5 Reasons To Watch Bellator 45

On May 20, 2011, Bellator will hold its highly-anticipated “Bellator 45” event, featuring Richard Hale and Christian M’Pumbu battling it out to crown the very first Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion.  Also, Patricio Freire and Daniel Straus meet in the finals of the Season Four Featherweight Tournament to see who gets the next shot at current champion Joe Warren. Still, some fans may be asking themselves: what are the best reasons to check out this card? Here’s my answer to just that: 5 reasons to watch Bellator 45.

5. When a preliminary card fight gets bumped up to the main card thanks to extenuating circumstances, that fight and those fighters tend to rise to the occasion.

Up until a few days ago, a match between Thiago Santos and Derek Lewis was supposed to be the fourth main card fight of Bellator’s MTV2 broadcast. Unfortunately, Santos has suffered an injury and been forced to pull out. It is currently believed that a 140-pound Catchweight between Joseph Abercrombie vs. Ben Parpart will be bumped up to the main card. But no matter who gets their chance to shine, Bellator has a good track record of their preliminary fighters putting on good fights when they’re tasked to fill a main card vacancy. The clearest example of this was a great (although slightly sloppy) brawl between Eric Prindle and Josh Burns that was honestly the best fight of the underwhelming Bellator 40 event.

4. Karl Amoussou (who has competed in DREAM, M-1 Global, and Strikeforce) will be in action.

Amoussou is the same type of world-traveled veteran Bellator seems to love to bring in: he’s had a rough time lately, but he’s shown flashes of brilliance throughout his career. Currently, Amoussou has won one, lost one, and had one draw in his last three fights. But he still has ten of his twelve wins by stoppage, and he’s still competed in some pretty big promotions. Bellator gains a credible fighter, Amoussou gets a chance to start a big comeback, and we will most likely be treated to an interesting, fun fight.

3. The end of Bellator’s fourth season.

It’ll be ten official weekly events and one “Road To The Championship” highlight special, but the time is finally here: Season Four is coming to a close. In a month where the UFC is holding one event and Strikeforce isn’t holding any events, Bellator has been there again and again, delivering live, weekly, quality Mixed Martial Arts every time I tune in. I always say that “Bellator deserves your views”, and I believe that now more than ever, especially with their ratings starting to show some big improvements. And I think we owe it to ourselves as MMA fans to send a message to the MTV2 network and make Bellator’s “season finale” the most-watched of any Bellator show.

2. Whether it’s a knockout or crazy submission, Hale vs. M’Pumbu should be electric.

Richard Hale loves to go for stuff… anything, really. Hale is the kind of fighter that wants to make a name for himself and doesn’t care how he does it. When faced with someone who fought in his element, Hale slapped on an Inverted Triangle and made history. When faced with a brawler with good takedown defense, he brawled with him rather than stall out the fight and make it boring. Meanwhile, M’Pumbu just keeps finding a way to knock people unconscious. Whoever wins this fight will be a very deserving champion so long as it lives up to its potential.

And the number-one reason to watch Bellator 45 is…

1. Patricio Freire. Daniel Straus. ‘Nuff said.

I’m so pumped for this match that even some of the UFC’s and Strikeforce’s upcoming match-ups pale in comparison. I would be incredibly gutted if this fight didn’t live up to its potential, and I sincerely believe that that’s not going to happen. This fight will be amazing, featuring two very tough fighters with two very different fighting styles.

So there you have it, fans and friends: five great reasons to tune in and see Bellator 45. What about you? As the date draws ever-closer, what are you most looking forward to for this event?