Bellator 137: Main Card Preview and Predictions

Bellator returns to Spike TV this weekend with its 137th showing. Headlined by a middleweight championship bout, Bellator will give you a four-fight main card with some good up-and-coming talent that should be entertaining.

Brandon Halsey makes his first title defense since beating Alexander Shlemenko for the title. His opponent is Kendall Grove, a UFC veteran and well-traveled fighter who is known for his great height and overall experience.

Also gracing the card are Eduardo Dantas, Mike Richman and a handful of other promising fighters.

So with that, let's take a look at the card and make some predictions.

Preliminary Card Predictions

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AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - JUNE 12: Arlene Blencowe of Australia (L) and Daniella Smith of New Zealand face off during the weigh in ahead of tomorrow night's bout between Daniella Smith and Arlene Blencowe at Trusts Stadium on June 12, 2013 in Auckland, New

145 pounds: Julio Cesar Neves def. Jordan Parsons via TKO

205 pounds: Virgil Zwicker def. Razak al-Hassan via TKO

170 pounds: Ricky Rainey def. Jesse Juarez via decision

135 pounds: Joe Taimanglo def. Antonio Duarte via decision

155 pounds: Steve Kozola def. Ian Butler via TKO

145 pounds: Adrienna Jenkins def. Arlene Blencowe via submission

135 pounds: Shawn Bunch def. Rolando Perez via decision

135 pounds: John Yoo def. Albert Morales via submission

185 pounds: Ben Reiter def. Benji Radach via TKO

Darrion Caldwell vs. Rafael Silva

Kicking off the main card are the bantamweights, as American Darrion Caldwell looks to defend his home turf against Brazilian Rafael Silva.

Caldwell is a wrestler and makes no secret about it, as he is proficient at takedowns and controlling from top position. He has good ground-and-pound and positional grappling, though his submissions are underrated as well.

He has fought at a high level since entering MMA, taking his first three fights in Legacy FC and his next three fights in Bellator. He is undefeated at 6-0 and has earned victories in Bellator over Lance Surma, Joe Pingitore and Anthony Dizy.

He takes on Silva, a 26-fight veteran with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu base, good takedowns and great power. He can knock people out, though he is more of a brawler than a technical stand-up fighter.

Since coming to Bellator, he has gone 3-1, including earning a title shot. He lost that title bout to Joe Warren, though he has notched wins in the company over Rodrigo Lima, Anthony Leone and Rob Emerson.

This is the biggest test for Caldwell in his career, as his fights thus far have not been against top competition like Silva. That's why the Brazilian should be able to handle this one, though Caldwell can definitely pull it off if he outwrestles Silva.

Prediction: Silva def. Caldwell via decision

Fernando Gonzalez vs. Curtis Millender

The welterweights will report to the cage next, as California combatants Fernando Gonzalez and Curtis Millender will compete in a bout that could be a barnburner.

Gonzalez is a journeyman brawler who has spent his career in the California circuit, shuffling wins and losses. He has been in 36 career fights, showing he has experience, especially against tough fighters.

Before entering Bellator, he dropped two bouts to Max Griffin and UFC vet David Mitchell. However, he has pushed his stock through the roof with three straight Bellator wins over Karl Amoussou, Karo Parisyan and Marius Zaromskis, showing he can hang with top talent.

As for Millender, he is a tall, rangy 170-pounder with good striking ability and athleticism. He likes to strike at a distance, using good punches and kicks in unison with movement to outwork opponents.

His Bellator debut did not go to plan, as he originally was to face Michael Page but ended up fighting Brennan Ward in a losing effort. That loss killed his undefeated record, which included wins over The Ultimate Fighter veterans James Chaney and Dom Waters.

This is an interesting bout. On one hand, Gonzalez has been on fire lately and can brawl with the best of them. However, the athleticism, movement and length of Millender will be hard to overcome, and I will pick him in the upset.

Prediction: Millender def. Gonzalez via decision

Eduardo Dantas vs. Mike Richman

The co-main event is up next, as former Bellator bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas tries to halt the momentum of American striker Mike Richman.

Dantas is a jiu-jitsu fighter with 20 fights to his name and Nova Uniao as his home camp. He is tremendously successful with his submission ability, though his striking has slowly improved in the last year or two as well.

After winning the title from Zach Makovsky and losing a non-Bellator bout against Tyson Nam in a highly publicized scrap, Dantas defended his title twice against teammate Marcos Galvao and Anthony Leone. However, in his most recent bout, he lost that title to Joe Warren at the end of 2014.

Richman, a former Marine, is a striker with excellent power in both his punches and kicks. His weakness is definitely against grapplers, though he can stymie them if his striking gets going early enough.

After some struggles at 145, Richman dropped to 135 and has gone 2-0 in that time. He blasted through Ed West and Nam Phan, showing that he is a force to be reckoned with in the bantamweight division.

Richman has shown to be a serviceable 135-pounder thus far, but Dantas is a stylistic nightmare of a matchup. Dantas will ground Richman, hold him there and tap him out at some point in the bout.

Prediction: Dantas def. Richman via submission

Brandon Halsey vs. Kendall Grove

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

The main event comes to you next, as Bellator middleweight champion Brandon Halsey looks to defend his title for the first time against Hawaiian MMA vet Kendall Grove.

Grove is a giant middleweight, standing 6'6" and possessing long limbs. He has some serviceable striking that he enjoys from a distance, but his jiu-jitsu is his bread and butter.

His life after the UFC has seen him take tough fight after tough fight to mixed results. He is 2-1 in Bellator thus far, taking a knockout loss to Brett Cooper while besting Joe Vedepo and Christian M'Pumbu in his time with the company.

Halsey is a wrestler with great physical strength and submissions from top position. He is undefeated at 8-0 and has rarely been in trouble thus far in his career, as he tends to dominate with his ground game.

Six of his eight fights have taken place in Bellator, and Halsey has put together a highlight reel in that time. His resume with the company includes wins over Joe Yager, Hector Ramirez, Brett Cooper and longtime champion Alexander Shlemenko.

Grove has a great experience edge, but Halsey's power and takedown prowess will be too much to overcome. This should be the first of many title defenses.

Prediction: Halsey def. Grove via TKO