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#4 Juan Archuleta vs. Ricky Bandejas
This Bantamweight fight is flying under the radar somewhat due to the high profile of the three top fights on this card, but perhaps it deserves a little more publicity. Firstly, both fighters have fantastic records on paper – Archuleta is 21-1 with 3 Bellator wins, and Bandejas is 11-1. But while Archuleta has the stronger record and more experience, it’s Bandejas I’m more interested in.
That’s because in his Bellator debut last August, Bandejas ended the hype train of Ireland’s James Gallagher – a man Scott Coker seemed to be trying to build as his own version of Conor McGregor. Gallagher talked an insane amount of trash leading into the fight and taunted Bandejas heavily coming in, but it didn’t help him as Bandejas destroyed him with strikes – including a Shawn Michaels-inspired superkick – in the first round.
Judging on that, we could be in for some excitement here as Archuleta appears to be an extremely flashy and creative striker with power and speed both on his side. He’s busted out cartwheel kicks, flying knees and spinning elbows in his previous bouts, and clearly knows how to finish his opponents, judging by 10 KO’s or TKO’s on his record.
Sure, it’s easy to question his level of opposition, but then it’s not like Bandejas has been fighting top-level opposition either. Despite their respective ages (Bandejas is 27, Archuleta is 31) I’d still class both men as prospects and whoever wins this one could find themselves rocketing up the rankings in Bellator due to the promotion’s general lack of depth.
I’m tempted to go with Bandejas here due to that Gallagher win but the more I think about it, I’m leaning towards Archuleta; ‘The Spaniard’ has more experience, seems to have more striking power, and I think he’ll have enough to win a bit of a war.
The Pick: Archuleta via unanimous decision
