Wilson Reis was the clear favorite going in to the first season of Bellator Fighting Championships. In the semifinals Joe Soto surprised him and ended up going home with the belt. With the loss a lot of people have simply forgot that Reis was one of the hottest prospects in the featherweight division. The strongest aspect of his game in clearly his top position grappling game. He showed off this skill set against the much larger Todd Moore last June.
Wilson Reis vs. Todd Moore Grapplers Quest All-Star Pro Challenge 6/27/2009
Analysis
As you can see from the video, Moore is a guy who can fight at welterweight and Reis is considered small for a featherweight. Once Reis gets on top he is able to knife through a guy’s guard and secure dominant positions. This is how he was able to win the Elite XC title against Abel Cullum. Reis’ only shortcoming in MMA is that he doesn’t have the best takedowns. Since his top position is his strong suit he might suffer against a superior wrestler like Shad Lierly, who he takes on in the first round of this year’s Bellator featherweight tournament.