Bellator XVIII Predictions: Hector Lombard vs. Jay Silva, Others

Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard will be fighting against former UFC fighter Jay Silva on May 13, 2010 in an unranked superfight. Also on the fight card are two other fights guaranteed to deliver excitement: Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Joe Warren and Wilson Reis vs. Patricio Pitbull.

Hector Lombard vs. Jay Silva

Hector Lombard was scheduled to fight Paulo Filho, which would have been an amazing superfight, but Filho's visa wasn't processed in time, so that fight will have to wait for now.

Instead, Lombard will be fighting Jay Silva. Silva is Brazilian, but he likes to stand. But will he be ready for Lombard's pace? More than likely not.

Lombard has power like no other middleweight in the world, and if Silva thinks occasionally sparring with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will duplicate the force that Lombard will bring Thursday night, he's wrong.

In response to dangerous strikers that get the edge on him, Silva usually ends up on the ground, and that's exactly where Lombard is looking to go. Before he gets there, though, Lombard usually doesn't mind throwing some bombs .

Lombard's power will more than likely be a major factor in this fight. At 45 seconds of this video , could you imagine Lombard in the top position?

Prediction: Lombard by KO in the first round.

Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Joe Warren

Georgi Karakhanyan surprised a bunch of people back in August with his knockout of Bao Quach. Going into the match, Karakhanyan was thought to primarily be a grappler while Quach was the dangerous striker.

Joe Warren is an accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler, and he's only had one loss so far, although he didn't do great against Eric Marriott. Warren had a tendency to get caught in potential submissions, thus nullifying his offense, and this is where Karakhanyan will take control.

Warren has a knack for staying in the fight and avoiding submissions, but only to a certain point. This is Karakhanyan's specialty, and being that he hasn't yet demonstrated it in Bellator, Warren won't really know what to expect from him on the ground.

But Warren did see Karakhanyan's knee to the chin, and there's little doubt that Warren will avoid standing and trading. This will be a ground battle in which Karakhanyan will find his way on top.

Prediction: Karakhanyan by submission in the third round.  

Wilson Reis vs. Patricio "Pitbull" Freire

Wilson Reis likes to stand and trade until it ends up on the ground. From there onward, Reis delves into his element and usually hands his opponent a submission.

On the other hand, Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, who made his American debut with Bellator, is dangerous on the ground and looks to immediately take strikers there .

Pitbull is no slouch, and being undefeated means that he hasn't truly been tested yet. However, being that Reis's only loss is to current Bellator featherweight champion Joe Soto, he will likely be the one to test Pitbull.

This will be a ground battle, one in which both men are equally capable.

Prediction: Reis by split decision.