Bellator is back on Spike TV to continue Season 8 with Bellator 86 set for Thursday, and the welterweight tournament is the center of attention. Four quarterfinal fights are on the card, with old faces, new faces, and returning challengers looking to cement a shot at the winner of Ben Askren and Karl Amoussou and then the winner of that fight vs. Andrey Koreshkov. The welterweight tournament quarterfinals begin with the Spike.com prelims at 8 p.m. (ET) as Raul Amaya (10-1) is back in Bellator for the second time facing weathered 30-year-old vet Jose Gomes (32-8-1). This is Gomes’ first fight in Bellator, and 26-year-old Amaya’s third. Amaya tasted defeat for the first time last season after coming into Bellator with a 9-0 mark and nine finishes, but Ben Saunders thoroughly controlled him and beat him to send him packing. Amaya won his followup fight vs. Kenny Moss via a shoulder injury TKO, but it still was able to land him in the tournament. Gomes has spent the vast majority of his time in Brazil, fighting for the usual suspects down there. He’s a veteran of Jungle Fights and Amazon Fights, going 9-3 in his last dozen bouts. Amaya is down to brawl, whereas Gomes is more than willing to engage his opponents standing up or on the ground. Amaya’s attempts to finish the fight with strikes early could put him in a poor situation with the versatile Gomes, who opened as a -145 favorite (bet $145 to win $100). Both men have knockout power, know their way around the ground and are willing to fight with Gomes holding a distinct advantage in the grappling department against Amaya, who is a +115 underdog (bet $100 to win $115) according to the MMA odds. This should be a scrap. Next up on the Spike TV prelims is a pair of familiar faces from years past. Dream welterweight champ Marius Zaromskis (19-7-1) returns to the welterweight tournament after making it a round deep last year against lightweight tournament finalist and former welterweight tournament participant Brent Weedman (20-8-1). Zaromskis is known for his striking and willingness to deliver a highlight reel knockout. He made it to the second round of the season six welterweight tournament before falling to the strikes of eventual season 7 winner Andrey Koreshkov. Weedman seemed to find his stride at lightweight last season, heading to the finals of the tournament before finally losing to Rick Hawn. The cut to 155 pounds must have been rough on him, but it isn’t like he hasn’t seen success at welterweight before, going 18-7-1 at 170 before finally moving down a class. The underdog Weedman (+100) is more measured, but he still has KO power in his hands and holds the grappling advantage over the favored Zaromskis (-130). Both men come to put on a show, so this is one of the fights to keep an eye on during the prelims. Both of these fighters are extremely motivated to make it to the next echelon, especially considering Weedman already owns a submission win over fellow tournament competitor Douglas Lima. Later on the Spike TV broadcast, we have Bellator newcomer Koffi Adzitso (18-9) meeting welterweight mainstay Ben Saunders (14-5-2). Koffi is a big welterweight, extremely athletic and holds a lot of power in his hands. Technically, he isn’t the best striker or grappler, but he more than makes up for his shortcomings with killer instinct and a will to win. This confidence in himself usually ends up putting Koffi in situations where he gets caught, either by strikes or subs. In his nine losses, he has been finished seven times, which doesn’t bode well for him considering he is taking on one of Bellator’s most complete fighters in Saunders. If you’ve been following MMA for a few years you know about the “Killa Bee,” he went 4-3 in the UFC before dropping back-to-back decisions to Jon Fitch and Dennis Hallman, respectively. After leaving the UFC, Saunders has gone on a 6-2 run, which has culminated in a Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Final berth and a Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Semifinal slot. Saunders lost his Season 5 Final bout via KO at the hands of fellow Season 8 fighter Lima, and in Season 6 Bryan Baker won a unanimous decision against him. Without a doubt, Koffi (+255) will have his hands full with the heavily favored Saunders (-355), who has been here multiple times before. The Bellator Season 8 Welterweight Tournament opening round concludes with Season 5 winner Lima (22-5) taking on Season 6 semifinalist Michail Tsarev (24-3). Simply put, Lima is a monster. He has 19 finishes in 22 fights, with his only perceived weakness being his tendency to get completely smothered by elite wrestlers like Askren. Meanwhile, Tsarev is a Russian Pankration champion, well-versed in Sambo and coached by Bellator Season 5 Middleweight Tournament winner Alexander Shlemenko. There are certain things people come to expect from Russian fighters now, stoic, dangerous, and well-rounded – Tsarev is all of these things. This fight between Lima an Tsarev should be a war, with both men willing to stand and engage with the other. However, Lima’s experience against better competition, especially in Bellator, gives him a significant edge and makes him a big -450 opening favorite against Tsarev (+300).
