Bellator 147 Post-Fight Analysis

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Last Friday Bellator held another event in San Jose. but this time it took place at San Jose State University instead of at the SAP Center. A fitting venue for a smaller Bellator card that, while not having a lot of the better known fighters on the roster, still delivered an exciting night of MMA action. We'll break down the main card and discuss where some of these fighters might be headed and who they may face next.

The biggest star on the card was clearly Josh Thomson. Competing for the second time in Bellator and once again in his home town of San Jose,  Thomson had another good performance against a game, but slightly over matched Pablo Villaseca. At this point Thomson is clearly one of the most popular fighters in Bellator's lightweight division, however he doesn't seem too keen at this point in fighting for the belt. Thomson said in his pre/post fight interviews that the fans seem to want him to fight  Michael Chandler, which would be a hell of a fight. However it just kinda makes sense right now for Thomson to face the current champion Will Brooks, as he doesn't have a clear contender lined up right now. Either way, Thomson's next fight should see a rise in both name power and skill level with his opponent and that's something to get excited about.

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The co-main event was an exciting stand up war with Daniel Weichel, some what surprisingly, getting the better of Georgi Karakhanyan. For me this really put Daniel on the map. Many, including myself, hold Georgi in very high regard and even though I picked Daniel to win this fight I was still impressed with his ability to out-strike and frustrate Georgi on the feet. I personally think this puts Daniel right back in the title picture, even more so since Pitbull just lost the belt to Daniel Straus. If Bellator doesn't want to do a Pitbull v Straus IV I think a Straus v Weichel fight could be very interesting.

Speaking of Pitbulls, we saw the 155 pound Pitbull, Patricky Freire, in action against a very Derek Anderson in a rematch of a fight that took place 3 years ago. This was a great fight where both guys had some really great moments in a back and forth battle. In the end Derek squeaked out a split decision win, mostly due to his higher output then Freire. It's hard to say where Derek goes from here. While this was a good performance I don't think he's totally ready for a title shot right now; instead I think a rematch with  Marcin Held might be in the cards.

The rest of the card showcased a solid prospect in Adam Piccolotti and a more calculating Brian Rogers. Piccolotti showed the world he's not to be messed with on the ground, completely outclassing his opponent "Doctor" Mario Soto. Rogers showed some restraint against Virgil Zwicker,  utilizing his better ground game to take Zwicker down and finish him with a side choke.

Overall this was a solid Bellator card. It may have lacked some of the production of Bellator's bigger events, but I personally really liked the more intimate venue for a smaller scaled card. The fights were entertaining and a handful of the fighters on this card could be fighting for belts in the near future.