Bellator returns to the West Coast for a banger of a card packed some feisty prospects, all in hopes of moving along their divisions and establishing the future. This week, the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, WA will be the stage as various standouts get some cage time throughout the Bellator 283 card.
Yet what could have been a more intriguing main event between former champ Douglas Lima (32-10) and Jason Jackson (15-4) has hit a bit of a sour note. Lima not only missed weight for this encounter, he refused to make more attempts at making the target weight. Usually this doesn’t bode well for a fighter, raising questions as to what kind of shape he’ll be in for this fight and how it will affect his performance. Lima’s got a devastating striking arsenal, and recent performances have also brought into consideration the possibility of him slowing down a bit or not performing as well as before. Currently on a three-fight skid, he’s up against a very dynamic athlete in Jackson, who is a patient striker that’s capable of shifting phases and dealing damage over time.
Jackson’s last loss was back in 2019 against Ed Ruth, but he’s currently on an excellent run with wins over Kiichi Kunimoto, Jordan Mein, Benson Henderson, Neiman Gracie and Paul Daley. Granted, these were all decision wins, and some of those names have seen better days. But not only is a win a win, he managed to fight smart and handle opponents with far more experience. The win over Gracie has certainly been his best so far, and this fight could earn him another notch on his belt in defeating a former champ that offers some tough challenges in any fight.
Former RIZIN champ Tofiq Musaev (19-4) is one of the best talents you don’t hear much about, and he’s back from his hiatus to finally make his Bellator debut. He meets Sidney Outlaw (16-4), who’s currently riding back to back wins over Adam Piccolotti and Myles Jury. Musaev lost his title to Roberto Satoshi before exiting RIZIN, but still has a stellar grappling game and heavy, accurate striking.
Team Alpha Male’s Chris Gonzalez (7-1) has had a delightful development in Bellator thus far, and after a sensational win over mainstay Saad Awad, he now has the unenviable task of facing Usman Nurmagomedov (14-0). If you see that name, you know what he’s about. It’s the ground assault that you’d expect, but Usman’s striking is also a big concern. He can hit pretty hard and is very smart about his shot selection. This should be a great one.
Mukhamed Berkhamov (15-1) is another prospect that Bellator has been somewhat quiet about. Another major acquisition off the Russian circuit, this man is a problem. Curiously, he holds a win over Tofiq Musaev from back in 2013, but has wins over Jesse Taylor, Brett Cooper, and Sharaf Davlatmurodov. He’s got what could and perhaps should be fight of the night potential ahead when he faces former Strikeforce and UFC standout Lorenz Larkin (24-7). Larkin’s on a six-fight win streak, including a brutal finish over Kyle Stewart back in May.
Bellator’s next big thing at heavyweight appears to be none other than Davion Franklin (5-0), with massive power and surprising speed in closing the distance. That makes him a major threat in the division, and he’s bringing his talents against the very tough Marcelo Golm (9-3). Golm has really smart clinchwork despite being more of a slower starter, and can present some challenges for Franklin with his size and infighting.
Romero Cotton (6-0) remains another excellent signing for Bellator, continuing to amass experience and put on some devastating performances. The standout wrestler meets another exceptional athlete in Dalton Rosta (6-0), in an interesting duel between the absolute best two up and coming middleweights Bellator has available.
Roman Faraldo (7-0) has been assembling a neat little highlight reel so far in Bellator’s welterweight division. He meets Luis Iniguez (5-1), who also has some boxing experience.
Finally, former Invicta champion Vanessa Porto (23-9) returns to offer powerhouse Veta Arteaga (6-4) what could be the biggest challenge of her career.
You can check out the weigh-ins here:
Main card:
Douglas Lima (172.8)* vs. Jason Jackson (171.0) – Welterweight
Sidney Outlaw (155.4) vs. Tofiq Musayev (155.0)
Usman Nurmagomedov (155.2) vs. Chris Gonzalez (156.0)
Lorenz Larkin (170.8) vs. Mukhamed Berkhamov (171.0) – Welterweight
Davion Franklin (264.2) vs. Marcelo Golm (257.6)
Prelims:
Romero Cotton (185.6) vs. Dalton Rosta (185.4) – Middleweight
Veta Arteaga (125.8) vs. Vanessa Porto (125.8) – Flyweight
Kevin Boehm (147.6)* vs. Akhmed Magomedov (144.6) – Featherweight
Gadzhi Rabadanov (154.4) vs. Bobby King (155.4) – Lightweight
Roman Faraldo (170.6) vs. Luis Iniguez (170.8) – Welterweight
Jaylon Bates (136.0) vs. Mark Coates (137.8)* – Bantamweight
Archie Colgan (159.6) vs. Bryan Nuro (159.2) – 160lb bout
Bellator 283: Lima vs Jackson kicks off this Friday night with prelims streaming live and free on Bellator’s YouTube channel at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT. The main card will be airing exclusively on Showtime at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT.
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