By Richard Crenwelge, RCM MMA Correspondent
Texan Aaron Rosa re-signs with Bellator, faces Combat Sambo champion Zayats
Following a move to light heavyweight, which ended in a loss to James Te-Huna, Aaron Rosa (17-5 MMA) was released from the UFC, and has now re-signed with the ever-growing promotion Bellator. He will be fighting Mikhail Zayats (21-7 MMA), a Russian fighter from St. Petersburg. Zayats was a former Russian national champion in combat sambo, and also won the 2008 FIAS world championships.
They will face off at Bellator 103, set to take place Oct. 11th in Mulvane, Kansas. The main card will be aired on Spike at 9PM ET, available on most cable providers. Two hours earlier, at 7PM ET, the prelims will be shown at Spike.com. This event will also include the semifinals of Bellator’s season 9 featherweight tournament. Featherweight standout Patricio Freire, brother of Patricky “Pitbull”Freire, will be facing Fabricio Guerreiro, who boasts an amazing 12 submissions in his professional MMA career. Freire hails from the esteemed and legendary Blackhouse team headed by the Nogueiras, while Guerreiro fights out of the Ronildo Nobre Judo Club.
Although the card is packed with great fights, Rosa v Zayats is interesting on a number of levels. One is certainly the significant size difference between the two fighters. Rosa is 6’3”, with experience in the heavyweight division, while Zayats is 5’11”, and gives up 4” of reach. However, while Rosa has a similar number of KO/TKO finishes and submission wins (6 KO/TKO, 4 subs), he has a total of 7 decision wins and 3 TKO losses, a factor that may play into the strengths of sambo-stylist Zayats. Zayats has a smaller percentage of fights that went 3 rounds or more (29% Zayats, 50% Rosa), and an impressive number of submission wins (11 total). Since the unique ruleset of combat sambo emphasizes quick finishes, this may prove to be the antidote to Rosa’s markedly larger stature.
For the latest on developments in Bellator, stay tuned to our updates at realcombatmedia.com.
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