Preview: Bellator 241 ‘Pitbull vs. Carvalho’
Mitrione vs. Markes
Heavyweights
Matt Mitrione (13-7) vs. Ronny Markes (19-7)Advertisement
Mitrione returns to the Bellator cage as a late replacement for Josh Barnett, who was removed from the card due to a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs. The 41-year-old will look to snap a three-fight winless streak and improve on his 13-7 professional record. The former NFL football player moves like a light heavyweight, stays light on his feet and uses a lot of movement to find openings. He does well to use his speed to pick apart his opponents from range, often working behind a stinging jab. His straight right packs some serious power. Mitrione also possesses some of the best leg kicks in the heavyweight division. The Purdue University graduate does have some defensive flaws, as he keeps his hands low and wings his hooks from his hips. The weakness in Mitrione’s game has always been his defensive wrestling. Roy Nelson and Ryan Bader enjoyed great success recently by taking down the slugger and implementing good ground control.
When the Professional Fighters League announced its selections for the 2019 field, Markes was a surprising choice. He made matters worse by failing to make the light heavyweight limit. Though he defeated Sigi Pesaleli in his first regular season match, he was removed from the competition after missing weight for a second time. The Brazilian heads into his main card pairing with Mitrione having lost six of his last 11 fights while getting stopped five times during that run. His recent skid notwithstanding, Markes holds wins over the likes of Paulo Filho, Karlos Vemola, Aaron Simpson and Andrew Craig. The former middleweight is moving up to heavyweight, where he will need to show that there is some tread left on his 31-year-old tires. The UFC veteran can be a bit of a wild man on the feet. He loves throwing winging power shots with bad intentions, but his best strikes may be his chopping leg kicks. Markes’ willingness to brawl leaves him open to taking a lot of damage and tends to drain his gas tank quickly. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is a solid wrestler with quick entries and good drive, allowing him to get his opponents to the canvas on a regular basis. He attacks with a strong submission game and excels at sweeping his opponents whenever he finds himself on the bottom.
This could be a closer matchup than many people think. Markes can match Mitrione’s speed and has the grappling chops to expose “The Ultimate Fighter” alum’s Achilles heel. However, it is difficult to trust the Brazilian to pull off the upset until we see how he looks at heavyweight. Expect Mitrione to stuff a series of takedown attempts before eventually plastering the former middleweight from range and taking him out with a big straight left hand. Mitirone wins by second-round knockout.
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