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#4. No.2 Ranked Bellator flyweight Kana Watanabe vs. Justine Kish
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Kana Watanabe is now in a great position in Bellator’s 125lb division after submitting Denise Kielholtz. Her grappling was too much for the kickboxing champion to handle and she now gets herself back into title contention.
Watanabe has an opportunity to avenge her only career loss should she challenge Liz Carmouche for the women’s flyweight championship. However, the promotion could decide to go in another direction and book Carmouche vs. Juliana Velasquez 2 instead. If the promotion books an immediate rematch, Watanabe would be better off taking another fight and remaining active.
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An opponent that would make sense is Justine Kish. Despite not being ranked in the women’s flyweight rankings, Kish deserves a top-ranked opponent, especially considering she defeated Ilima-Lei Macfarlane. If that wasn’t impressive, she did so in Honolulu, Hawaii, where ‘Iliminator’ clearly had the crowd advantage. Watanabe vs. Kish would be a great title eliminator at 125lbs. The bout could even be booked on the same event as the Carmouche vs. Velasquez rematch.
#3. No.4 ranked Bellator middleweight Fabian Edwards vs. Austin Vanderford 2
No.4 ranked Bellator middleweight Fabian Edwards made a statement by finishing Lyoto Machida. He dropped him with a vicious elbow and then finished the former UFC light heavyweight champion with devastating strikes. This was the biggest win of his career as ‘The Dragon’ has had a decorated MMA career.
Even though it was Machida’s fourth-straight loss, it shouldn’t discredit Edwards’ performance. He now adds a legend to his resume and sets himself up nicely for a rematch with Austin Vanderford. The two fought last May during which Vanderford picked up a unanimous decision win. After snapping his two-fight losing skid, Edwards could now finally be closing
The win ended up earning ‘The Gentleman’ a title shot against middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. And so, the winner of Edwards vs. Vanderford 2 earning a title shot shouldn’t be ruled out. ‘The Assassin’ will definitely have a confidence boost heading into a rematch.
