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There are three big MMA events this weekend, they will be taking place in the United States, Canada and England respectively. The Bellator 102 card will be taking place in the USA and will feature three different tournaments in three different weight classes. The event will also feature the promotional debuts of UFC veterans Cheick Kongo and Lavar Johnson, both are in the heavyweight tournament.
Kicking off the action is a middleweight tournament semi-final fight as “Filthy†Perry Filkins (8-1-0) competes against “The Irish Bad Boy†Brennan Ward (7-1-0). Filkins earned himself a spot in the tournaments semi-finals when he defeated Jeremy Kimball at Bellator 98. Ward was able to call himself a tournament semi-finalist after the disposing of Justin Torrey at Bellator 98. Each fighter looked really good in the opening round and this fight has the potential to be a show stealer, but it will be Filkins advancing to the finals.
Another middleweight tournament semi-final fight is next as Jason Butcher (7-0-0) does battle against Mikkel Parlo (10-1-0). Butcher was able to advance to the second round of the tournament when he defeated Giva Santana at Bellator 98. Parlo may have pulled the most shocking win in the tournament thus far when he defeated longtime Bellator vet Brian Rogers to advance. Both fighters defeated two of the favorites to win the whole thing in the first round, but it will be Parlo making it to the finals.
The 2013 Bellator Summer Series bantamweight tournament finals is up next as Anthony Leone (13-5-0) battles Rafael “Morcego†Silva (20-3-0). Leone was able to make it to the last round of the tournament when he defeated Frank Baca at Bellator 97. Silva was able to punch his ticket to the tournament finals after defeating Rodrigo Lima by submission at Bellator 97. These are two well deserving fighters to be in the tournaments finals and it will be Silva earning himself a title shot.
Up next is a heavyweight tournament semi-final fight as Lavar “Big†Johnson (17-7-0) takes on Vinicius “Spartan†Queiroz (6-3-0). Johnson will be competing for the first time since his UFC release, which came after a loss to Brendan Schaub at UFC 157. Queiroz made it to the semi-finals of the season eight heavyweight tournament before losing to Alexander Volkov. This fight should be nothing short of a slugfest and it will be Johnson getting himself into the tournament finals.
Headlining this card is a heavyweight tournament semi-final bout as Mark “The Hand Of†Godbeer (8-1-0) faces Cheick Kongo (18-8-2). Godbeer is returning to action after being away for more than a year, with his last fight being a victory over Catalin Zmarandescu at BAMMA IX. Kongo will be competing for the first time since his UFC release and this fight will be his first fight outside of the UFC in over seven years. Barring a huge upset from taking place, Kongo should easily get by Godbeer to get his spot in the tournament finals.
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