Bellator 103 Date: October 11, 2013 Arena: Kansas Star Arena City: Mulvane, Kansas Light Heavyweight bout: Aaron Rosa (+385) vs Mikhail Zayats (-485) Fight Breakdown: The main card for Bellator 103 will feature a light heavyweight match-up between UFC veteran Aaron Rosa and the Russian Mikhail Zayats. Rosa is currently the underdog in this bout at +385 ($100 to win $385), while Zayats is the favorite at -485 ($485 to win $100) at Several Bookmakerss. AARON ROSA (17-5 MMA, 0-0 Bellator) is making his promotional debut and coming off a near two-year layoff. He has not had a fight since being released by UFC, after suffering a TKO loss at the hands of James Te Huna, which made him 1-2 in the Octagon. Rosa is a brawler who does not have a good chin; three of the five losses on his professional mixed martial arts resume are the result of knockouts. Rosa is not very good in any area of mixed martial arts. He can brawl and he can grind, but he is not very good at either. He did not have the greatest conditioning at heavyweight, where he weighed in at 260lbs, so it isn’t any better now that he’s at 205, especially considering the lengthy layoff. MIKHAIL ZAYATS (21-7 MMA, 2-1 Bellator) is making his fourth appearance inside a Bellator cage, looking to bounce back from a unanimous decision defeat he took against Emanuel Newton at Bellator 94 seven months ago. The loss wiped a seven-fight win streak he had strung together within an 11-month period. Zayats is a good striker who works decent takedowns and makes some nice transitions on the mat as well. He likes to ground and pound opponents, but he prefers to get the submission rather than the TKO finish. The fact that 11 of his 21 professional mixed martial arts career victories have been by tapout certainly reflects that sentiment. The Russian works a heavy top game when taking opponents down, and works his way to either a TKO or submission stoppage. He likes to beat up his opponents and secure a rear naked choke. Going into this bout, Zayats will have a strength and cardio advantage over his opponent. Fight Prediction: I see Zayats getting the better of Rosa everywhere and eventually stopping him. Gabe’s Pick: Mikhail Zayats by Submission (rear-naked-choke, 1:45 round 2) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Small play on Mikhail Zayats -485
