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Following a huge weekend of MMA action, there will only be two MMA events taking place this weekend and it all begins with Bellator 125. The event will be headlined by the promotional debut of Melvin Manhoef as he takes on Doug Marshall. There are a total of eight fights on the preliminary card, with a key fight taking place between Poppies Martinez and Julie Cesar Neves.
Kicking off the action is a middleweight division attraction as Nate James (13-8-1) competes against Anthony “A-Train†Ruiz (33-19-0). James will be returning to action after a three year absence, but he is a veteran of the Strikeforce promotion. Ruiz has won four of his last five heading into his Bellator MMA debut, with one of those wins coming over UFC veteran Collin Hart. James has been inactive for a very long time now and that is going to hurt him as Ruiz gets back in the win column.
The featherweight division will be featured next as Joe “Nine Lives†Neal (3-0-0) does battle against Paul Ruiz (5-1-0). Neal will be making his Bellator MMA debut in this fight, but he is a veteran of the West Cast Fighting Championships. Ruiz will be returning to Bellator MMA after a three year absence from the promotion, he last appeared at Bellator 35 with a win over Jesus Castro. Ruiz has done well for himself since his last Bellator appearance and he will be returning to the promotion with a win over Neal.
A pair of flyweights are set to collide next as Matt “The Machine†Ramirez (0-0-0) is in action against Oscar “The Terror†Ramirez (3-1-0). Matt will be making his professional MMA debut in this fight, but he did go undefeated as an amateur fighter. Oscar is currently winless in Bellator MMA competition, having dropped a fight to Benito Lopez at Bellator 115. Matt did go undefeated as an amateur, but he will start his pro career off with a win as Oscar gets his first Bellator MMA win.
More featherweight division action is happening next as Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (0-0-0) dukes it out with Sergio Cortez (9-8-0). Bonilla-Bowman will be making his professional MMA debut in this fight, but he last amateur fight came over four years ago. Cortez will be making his Bellator MMA debut on a two fight winning streak, but he has not competed in a year. Bonilla-Bowman should have taken one more amateur fight before turning pro and that will be proven as Cortez wins his third straight.
Another middleweight division fight is next as Granson Clark (2-1-0) stands across the cage from George Zuniga (2-0-0). Clark will be looking to rebound from his first professional MMA defeat, which came to Blake Watkins at an Art Of War Productions event. Zuniga will be returning to action after a one year layoff and he will be making his Bellator MMA debut. These are two fighters who have looked good in the early stages of their careers, but it will be Clark making a successful promotional debut.
Yet another featherweight division bout is next as “The Tachi Kid†Poppies Martinez (29-10-0-1NC) battles Julie Cesar “Morceguinho†Neves Jr. (29-0-0). Martinez has won just one of three in Bellator MMA, with that lone win coming over Josh Smith at Bellator 116. Neves Jr. made his promotional debut back at Bellator 117, where he defeated Josh Arocho by TKO. This fight is worthy of a spot on the main card, but it will be Neves Jr. leaving with a win either way in this one.
Up next is a welterweight division attraction as Chris “The Cutt†Honeycutt (4-0-0) takes on Aaron “The Daywalker†Wilkinson (11-6-0). Honeycutt will be making his Bellator MMS debut in this fight, but he is the current Up & Comers MMA Welterweight Champion. Wilkinson is a veteran of UFC competition and he is coming off of a successful run in Cage Warriors. Honeycutt has looked good on the regional circuit and he will look good in his big show debut as he defeats the UFC veteran.
Headlining this portion of the card is a welterweight division bout as Jesse Juarez (21-9-0) faces Ron Keslar (11-6-0). Juarez has won four of five during his time in Bellator MMA, with his time in the promotion dating back to Bellator II. Keslar competed in the season nine welterweight tournament, losing to Rick Hawn in the finals at Bellator 109. Keslar has stumbled since making it to the tournament finals and those stumbles will continue as Juarez picks up the win.
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