Another weekend chock-full of high level mixed martial arts is upon us. The Viacom owned promotion touches down in Chicago for Bellator 221 on Saturday.
Bellator will go head to head with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for the second straight week on Saturday night. While that typically is promotional suicide, Bellator 221 is a solid offering, and dare I say the main card is just as good as UFC 237’s.
Here are some more reasons to watch Bellator 221.
Ty-Wan Claxton
Ty-wan “Air” Claxton burst on to the scene with one of the best flying knee knock outs the sport has ever seen. It even made the ESPN top 10 list.
Since then, Claxton has rolled off three more victories and finds himself on the main card of one of Bellator’s biggest cards of the year. He is an all-action fighter and he is always looking for the finish.
Whether he is taunting his opponent with a Fortnite meme or delivering a flying knee, Claxton is must watch MMA TV.
AJ McKee Jr.
AJ McKee Jr. might just be the best featherweight prospect in the entire sport of MMA. And he is fighting on Saturday night.
McKee, 24, will make his 14 walk to the Bellator cage at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois. He will be fighting a local legend and former Bellator champ, Pat Curran. This fight could headline many other Bellator cards. Further reinforcing just how good this card is.
Douglas Lima vs Michael “Venom” Page
The semi-final round of the Welterweight Grand Prix will kick off in the Windy City when Douglas Lima meets Michael “Venom” Page in the co-main event on Saturday night.
Lima avenged his loss to Andrey Koreshkov in the opening round of the Grand Prix back in September of 2018. He has won four out of his last five fights with his only loss being to the division’s champ, Rory MacDonald.
As for Page. The 32-year-old striking sensation is yet to taste defeat inside the cage. He most recently defeated Paul Daley at Bellator 216 via unanimous decision to advance in the Grand Prix.
Do not let the UFC bias fool you, both of these men are legitimate high level mixed martial artists.
Michael Chandler vs Patricio Pitbull
So much is on the line in Saturday nights main event.
Yes, Michael Chandler’s lightweight title will be on the line as he defends it against Patricio Pitbull, but perhaps the Bellator GOAT will be decided as well.
Both Chandler and Patricio are Bellator guys through and through. As a matter of fact, three fighters are tied for the most wins in Bellator’s history with 16. Chandler and both the Pitbull brothers hold that distinction.
Either Pitbull will become the promotions second double champ with a victory over Chandler or “Iron” Mike will continue his run towards greatness at Bellator 221.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 5/9/19.