Bellator 209: Pitbull vs. Sanchez - Picks and Predictions

#5 Adam Keresh vs. Kirill Sidelnikov

Kirill Sidelnikov was once known as 'Baby Fedor'

Longtime MMA fans may remember Sidelnikov for his brief run in the ill-fated Affliction promotion back in 2009. Known at that stage as ‘Baby Fedor’, Sidelnikov came in with a lot of hype but was subsequently jabbed to death by Paul Buentello, tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol, and then pretty much vanished from the conscience of the MMA world.

He’s still only 30 though and has been competing steadily over the last decade, winning 6 and losing 2 since his Affliction run. It’s somewhat surprising to see him pop up here though as his last fight saw him lose to Sergey Pavlovich via TKO and that was almost a year ago.

Keresh meanwhile is an Israeli Heavyweight who made his debut in Bellator at their second Tel Aviv card a year ago. He won that fight via TKO, but it remains his only professional fight – and opponent Roman Kushnir was also making his MMA debut too.

Like Rubin in the previous fight, footage on Keresh is incredibly sparse, and at the beginning of his MMA career, it’s hard to imagine him toppling a veteran like ‘Baby Fedor’, even if the Russian’s hype train a decade ago was thoroughly undeserved. Keresh could turn out to be an incredible talent, but it just doesn’t seem likely.

The Pick: Sidelnikov via first round KO