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Bellator Champions Series 2: Mix vs. Magomedov 2 Preview
The Bellator Champions Series makes its return this Friday (May 17) and will be streaming live on Max (12 PM EDT) from Paris, France. The French fans have been going bonkers for both MMA and wrestling lately, so Friday should have a ton of energy. Let’s take a look at the card…
Main Card
Patchy Mix (champion) vs. Magomed Magomedov for the Bantamweight Championship
Cédric Doumbé vs. Jaleel Willis
Gregory Babene vs. Costello van Steenis
Yves Landu vs. Jonas Bilharinho
Archie Colgan vs. Thibault Gouti
Slim Trabelsi vs. Louie Sutherland
Preliminary Card
Mansour Barnaoui vs. Yusuke Yachi
Steven Hill vs. Mike Shipman
Aspen Ladd vs. Katerina Shakalova
Asael Adjoudj vs. Bruno Fontes
Prelims
I’m not going to lie to you, my MMA friends - this card is filled with a lot of fighters who are in my blind spot. For many fight fans, that may turn them off to tuning in. For me?...that means I’m excited to get some names on my radar and see if there are some standout performances that get me looking forward to future fights.
The Main Card also has some names that I am looking forward to getting to know. I do know this, though - in taking a look at the card, there are a lot of French fighters. That means the crowd will be HOT!
Cédric Doumbé vs. Jaleel Willis
Jaleel Willis is filling in relatively late for Derek Anderson against the man who PFL/Bellator is trying to make a household name - Cedric Doumbe. Doumbe had a weird outing last time - losing due to the referee stopping the fight over a splinter in Doumbe’s foot. It was Doumbe’s first loss and he is still upset about it. He’ll be looking to make a statement against Willis, who is coming in 2-3 in his last five fights. Bellator is doing its best to feature Willis in its videos on YouTube leading up to the fight in order to get fans familiar with him. Doumbe will be a very tough fight for him, though. However, there is a reason why we fight the fights. You just never know…
Patchy Mix (champion) vs. Magomed Magomedov for the Bantamweight Championship
There’s a good chance that a lot of names on this card may be unknown to a lot of fight fans. Patchy Mix and Magomed Magomedov, though, are two fighters that fight fans should know. This should be a fun one! It is a rematch from their December 2022 fight where Patchy Mix got the guillotine choke submission in the second round. Both men haven’t lost since then, but Patchy has been much busier with six fights vs. Magomed’s solo outing. Both men are top tier Bantamweights in Bellator and are extremely well-rounded. Patchy has been flying up the personal rankings of many fight fans, though, and comes in as the relatively heavy betting favorite. This should be a battle. I can’t wait!
Overall, this is not the sexiest card when it comes to names. However, with the French crowd going crazy and a lot of prospects trying to make names for themselves - this card could end up being a lot of fun. I am looking forward to watching it when I get home from work on Friday.
Are you going to watch? Which fight are you looking forward to the most? Let me know at matt.tenhoeve@gmail.com. I will be back soon with a look at Saturday’s UFC card. See you then!
