Bellator 285 | Three Fighters Flying Under The Radar

A rare week off for the UFC paves the way for Bellator to take center stage, as they travel to their home away from home as Bellator 285 takes place Friday night at the 3Arena in Dublin.

The event is headlined by former UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson who takes on SBG Ireland’s Peter Queally, as well as the much-anticipated fight between Yoel Romero and Melvin Manhoef, which is the latter’s retirement fight.

In addition to these fights, the card features a whole host of European talent looking to make waves in the Bellator cage. Here are three to look out for:

Darragh Kelly

One of Ireland’s top prospects at the moment is undoubtedly SBG Ireland’s Darragh Kelly. 1-0 as a pro, the 24-year-old racked up a 9-0 amateur record on the Irish scene, before debuting in Bellator with a lightning-quick guillotine over Junior Morgan.

He fights Kye Stevens, who trains out of Gym01 in Portsmouth and has significant experience in the South Coast’s Shock N Awe promotion. Kelly offers constant threat though, especially on the ground, and in addition to his pro debut, never went to a decision as an amateur. He is someone that is just a ton of potential waiting to be tapped into and as a -410 favourite, is expected to remain undefeated.

Jordan Barton

Jordan Barton comes into his third Bellator fight with a 1-1 record, giving Fabacary Diatta (a man with a win over Cage Warriors Bantamweight Champion Dominique Wooding) his first professional loss last time out in Paris. “The Lord” is an all-action, aggressive fighter that carries a lot of knockout power, with 8 of his 12 wins between pro and amateur coming by way of knockout or TKO.

He fights 23-year old Frenchman Asaël Adjoudj, who like Kelly trains out of SBG Ireland, with recent wins coming in UAE Warriors. Barton is favoured at -150, but this promises to be an incredibly entertaining fight that likely will not need the judges present.

Karl Albrektsson

Bellator’s #6 ranked light heavyweight “King” Karl Albrektsson returns after nearly a year out and coming off a big win over Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov.

The Swede, fighting out of the famed All Stars boasts an impressive 13-3 record with his only three professional defeats coming to former Interim Heavyweight champion Valentin Moldavsky, former Light Heavyweight champion Phil Davis, and the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jiří Procházka, showing the level of competition that Albrektsson has been in and around throughout his career spanning both RIZIN and Bellator among other regional shows.

He fights Karl Moore on Friday, meaning the Dublin crowd will be firmly against him but this shouldn’t affect the fight much because as a -410 favourite, he should get the job done this Friday night.

How do you think the three athletes will fair at Bellator 285? Drop your fight predictions below.