MTV2 and Bellator return this evening with another solid card. Hector Lombard and Patricky "Pitbull" Freire highlight the show.
The ranked No. 11 middleweight in the world in the USA Today/Blood Elbow rankings, Lombard (28-2) faces veteran Falaniko Vitale (29-9). Pitbull shoots for the Season 4 lightweight title against Michael Chandler in Atlantic City, N.J. at Bellator 44.
Freire (9-1) pulled off a highlight-reel KO in the last round by smashing Toby Imada with a flying knee. Pitbull fights out of the same Soutern California camp as the Nogueira brothers, Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva.
Chandler, a former Div. 1 wrestler at Missouri, is a tough matchup for Pitbull. Chandler (7-0) may be able to control the pace of the fight and nullify Pitbull's striking. He's also developing as a striker under the tutelage of Xtreme Couture's Gil Martinez.
"I'm still a young fighter and there is no reason to rush it when there are different avenues. I know I will be the best in the world at some point. I just want to push the pace but keep composed," Chandler told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "At the end of the day I don't want to squeak by."
Rising middleweight Alexander Shlemenko faces off against Brett Cooper and we may get to see TUF 12's Jeff Lentz against Anthony Leone. The Anthony Morrison-Bryan Goldsby fight was scrapped when Morrison missed with 135-pound bantamweight limit by weighing in at 146.5!
Bellator 44 betting lines:
Hector Lombard (-600) vs. Falaniko Vitale (+400)
Patricky Freire (+105) vs. Michael Chandler (-125)
Alexander Shlemenko (-165) vs. Brett Cooper (+145)
Jeff Lentz (+190) vs. Anthony Leone (-230)
"I don't talk much about game plans," Martinez said. "But we plan on putting (Freire) in some uncomfortable situations."
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