Preview: Bellator 131

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BELLATOR LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

Will Brooks (14-1, 6-1 Bellator) vs. Michael Chandler (12-2, 9-2 Bellator)

THE MATCHUP: On paper, this is one of the very best fights that can be made outside the UFC, and as their first contentious meeting at Bellator 120 showed, it makes for a fantastic matchup in practice as well as theory. Chandler and Brooks are incredible talents in the prime of their careers, and it looks like Bellator President Scott Coker has stumbled upon a worthy successor to the Gilbert Melendez-Josh Thomson scraps that anchored Strikeforce for so long.

Brooks’ game bears a close resemblance to that of friend and training partner Dustin Poirier. They share the same cutting, rangy kicks, quick forward movement and hybrid wrestle-grappling style focused on creating transitions and damaging work from top position, all of it predicated on size and plus athleticism.

Brooks is not quite the combination power puncher that Poirier is, but he is a much better clinch and infighter, with a punishing arsenal of knees, elbows and uppercuts melded with grinding control and positional advances. Unfortunately, Brooks also shares Poirier’s defensive liabilities, namely occasionally spotty takedown defense and a more pervasive lack of effective head movement at striking range. When Brooks gets hit, he tends to get hit pretty cleanly. In sum, however, he is a dangerous offensive fighter who works at a quick pace.

Chandler, an NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of Missouri, has parlayed that strong base and his exceptional physical gifts into a diverse and potent package. The closest comparison for Chandler’s game would be Chad Mendes: Both are stocky, quick fighters with an arsenal of authoritatively finished takedowns and a power-punching style at range. Pace and output are generally a problem for punchers of this sort, as their reliance on explosive forward movement for both their strikes and takedowns burns a great deal of energy. Chandler is a solid control grappler and mixes in the occasional guard pass with his strikes, but he does his best work in the transitions, with a nose for the opportunistic back-take and submission attempts to follow.

THE PICK: Chandler was at his most effective in their first meeting when he did three things: pursued aggressively, counterpunched Brooks as he attempted to close distance and used takedowns to break the rhythm in the striking rather than attempting to initiate grappling sequences. By contrast, Brooks controlled long range, the clinch and the transitions on the ground. Unless Chandler puts his combinations together more effectively -- and to be fair, there is every chance he can -- I lean toward Brooks’ offensive output and pace in a five-round fight. Brooks by close decision is the pick.

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