Preview: Bellator 232 ‘MacDonald vs. Lima’

Paul Daley vs. Saad Awad

Daley is one of the most experienced fighters in the game with 60 professional bouts under his belt. He has competed in several top organizations including Cage Rage, Pancrase, Strikeforce, EliteXC, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bamma and has fought exclusively in Bellator MMA since 2015. Semtex holds wins over the likes of Duane Ludwig, Martin Kampmann, Jorge Masvidal and Lorenz Larkin. He was a contestant in the Welterweight Grand Prix but was eliminated by Michael Page via a highly-debated decision at Bellator 216 back in February. The Englishman rebounded from that fight to defeat Erick Silva at Bellator 223 this past June. This will be the 12th time the veteran fighter competes for the promotion. The 36-year-old is a short and compact kickboxer, who packs earth-shattering power in both of his hands; he holds 30 wins via knockout. He likes to explode towards his foe firing off hard hooks and uppercuts with his short-left hook being something of legend. He generates this bone-crushing power because he sits down on his punches in a wide base throwing his entire body into each strike. The Englishman has an underappreciated clinch game. He has battered several opponents with punches, elbows and knees from close quarters. The bane of Daley’s existence has always been his defensive wrestling. He has been easily taken down by high-level wrestlers and struggled to get back to his feet. He does not impose any threat of submission off his back.

Awad steps into the Bellator cage for the 21st time, hoping to end a three-fight drought. He is intending for the quick turn-around to erase the memory of his first-round submission loss to Goiti Yamauchi just three weeks ago. He fought at 155 earlier this month but has agreed to fight the Englishman at a 175-pound catchweight due to the late notice. The 36-year-old, who has amassed a 23-12 professional record, desperately needs a win if he wants to remain relevant in any weight class in the promotion. The California native is not the most athletic fighter but makes up for it with a determination and fortitude. The “Assassin” likes to take the fight to his opponent using a high-output striking game. He draws solid power by being very large while also sitting down on his punches. His short right hand is his best blow but he can depend on it too much, being pretty predictable in exchanges. The Training Lab representative invites his foe to a fire fight, but has some serious defensive flaws. Awad lacks head movement and often backs straight up when trying to avoid a blitz from his opponent. He was rocked by Brandon Girtz several times in their bout. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 16 veteran throws several kicks, which he uses more to win rounds than do damage. The Bellator mainstay will shoot in on a takedown in which appears to be more of a habit than finding an opening. Often times, he finds himself sprawled upon and taking damage. His submission loss to Yamauchi was the first one in over eight years and speaks more of how good of a grappler the Brazilian is than suggests a hole in Awad’s game.

Awad has fought at welterweight before so he shouldn’t be giving up much strength to Daley; he is actually the taller fighter of the two. The Training Lab team member likes to wrestle so he should look to try to get this fight to the canvas as quick as possible. Unfortunately for Awad, he isn’t as good of a grappler that the likes of Jon Fitch, Rory MacDonald and Josh Koscheck and will likely find the task of getting Semtex to the canvas harder than he expects. I see the former professional kickboxer sprawling out on a few of Awad’s penetration shots before eventually clipping Awad with a hard shot and separating him from conscious. Daley wins via first-round knockout.

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