Prime Picks: Bellator Champions Series London

Sherdog’s Jay Pettry digs deep to find a par of worthwhile lines based on local talent, as Bellator MMA makes its way back to England for the first time in more than two years.

Sara Collins (-120)

Other than Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino and Amanda Nunes, the women’s featherweight division has rarely drawn attention, and it just floats on as the ranked competitors switch positions every so often. It’s a welcome moment when a new challenger emerges, and that may be the case on Saturday at the OVO Arena Wembley if Collins pulls off the upset to upset the audience by beating Leah McCourt.

On the marquee is a woman in McCourt who smartly knew she would not be ready for an encounter with “Cyborg,” even as she had strung six wins together after debuting with a loss. Even subsequent triumphs over Dayana Silva and Sara McMann did not inspire confidence that she could vie for the belt. With “Cyborg” battling Larissa Pacheco, McCourt can breathe a sigh of relief knowing there are bigger fish to fry than her. Unfortunately, she has to contend with a tough judoka who can chuck you on your head and hold you there for a while. Once Collins gets her hands on the woman from Northern Ireland, it will be entirely up to McCourt to not stay on her back or side and fight tooth and nail to get back to her feet. The Aussie can hang on the feet, and she can use her kicking arsenal to close the distance and go after a head-and-arm throw to put McCourt in scarf hold position. At nearly even odds, the unbeaten Collins has value on her side, given that McCourt can run out of answers and does not always fight to her best advantage.

Mike Shipman (+125)

If at least one person in the OVO Wembley doesn’t shout, “Kick his ass, Seabass” then the selection of the nickname for Shipman was in vain. It may be hard to believe that “Dumb and Dumber” was released 30 years ago this December, but fight fans that trend older should still get the reference. In Shipman, what the audience sees is what they get: a mildly talented grappler out of London Shootfighters who would vastly prefer to throw hands. Aggression has led to his downfall on numerous occasions, getting his chin checked by more technical strikers while he swings with bad intentions. Even with an opponent who might like to take things to the mat, the sprawl-and-brawl approach coupled with his core strength as a shorter middleweight can give him the upper hand.

Even though the record on paper for Eslam Abdul Baset Syaha might look gaudy, it falls apart upon a closer look. While few MMA fighters start with top-level tests, “Seabass” made it to a major organization in his 10th professional outing, while this is the first noteworthy test for the younger man out of Egypt. Shipman has quietly put together a 7-3 record in the Bellator cage, losing to three names in the top echelon of Bellator’s middleweight division. On the other hand, Syaha may have numbers and activity on his side, but the strength of schedule is abysmal. To put it mildly, regional MMA in the Middle East is less than stellar, with his first 10 foes amassing a record of 10-15 between them. Even after moving up to larger leagues in the region, Syaha has not impressed enough to reach anywhere beyond Bellator prelims, and Shipman has passed greater tests to date. Even if “The Ironman” can go three hard rounds, it is an entirely different story when battling a Brit that hits back.