Bellator 225: Mitrione vs. Kharitonov 2 - Predictions and Picks

#3 Alejandra Lara vs. Taylor Turner

Taylor Turner defeated Heather Hardy in her last fight

An odd choice for a main card fight, this Women’s Strawweight bout likely isn’t going to decide the next contender for Ilima-Lei Macfarlane’s title given Taylor Turner is just 3-5 in MMA while Alejandra Lara has lost two of her previous three Bellator fights – including a 2018 loss to Macfarlane – but stranger things have happened, I guess.

So why’s it ended up in the spotlight? Probably because of Turner’s last fight – she shellacked vaunted boxer Heather Hardy, taking her down and destroying her with punches from the mount for a first-round TKO. But then Hardy never seemed to take her MMA career seriously, so who knows what a win over her really means?

Outside of said Hardy fight, most of the footage on Turner shows her losing. She seems to have a decent ground game, but even then she has 3 submission losses to her game, and she was also knocked out cleanly by Janice Meyer in 2016.

Lara meanwhile appears to be more of a grappler than a striker, and judging by what I’ve seen of her, I’d give her an advantage if this fight hits the ground. Given Turner seems more ground-oriented, that’s the likely conclusion, meaning I’m leaning more towards Lara to win this one. In all honesty though, Women’s Flyweight is such a thin, chaotic division that anything could happen.

The Pick: Lara via unanimous decision