Bellator 296: Accor Arena; Paris, France
Thanks to a totally controlling fight in every aspect, Fabian Edwards gets his shot at a history making move. And speaking of history, Gegard Mousasi for the first-time in his illustrious career drops back-to-back fights. The 30-year old Fabian Edwards now has a modest three-fight win streak. And when he goes for number four, it will be for the Bellator Middleweight Title on September 23 in the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.
We also might have seen the end of the Mousasi-era as he looked slow once again, and with the exception of a fourth-round burst wasn’t making any mid-round adjustments. A staple that we’ve always seen from him. But after the 49-46 unanimous decision loss he didn’t make any comments about retiring. And that’s because things got a little dicey during a face-off between Edwards and champion Johnny Eblen. Although, he had stated quite clearly that he wanted this to be his last run for the strap.
Edwards used quick countering hands, and an array of kicks to keep Mousasi at bay. And when the Dutchman did try to crush the space, Edwards’ head movement came into play. He also showed a bit of a ground game himself getting two-takedowns and controlled the tempo there with a nice body lock. Almost from the word go, the scrappy fight started to turn the Englishman’s favor. And with that and winning almost every exchange his confidence shined through.
Fabian Edwards Gets His Shot… But Is He Ready
Although he and Mousasi will flip-flop standings spots, there is at least on paper a question of preparedness. Eblen is a straight up beast. He’s almost a lighter version of skillset of Ryan Bader. He has dynamite in both hands, and is a force on the ground. Add in his size, and there’s the reason why Eblen will probably be at least a 5-1 favorite.
Edwards, definitely has a harder climb to get his strap than his brother Leon Edwards had in his. He won’t be able to pick Eblen apart from distance the way he did to Mousasi, because of Eblen’s speed. Which is just another reason. However, we all know in MMA, absolutely anything can happen come fight night.
For sports news, go to: Belly Up Sports. And to see all things CYCLONE click on: Facebook.
