The upcoming Bellator 142: Dynamite event, scheduled for Saturday, September 19th, is one of the biggest and most innovative events in the promotion’s history. Despite the fact that the show is stacked with talent in both of its sports (this will be discussed later), and is going to be broadcasted for free on Spike TV, many martial arts fans are either resistant to watch or unaware of the show’s airing. For both of these types of fans, as well as those who are both aware and excited, let’s take a look at three reasons why Bellator 142: Dynamite is a must-watch combat sports event!
- Awesome Glory Kickboxing Action
Part of what makes Bellator 142 so exciting is the fact that it is going to have two entirely separate fighting areas—a cage for MMA and a ring for kickboxing. That’s because, as one can guess, both high-level kickboxing and MMA fights are scheduled to go down during the course of the event.
Glory Kickboxing (a premier international kickboxing organization) is holding incredible bouts such as Paul Daley vs Fernando Gonzalez (talk about a barn burner—it’s also surprising that this fight is happening in the ring, and not the cage!), Saulo Cavalari vs Zack Mwekassa (a battle between two high-level and ridiculously powerful strikers), and Keri Anne Taylor-Melendez vs Hadley Griffith (admittedly, this one is a bit of an unknown. However, it certainly will be interesting, at the very least, to watch the wife of MMA star Gilbert Melendez compete!).
It’s clear why the kickboxing portion of the event is awesome from the listed main-card fights alone, but the prelims are stacked with thirteen fights that are also worth watching (between both MMA and kickboxing, that is). In fact, there are so many prelim fights that some of them will take place simultaneously!.
- Awesome MMA Action, Featuring a One-Night Tournament and Some of the Best Fighters in the World
The purpose of this article is to inform and raise excitement—not spark a debate about rankings. However, there’s no denying that several of the fighters competing on the MMA portion of Dynamite are top-ranking and elite athletes.
The main-event co-headliner of these elite athletes is Liam McGeary, who puts his light heavyweight strap on the line against Tito Ortiz. McGeary is an incredibly talented and once again high-level athlete looking to further bolster his name and status with a win over the time-tested and popular veteran Tito Ortiz. McGeary wins and excites while doing so, and Tito Ortiz certainly has brought it for his last few fights, so this one is a must-watch for any MMA fan!
Next, the event’s one-night, four-man light heavyweight tournament is absolutely awesome! Normally, any one-night tournament is enough to get most fans excited, but when the skills of the athletes in this particular one-night test of wills are considered, most knowledgeable fans are absolutely thrilled! Emmanuel Newton, the former light heavyweight champion and unorthodox-fighting master is set to face the top-ranked Phil Davis in his promotional debut. It will be awesome to see how this one goes down, especially given the interesting contrast in the styles of the fighters.
In the second fight of the tournament, long-time standout and top-ten fighter King Mo is scheduled to face Linton Vassell, a British-born and highly underrated fighter with an absolutely vicious ground game. King Mo is admittedly elite, but a lot of fans are wrongfully sleeping on Linton Vassell. The talented Brit certainly has the ability to win this fight, and it really should be an awesome bout for the fans.
Finally, top-ten lightweight Josh Thompson is set to return to work with Scott Coker as he makes his promotional debut against Mike Bronzoulis. While Bronzoulis has been improving as of late, he may very well have his hands full with Thompson, who is a true veteran and elite competitor in the sport. The winner cannot be predicted for certain, but it’s fairly safe to say that the fans will emerge victorious from this bout!
- Once Again, This Event is Available on FREE Television
While the action described above may seem like that of a top-level (and very expensive) pay-per-per view event, fans can confirm and magnify their excitement by consistently remembering that it is available live and free on Spike TV on Saturday, September 19th (check local listings for the exact start time). There really isn’t a better way to spend a Saturday night, for martial arts fans, than getting some friends together and watching this top-level show. There won’t be any buy-ins, as is the case for pay-per-view events, and the action will be exciting, elite, and (for the last time) free!
Good luck with your own training, and remember to enjoy the fights!