Bellator VII Recap, Analysis, Video: Lyman Good, Omar De La Cruz Advance

Bellator VII took place on Friday night from the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, IL with our own Eugene Schelfaut covering the event. The event aired on ESPN Deportes last night with some solid matchups that both impressed and disappointed. Kerry Vera (Brandon Vera's wife) made her pro MMA debut with a win over Leslie Smith, Eddie Sanchez barely broke a sweat, and Lyman Good impressed the sellout crowd. The results are as follows:

Anthony Lapsley def. Ryan Williams via submission (RNC) - R2 (4:22)
Jacob Volkmann def. Kevin Knabjian via submission (choke) - R1 (1:42)
Kerry Vera def. Leslie Smith via unanimous decision
Jesse Juarez def. Deray Davis via TKO (punches) - R2 (4:47)
Alonzo Martinez def. Victor Meza via submission (RNC) - R2 (2:43)
Eddie Sanchez def. Jay White via TKO (punches) - R1 (0:10)
Troy Gerhart def. Lorenzo Borgomeo via unanimous decision
Lyman Good def. Jorge Ortiz via TKO (cut) - R2 (4:37)
Omar De La Cruz def. Dave Menne via TKO (punches) - R1 (3:19)

Lyman Good was impressive in his win over Jorge Ortiz, but Ortiz wasn't exactly an easy opponent for him. Ortiz came out early with a obvious disadvantage in size to Good, but he used a rangey attack coupled with speed to score on Good. For most of the first round, Ortiz worked a solid gameplan until Good landed a head kick toward the end of the round that produced a flurry of action from Good.

Good continued his onslaught in the second round by taking down Ortiz, wearing him down, and dominating him on the floor. Eventually, the referee stood the bout back up, and Good crushed Ortiz in an exchange, cutting him, and eventually ending this fight via doctor stoppage.

Good has some solid striking, and he picks his spots which allows him to save on energy compared to his opponents. He is susceptible to the range attacks however, and Ortiz may have been onto something early. Good has some huge potential. He has great power, good striking, a solid takedown game, and he's able to pass guard pretty easily. Keep an eye on Lyman Good.

Omar De La Cruz wasn't as impressive as you would believe in defeating Dave Menne. Menne controlled him early, and Cruz had some impressive tactics for his escapes, but he wasn't overly technical. He managed to catch Menne with a one-two combination that left a giant cut below Menne's left eye. Menne recovered a bit, but Cruz landed some huge overhand rights while Menne was in guard on the floor. Cruz was just too powerful after Menne was caught.

Eddie Sanchez vs. Jay White was supposed to be somewhat of an upset special on this card as White has a background in jiu-jitsu that could have proven to be a formidable tactic for Sanchez to counter. Unfortunately for White, Sanchez tagged White with a jab, White crumpled over, and Sanchez proceeded to blast White while he was on all fours. Sanchez only needed 10 seconds to win this one.

Victor Meza was my pick over Alonzo Martinez, and for the most part, he was getting some solid shots in against Alonzo Martinez and even had him cut up pretty bad by the end of the first round. The only problem here is that both guys made this a Cage Rage bout with unbelievable brawling in a toe-to-toe fashion. Both Martinez and Meza ate flurries left and right, but the big difference came from Meza's inability to escape the ground game. Martinez was able to score takedowns in both rounds, but the second takedown put Meza on the run and into a rear naked choke.

Overall Analysis

I won't delve too much more into this card. We can't take too much from Sanchez's win as it was very quick, but I think we can look at Lyman Good's win as a sign of things to come. He was being attacked from range effectively early, but he was patient and waited for his opportunity. His WCL experience came into play with a solid head kick, and his ground game is venerable for a guy who concentrated on striking early in his career.

I wasn't overly impressed with Cruz, but his power is something to keep an eye on. The showdown in the finals between Good and Cruz will give us a better idea of how good Cruz is, but his striking wasn't exactly technical whereas Good was very structured in his stance and striking. He was also pretty impressive in passing guard on the ground. I'll have to go with Lyman Good in the finals

Eddie Sanchez vs. Jay White

Lyman Good vs. Jorge Ortiz

Omar De La Cruz vs. Dave Menne 

Victor Meza vs. Alonzo Martinez 

Jesse Juarez vs. Deray Davis