Bellator 284

Tape study notes

Bellator 284

Like all Bellator cards there are some really ridiculous lines and some really low level fights. I’m going to keep the breakdown to matchups that we will potentially be betting on.

Brett Bye vs M A Yah 11

Bye is a standout wrestler out of South Dakota. He’s extremely athletic. He’s only 1-0 in his career, but he was impressive in that win. His striking didn’t look bad, he’s extremely aggressive, puts on an insane pace and looks to wrestle constantly. He did gas in the third round of that fight, but was able to power through it. I’m not too worried about is cardio. He really went for the kill in rounds 1 and 2. There’s not many people on earth that wouldn’t gas after the pace he put on.

Yah is only 22 years old and is 4-0. He trains at sky Walker with Anthony smith. He has looked very impressive in all 4 of his fights. He likes to take people down and rain down brutal ground and pound. He is constantly looking for the takedown. He will be a good deal taller than Bye and should hold a decent reach advantage. Very athletic

Yah has looked good, but I don’t think he will be able to get his wrestling going against Bye. Bye should be able to takedown Yah and I think we will see a little more paced version of Bye here. Bye at dog money looks great to me, but both of these guys are great prospects for Bellator

Aaron Jeffery vs Austin Vanderford

Jeffery is 11 and 3 and his only 3 losses are to legit comp. he lost to brendan Allen and sean Brady and Caio. All legit ufc contenders. He has wins over now ufc fighter Andre Petroski and dwcs winner Collin Huckbody. He is from Canada but moved to Las Vegas two years ago and now trains with Sean Strickland at syndicate mma. He’s extremely tough and took some big punches against Petroski and never seemed bothered by them. He doesn’t accept being taken down always working to get up. He’s good everywhere. Does great clinch work. He is A little slow for the division. Bellator is a great fit for him

Vanderford is an athlete. He has explosion and raw talent. He’s looked great in his Bellator career. He had a bit of a set back against Gegard, but that’s nothing to be ashamed of. He has great wrestling and moves very well on the feet. He trains at ATT and is a problem for most of the Bellator roster. He also shares a birthday with yours truly!

Vanderford has all the tools to dominate this fight. Jeffery is coming in on short notice and I commend him for that, but I think vanderford is the superior athlete and has him out gunned everywhere. Even with Jeffery being that taller man, vanderford has a slight reach advantage. Vanderford gets the finish

Said Sowma vs Gokhan Saricam

Sowma is a tactician. He approaches fights like a chess match and this hasn’t always resulted in a fan friendly performance, but it is effective. He’s 8-3 and is coming off of a split Dec loss. This was a loss that easily could have been a win for Sowma he just was a little to hesitant. My favorite part of Sowmas game is his leg kicks and his cardio. He really hurts guys to the legs. He is a former swimmer and credits that for his excellent cardio. Trains out of ATT and says he wants to be more aggressive in this fight and maybe take it to the ground

Saricam is a striker and he is very explosive. Go watch his fight against Charlie Milner. It lasts all of 15 seconds. In a stand up fight he comes in blitzes and can put you away with one punch. He’s shown an improved ground game and uses explosion and pure athleticism to get guys down. He is a scary test for anyone

If sowma can survive the early explosion of Saricam I think he wins this fight. Sowma has shown an excellent chin so I think he gets it done here. His leg kicks and cardio will be a weapon and if he mixes in takedowns I can see him getting a late finish. I like Sowma and the over in this fight

Sullivan Cauley vs Tyson Jeffries

Sullivan Cauley is one of the best prospects that Bellator has. Tyson Jeffries is a .500 fighter moving up from welterweight to light heavyweight. Cauley is a finisher. Hammer the ITD and Cauley round 1.

Patrick Downey vs Jeff Souder

Downey is making his MMA debut and it seems weird to bet on a guy making his debut, but Bellator knows what they are doing. Souder only has 4 fights and he’s 2-2. Downey is a very accomplished grappler. He wins by sub here

Bailey Shoenfelder vs Mark Currier

Bailey played d1 football at Minnesota. He’s extremely athletic and fast for the heavyweight division. He’s 2 and 0 with 2 finishes. Currier has been finished a bunch of times between his pro and amateur career. Bailey by tko

Mitch McKee vs Tony Ortega

Another big favorite and another Minnesota guy. McKee was a standout wrestler and he is now one of the best prospects at Sanford mma. He’s still very raw, but his wrestling ability, coaching, athleticism and pure strength have carried him. He’s a cocky kid. Ortega is not bad and this is actually a good test for him, but I see him passing it. McKee is a pretty safe parlay piece

These are the only fights I’m considering betting. Passing on the main event, passing on Mowry Moldavsky and Breno Hill. Good luck everyone!