.
Headlining this card is the season five heavyweight tournament finals rematch as Eric “The American Soldier†Prindle (7-1-0) takes on Thiago “Big Monster†Santos (10-1-0). Eric Prindle made it to the tournament finals by defeating the duo of Abe Wagner and Ron Sparks. Thiago Santos earned his spot in the finals by defeating two fighters in Josh Burns and UFC veteran Neil Grove. Following the controversial ending to their last fight with the accidental low blow, it will be Thiago Santos pulling out the victory.
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