Bellator MMA will invade the Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida for Bellator 94 with a pair of Season 8 tournament finals and two feature fights on Spike TV. The two tournament finals are in the Lightweight & Light Heavyweights divisions with Trey Houston taking on Luis Melo along with Ronnie Mann going up against Rodrigo Lima.
Mann vs. Lima should be an awesome fight at Bantamweight. Both have had a chance in tournaments before and likely the loser will not be assured another crack at a tournament appearance. With that possibility looming over their heads, look for both to be on top of their games. Both have stand-up skills but with a combined 16 wins by submission, a grappling match could happen just as well. Whatever happens in this fight it should be entertaining.
At welterweight, Trey Houston will be facing Bellator new comer Luis Melo. A veteran of over 30 fights, Melo will have the experience factor against Houston who is only 10-1. Melo will be comfortable wherever it goes boasting 13 submissions and 11 KO’s in his 28 wins and should be the favorite in this one. The difference in this fight may come down to the mental game. Melo’s experience is a good thing but he can’t overlook a young fighter with all wins by finish as just a stepping stone to the next welterweight tournament.
For the first tournament final, Emanuel Newton squares off against Mikhail Zayats. With winning by KO and submission for his two tournament fights, Zayats appears to be a very well-rounded for a guy coming out of nowhere. He will also be the bigger guy versus Newton which gives another advantage to the Russian. Once again Newton will come into a bout seemingly out-gunned but that didn’t stop him from knocking out King Mo. Fireworks should be on display in Tampa when these two light heavyweights step into the cage.
For the main event, David Rickels will fight Saad Awad for the lightweight tournament final. Awad went from injury replacement to finalist in a matter of seconds knocking out both his tournament foes in less than two minutes of total fight time. With his displays of power it makes one wonder how he wasn’t in the tournament to begin with. However his hands will be put to the test against the “Caveman” who has never been knocked out in his career and is 3-0 since leaving the welterweight division last year. Awad has only gone to the third round once in his 18 pro fights and if Rickels can survive his early onslaught of offense, he has the skill and conditioning to win this fight and walk out with a big check and a title shot.
