Fedor vs Frank Mir Odds -Bellator 198 is Saturday night and the main event sees heavyweights Frank Mir and Fedor Emilianenko meet. The main eventts and featured bouts are set to air on the Paramount Network, check your local listings for start times.
Fedor vs Frank is being called a historic match-up by Bellator, and in many ways it is. Purists and old-timers of the sport of MMA can’t help but dwell on what a fight his would have been 10 years ago, Still, because Dana White’s ego didn’t like Fedor, the fight never got done when both men were close to their prime.
Fedor’s legacy is tarnished at this point. At 36-5, we last saw him getting knocked out by Matt Mitrione in less than a minute and a half. Perhaps returning to the U.S.A. and Bellator to fight at 40 years old was not a good idea.
Fedor at 41 years old now is a shadow of his former self. He was always a small heavyweight, and now he is one that is lacking in the speed and explosiveness that made him the best fighter in the world. In Mir he faces a tough challenge and he knows it. When the match-up was announced Fedor laughed, and he now faces the very real possibility of ending his career 0-2.
Mir can be 250 to 260 pounds for his fights, so he will have a considerable size advantage. Mir has broken several arms in his UFC career and though fedor is a lethal grappler, it may not be a world he wants to test against the former UFC champion. That leaves Fedor swinging against a bigger man.
If Fedor is slow, then Mir at this point is really slow. That may give Fedor a chance early. The fact is that we have not seen Mir fight for two years, and he ended his UFC run on a 2-6 streak.
The Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix’s first round has been extended over four months. Two fights are already in the books as Chael Sonnen def Quinton Jackson and Matt Mitrione defeated Roy Nelson.
A best case scenario for Fedor would be to beat Mir and face Chael Sonnen in the second round. His perfect ending would see Mitrione beat the winner of Bader/Lawal to make the finals. Fedor could then avenge his loss to Mitrione in the finals of another Grand Prix and that would be a very respectful way to go out and retire. Anything short of that and Fedor’s Bellator run at the end of his career turns into another blemish on the legacy of “The Last Emperor.”
Below are the odds for the two remaining “Grand Prix” fights. Once the Lawal vs Bader fight is in the books you can look for Bellator to set the semi-final match-ups. Check your sports books for more odds for Saturday’s Bellator 198 card as the live event has more than a dozen fights on the schedule.
Remaining First Round – Bellator World Grand Prix 2018 Heavyweight Tournament
Sat 4/28 – Bellator – Hvywt 3 rounds – Fedor vs Frank Mir Odds – Allstate Arena – Chicago, Il – Paramount
Fedor Emelianenko +125 o1½ +125
Frank Mir -145 u1½ -145
Fri 5/11 – Bellator – Heavyweight 3 rounds – SAP Center – San Jose, California
Muhammed Lawal +275 o2½ -165
Ryan Bader -335 u2½ +145
Fedor vs Frank Mir Odds / Into boxing as well? Check out boxing news and features at The Sweet Science.
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