Preview: Bellator 231 ‘Mir vs. Nelson 2’

Bec Rawlings vs. Ilara Joanne

Rawlings returns to MMA after an 18-month-absence, which saw her test the waters of bare-knuckle boxing. During her stint in her new sport, she rallied off a perfect 3-0 record, captured a belt, and get inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame. She joins Bellator hoping to improve her record to .500. She dropped her last four contests, which led to her being released by the UFC and switching combat sports. Bare-knuckle boxing suited the Australians style well as she is a compact striker, who keeps her hands high and chin tucked, looking for an opponent to exchange fisticuffs in the phone booth with. The UFC veteran isn’t the most athletic fighter, but makes up for it with grit and toughness. She does best when she is either pressing forward or planting her feet and standing her ground; she struggles against opponents that can outmatch her physicality and force her to fight off her back foot. Fighters with a high IQ can easily pick up Rawlings timing because she tends to attack with the same rhythm, not varying her strikes. If the 30-year-old can force her opponents to exchange in the pocket, her overhand right is her best weapon, though she can get into the habit of forcing the punch instead of just landing it when an opening presents itself. Rowdy does possess some hard leg kicks but doesn’t use them enough and often doesn’t set them up behind punching combinations, leaving her susceptible to a counter strike. She leaves a lot of weight on her front leg, leaving her open to leg kicks and makes matters worse by hardly ever checking the kicks. The Alliance MMA product does possess a nice takedown game but often neglects it. Once on top, she is willing to lose position trying to chase a submission instead of using top control and ground strikes. She has a good dirty boxing game from the clinch and has hit the risky head/arm throw from the clinch, but has also found her back taken trying to attempt the move. The former “Ultimate Fighter” contestant moved up to flyweight from strawweight but her power hasn’t translated well in the new division.

Joanne gets her call up to a big promotion after amassing an 8-4 professional record on the Brazilian regional scene. The 25-year-old trains under the tutelage of Patricio Freire and Patricky Freire. The 25-year-old heads into the fight on the heels of back-to-back victories. The Brazilian fights like someone possessed. She comes out of her corner throwing hard, winging haymakers. She has dropped some opponents in the past but because she lowers her hands and throws them from her hips, she is wide open for counters. She throws hard leg kicks and follows with combinations as she bull rushes forward. The Pitbull brothers’ student will initiate the clinch, where she looks for trips from the bodylock. Joanne is a strong grappler, who sets up her submissions with ferocious ground-and-pound. If she ends up on bottom, she makes the mistake of trying to work submissions from her guard instead of trying to scramble and explode to her feet. The Brazilian has looks very inconsistent. In some videos I have found, she has looked like a physically imposing bully, while in others, she looks extremely sloppy with very little technique.

Even after picking up three wins in bare knuckle boxing, it is hard to have any confidence in picking Rawlings in an MMA fight. However, I think she is better than her poor record shows and all her losses have come against some high-quality opposition. This is a step up in competition for the Brazilian and I think it might be a little too much. If Rawlings is able to handle an early blitz from Joanne, I expect her experience and underrated wrestling to help lead her to a victory. Rawlings by unanimous decision.

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