BELLATOR 136: Brooks vs. Jansen - Preview and picks

Bellator MMA is back in action this Saturday (April 11, 5 am IST), with a great night of fights at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California, where Bellator LightWeight(LW) champion Will Brooks will look to defend his title for the first time against Dave Jansen.Here is my Preview of the Main Card & predictions for the entire Bellator 136: PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com, 5 am IST):Joey Beltran Defeats Brian Rogers via Decision.Saad Awad Defeats Rob Sinclair via Decision. Fabricio Guerreiro Defeats John Teixeira via KO/TKO.Greg Parker Defeats Johnny Mercurio via Decision. Marcos Bonilla Defeats AJ McKee via Decision.  Main CARD (Spike TV, 6:30 am IST):

#1 Alexander Volkov (24-4) vs. Tony Johnson (8-2)

Former Bellator Champion Alexander Volkov returns to Bellator to face ONE FC vet Tony Johnson Jr., who is making his first appearance for Bellator since 2011. The 26-year-old Volkov is a huge heavyweight who stands 6-foot-7 and has an 81-inch reach. Opponents have always struggled to overcome Volkov’s length. The height advantage gives the Russian the ability to outstrike his competition as he has stopped 17 opponents by knockout. His ground game is also underrated, as he has good submission ability & top control. He is riding a five-fight winning streak heading into this fight since losing his title to Vitaly Minakov. Johnson is a wrestler with good explosiveness on his takedowns and ground-and-pound. He also has four knockout wins on his record but at 6’1”, he is giving up six inches in height, and the size differential could be detrimental to his chances of victory. If Johnson can’t break into Volkov’s range and close the distance by pressuring Volkov against the cage or in the clinch, he could be in trouble. 

Prediction: Volkov wins via KO/TKO.