Bellator 91 Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico Thursday, February 28, 2013 Lightweight Semifinal Fight: David Rickels (-390) vs. Jason Fischer (+300) Fight Breakdown: The Bellator Season 8 Lightweight Tournament continues at Bellator 91 as semifinalist David Rickels — fresh off his win over Lloyd Woodard in the quarterfinals — meets Jason Fischer, who is an injury replacement for Alexander “Tiger” Sarnavskiy. The bout is a rematch as Rickels and Fischer previously fought at Bellator 87, with Rickels winning a competitive decision. Rickels (12-1) is a scrappy dude and it’s fitting his nickname is “The Caveman” as he definitely fights like one. The 24-year-old has been ultra successful in Bellator, winning six out of seven bouts with the only loss coming to top-ranked Karl Amoussou. In his career he has two T/KO wins and six wins by tapout so he’s most definitely a guy who prefers not to let his fights go to the judges, although his last three fights have gone the distance, a trend he will most certainly want to change in this bout with Fischer. Most recently, Rickels defeated Woodard in the quarterfinals by decision in his official lightweight debut, but it wasn’t the most impressive performance by Rickels and it’s definitely possible the weight cut affected him. Fighting a month later, how will the second cut in such a short amount of time affect him? It’s a good question, and one we’ll find out on Thursday night. Fischer (6-1) is coming off an impressive submission victory over Sevak Magakian to bounce back from that decision loss to Rickels. The youngster is only two years deep into his MMA career but he’s already experienced a ton of success, going 3-1 in Bellator and earning all six of his career victories via T/KO or submission. Against Rickels his best chance to win is going to be to take this fight to the floor and look for the submission. Yes, Rickels hasn’t been finished yet, but he can be controlled on the floor and Fischer is definitely a solid grappler. In their first fight Rickels hurt Fischer with his powerful punches so if he’s going to pull off the upset Fischer has to fight smart and he has to finish the fight this time and not let it go to the judges. Fight Prediction: I’m not sure how he’s going to do it but I think Fischer is going to pull off the upset here. The first fight between these two was close and there’s no doubt that Fischer is going to want revenge for what happened last November, when he lost a close decision. This time, though, I think he’s going to do enough in this fight so the judges have no choice but to crown him the winner of the fight, if it even gets there. Adam’s Pick: Fischer via decision (click for latest MMA odds) Adam’s Recommended Play: I recommend a small bet on Jason Fischer at +300. I think this fight could really go either way and you’re getting a ton of value on what I see as a coin-flip kind of fight, so I’m going to take a stab at Fischer to come through with the upset.
