Early Bellator Odds – In a new development for MMA company Bellator, the sports books are carrying a trio of lines well in advance of fights. Bellator has traditionally seen lines appear at the sports books for their fights in the 24-72 hours before the fight occurs.
This coming weekend on November 4th we have the Liam McGeary versus Phil Davis match for McGeary’s light heavyweight title. McGeary is 11-0 in MMA and he won the Bellator belt by defeating Emmanuel Newton in February of 2015. We last saw him in September of 2015 when he choked Tito Ortiz out in the first round of his first title defense and we have not seen him since. Meanwhile Davis has gone 3-0 in Bellator since coming over from the UFC and he brings a strong 16-3 mark to the table. Davis is going to enter the fight as the favorite. Davis has been criticized for a safe style that is not fan friendly, but Davis has finished 2 of his 3 Bellator appearances in the first round.
Fast forward to November 19th and Bellator 165 and the main event for that fight sees the Lightweight title in play between champion Michael Chandler and former UFC titleholder Benson Henderson. Chandler (16-3) has bounced back from a rough stretch where he lost three in a row to win his last three fights, all by stoppage. Because of his resume Henderson (24-6) walked into Bellator directly with a title shot at 170 pounds and he took a loss. Now at 155 pounds he is getting a shot at another Bellator belt. Chandler is going to enter the fight a favorite, showing that Bellator is perhaps deepest at 155 and 170 pounds.
The big Bellator announcement recently was the Bellator 170 card announced for the Inglewood Forum for January 21st. The main event sees former UFC stars Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen return to action to face each other in what is sure to be billed as a grudge match between the two. It has been more than three years since we have seen Sonnen, and it will be interesting to see what he brings to the table at age 39. As for Ortiz, he will turn 42 years old two days after the fight and we havent seen him in over a year since he lost to McGeary. The bottom line is that Sonnen’s ability on the mic might make this interesting in the buildup but at the end it is Bellator delivering another main event that has more nostalgia value than anything else. The event has not officially been listed for SpikeTV, and the potential exists for Bellator to attempt a PPV.
Early Bellator Odds
Check your local listings for start times, below are the odds and the over/under lines for the three major Belltor fights on the calendar.
Bellator 163 – Fri 11/4 Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, Connecticut – SpikeTV
Light Heavyweight 5 rounds –
Liam McGeary +160 o2½ -190
Phil Davis -210 u2½ +150
Bellator 165 – Sat 11/19 SAP Center – San Jose, California – SpikeTV
Lightweight 5 rounds –
Benson Henderson +155 o3½ -175
Michael Chandler -195 u3½ +135
Bellator 170 – Great Western Forum – Inglewood, Caliornia – Sat 1/21
Light Heavyweight 3 rounds –
Chael Sonnen -155 o2½ -190
Tito Ortiz +115 u2½ +150
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