Bellator 220: MacDonald vs. Fitch fight card preview

Check out the breakdown of Saturday’s Bellator 220 main card, including Rory MacDonald vs. Jon Fitch for the welterweight title in the main event.

Bellator 220 kicks off tonight, April 27, from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The event will be capped off with a welterweight Grand Prix opening round matchup between current champ Rory MacDonald and streaking veteran Jon Fitch. MacDonald’s 170-pound belt will also be on the line.

Bellator’s women’s flyweight strap will be up for grabs in the co-main event when the undefeated 9-0 champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane takes on the 5-2 Veta Arteaga. Before that, the 26-8 longtime MMA vet Benson Henderson takes on the 11-2 up and comer Adam Piccolotti in the lightweight division. Also on the main card will be a lower-stakes rematch between two of Bellator’s former light heavyweight champs Phil Davis and Liam McGeary. Opening up the main card, the ever-exciting Gaston Bolanos squares off with super-tough Nathan Stolen at featherweight.

Bellator 220 takes place this Saturday, April 27, and will air live on DAZN at 10:00 P.M. ET. The prelims will air online at 7:30 P.M. ET.

Main card:

Rory MacDonald (20-5 MMA; 2-1 Bellator) vs. Jon Fitch (32-7-1 MMA; 1-0 Bellator): Welterweight Grand Prix/Title

After a phenomenal run with the UFC brand, MacDonald came over to Bellator and got right to work. He first submitted Paul Daley in his promotional debut, and then defeated Douglas Lima to capture Bellator’s welterweight crown. MacDonald then tried his luck up at middleweight, coming up short to 185-pound champ Gegard Mousasi last September. Despite going 2-3 in his last five fights, losing to Jon Fitch would be the worst loss on the Canadian’s resume. MacDonald has a lot of miles on his body — and his nose — but so does Fitch. This really is MacDonald’s fight to lose.

Following his own respectable UFC run, Fitch found new life with the now defunct WSOF, going 5-2 and even capturing their welterweight belt. After the demise of the WSOF, Fitch hit the PFL for a one-and-done, where he found a second-round submission win over the always-tough Brian Foster. From there, Fitch linked up with Bellator, grinding out Paul Daley last May. Fitch hasn’t lost a fight since December of 2014, enjoying a five-fight winning streak, but is more than likely going to have his hands full with the eliteness of MacDonald.

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (9-0 MMA; 8-0 Bellator) vs. Veta Arteaga (5-2 MMA; 4-2 Bellator): (W) Flyweight Title

Macfarlane has been absolutely slaying it! Not only is she undefeated at 9-0 and Bellator’s flyweight queen, but she has also shown great improvements in her abilities from fight to fight. She is known for her wicked 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, snagging up subs in her past-four fights, but has also shown off vast improvements in her standup. Her boxing combinations have become much cleaner from when she first made her debut. She attacks the head and the body, and throws with tremendous confidence. Macfarlane has proven to be the total package and the scary part is that she is getting better. What’s not to love?

Arteaga is known for her ability to make the fight ugly. Turning the match into a dog fight has been a great equalizer for her. She’s been able to beat opponent’s who may have had a technical edge by largely staying in their faces and making it a war. This style has won Arteaga some really close fights, but it has also cost her some wins as well. Arteaga knows what she needs to do to win this one, but can she do that for 25-minutes, and against someone who only gets better as the fight goes on?

Benson Henderson (26-8 MMA; 3-3 Bellator) vs. Adam Piccolotti (11-2 MMA; 7-2 Bellator): Lightweight

After a rough 1-3 start under the Bellator banner, Henderson has finally gained some traction. The former UFC lightweight champ pulled out a second-round guillotine on fellow veteran Roger Huerta at Bellator 196, and then followed up with a unanimous decision over Saad Awad at Bellator 208. Bendo is now slated against an up and comer who is unlikely to present anything that Henderson hasn’t already seen in his lengthy career. There really isn’t any area of MMA that Henderson can’t thrive in. A win for Bendo would make it three-straight, and put him right back in contention for another title shot.

Piccolotti got off to s strong start in his career, winning nine- straight before running into fellow prospect Goiti Yamauchi at Bellator 183. Piccolotti then ran into another speed bump named David Rickels, dropping a unanimous decision at Bellator 189. He got right back to work though, pulling out a third-round submission over talented wrestling prospect Carrington Banks. Piccolotti earned himself a unanimous decision win against James Terry in his last outing, to place himself back on a winning streak. Piccolotti is really going to have to dig deep to find a way to best his elite opposition and score the biggest win of his career. Like Henderson, Piccolotti also has the chance ride a three-fight winning wave, but it’s unlikely that he has the clout to get a title shot off of a win.

Phil Davis (19-5 MMA; 6-2 Bellator) vs. Liam McGeary (13-3 MMA; 10-3 Bellator): Light Heavyweight

The first time these fighters met was for McGeary’s light heavyweight title at Bellator 163 back in November of 2016. The match was mostly an uneventful kickboxing bout mixed in with Davis controlling from the top. Davis ultimately won the decision to take the belt. They are both pretty much the same fighters today as they were then, except without titles, so there’s a great chance of this fight looking identical to their first one. The biggest difference is that this time it’s only three-rounds instead of five.

Gaston Bolanos (4-1 MMA/Bellator) vs. Nathan Stolen (8-4 MMA; 0-1 Bellator): Featherweight

Bolanos is an exciting and dynamic striker, plucked by Bellator from the Muay Thai scene. At only 4-1, Bolanos already owns some monumental finishes on his record, specifically of the spinning elbow persuasion. He has dropped one bout thus far, getting submitted in the second round of his second pro MMA fight. His opponent Stolen has also been submitted, but three-times for him. At 8-4, Stolen is tough, strong, and comes forward which will likely make for a dynamite main card opener. It would be wise to not blink for this one.