The Bellator 104 event came to us from U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa last night (Oct. 18, 2013), and the big news is that welterweight tournament finals for November 22nd, 2013 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania are set. In the tournament’s first match, Ron Keslar took it to MMA veteran ‘War Machine’, busting him up and taking his back. ‘War Machine’, who has a checkered history but was favored at the sportbooks for this match, was unable to mount any offense against Kesslar. In the end, ‘War Machine’ did the honorable thing and he went to sleep rather than tap. Keslar was impressive, and he will have reach and height advantages over his opponent. That opponent was decided between Brent Weedman and Rick Hawn. This was a rematch, as Hawn had taken a unanimous decision from Weedman in the past. This match was much of the same. Weedman is a crafty veteran fighter, but Hawn displayed superior power and technique in the stand up,, constantly getting off with combinations. Hawn was able to control the fight and won a unanimous decision where Weedman did not win a single round on any of the judges cards. This sets up Keslar-Hawn in the finals. Look for Hawn to be favored when a line comes out,and his overall competition pedigree should have him primed to close out this tournament. Keslar, for his part, would not be under the radar much longer if he can break through and beat Hawn. The winner of the match will likely get Douglas Lima, the Bellator stand out who should be fighting Champion Ben Askren next. However, with Askren expected to walk, Lima vs Hawn or Keslar for the vacant belt is probably Bellator’s best option. Also on the card was veteran heavyweight Eric Prindle, who took on Peter Graham of Australia. Both men tired, but fought hard throughout. In the end Prindle took a beating, butt he stayed in there. He was dropped by a front kick at the very end of the fight, but he was lucid and made the distance. Graham has just a 9-5 record, but he has run off 8 victories in a row after starting his career 1-5 against a high level of competition. Graham is a striking-based fighter and could make for a good mix with some of the other strikers in the weight class. Though Prindle has gotten a lot of criticism in the past, he showed heart in the loss.
