We are starting a new segment here at MMAOddsbreaker that we believe our readers will enjoy. I will be grading both the card as a whole and each fight on the main card. We will start with Bellator 141, which took place on Friday night. Melvin Guillard vs Brandon Girtz Most people thought Melvin Guillard would run through Brandon Girtz rather quickly, but Girtz repeatedly took Guillard to the mat and held top position for long periods of time. Further, it did not seem like Melvin let his hands go very much, which was likely due to the broken hand he sustained early in the fight. Guillard seemed to have Girtz on the ropes in the third round but he made a costly decision by going for a takedown instead of trying to finish him with strikes. Fight Grade: C- Patricky Freire vs Saad Awad I thought this fight would be much more exciting that it turned out to be. It looked more like a sparring match at times than a fight. The first round was uneventful, with both fighters landing some leg kicks and jabs. The second round was when the tide started to turn, as “Pitbull” landed a takedown and held top position for a good amount of time. Freire also connected with some solid right hands and jabs in that round. The third round was also uneventful, as both fighters missed many of the strikes they threw. Every judge scored each round for Patricky, which gave him a unanimous decision victory. Fight Grade: C Justin Wren vs Josh Burns To put it simply, Wren completely dominated this fight on the canvas with his superior control and positioning. This was Wren’s first fight back from a five year hiatus he took from mixed martial arts, but he still managed to dominate the entire fight. Wren routinely attempted submissions over the course of three rounds but he was never able to get Burns to tap out. From a fan’s perspective it was not a very entertaining fight, but it was nice to see Wren get his hand raised after being away from the sport for so long. Fight Grade: D+ Marloes Coenen vs Arlene Blencow This fight was basically a match to make Coenen look good. Marloes Coenen is an elite talent at 145 pounds and Bellator just does not have any opponents to challenge her at this time. Coenen outclassed Blencowe in this fight, especially on the mat. The fight ended when Coenen tapped out Blencow with an armbar in the second round. This was basically a stay busy fight for Coenen and she put on a good performance. Fight Grade: C+ Overall Bellator 141 grade: C
