I was shocked that Lloyd Woodward beat Patricky Freire like that; a really awesome upset. With Pitbull out of the running, who is the favorite now? Seems like Rick Hawn is the choice, but Brent Weedman also looked great, and it seems hard to overlook Woodard. What's your pick for the final and who will challenge Michael Chandler? -- Nate from Ann Arbor
Woodard was perceived by most as the underdog heading into his Bellator 62 encounter with “Pitbull,” and for good reason. Freire is no doubt a monster, but Woodard was right when he stated prior to the contest that the Brazilian had some holes in his game. The Montana native’s unorthodox standup threw Freire for a loop, and, suddenly, the tournament favorite was having his elbow rearranged.
I agree with you that Hawn is probably the new favorite moving forward -- not to discredit any of the other fine semifinal participants getting set to scrap on a stacked Bellator 66 card in Cleveland. He looks like a lean machine at 155 pounds, and his postulation that he is now the strongest man in the Bellator lightweight division seems an accurate one.
However, this likely doesn’t mean a ton at the moment, as Woodard was also certainly out-muscled on paper by Freire. However, I think that Hawn’s grappling abilities -- specifically his clinch game, should he decide to use it -- will ultimately dash the dreams of “Cupcake.”
Weedman is also an exciting and well-rounded talent who looked calm and motivated in his quarterfinal win over J.J. Ambrose. That said, he gets popped a little too often for my liking. He’s a great fighter and a hell of a lot of fun to watch, but I just can’t pick him to go all the way.
Another reason Weedman doesn’t get my vote is that he’s fighting Thiago Michel next. Something tells me that the Brazilian has shaken the nerves out of his system and will come out more aggressive than in his first-round bout with Rene Nazare. If Weedman and Michel trade punches and kicks, as I expect they will, my money is on Weedman to fall down first.
If my prognostications come to pass, we’ll be staring at a Hawn-Michel final. While the Olympic judoka could easily fall victim to his tendency to strike with strikers, I think he will be smart enough to close the distance against a kicker as prolific as Michel. If Hawn muscles him and uses that superior strength to rough up the Brazilian on the inside, I foresee an All-American judo-versus-wrestling title conflict between Hawn and Chandler on the horizon.