The UFC is taking a back seat to Bellator this week, with the second best fighting promotion in North America holding its biggest show of all time. Bellator 180 is headed to Madison Square Garden in NYC for a pay-per-view event that really showcases the talent that the Bellator brand has accumulated over the past couple years.
The main event of the evening will be Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva finally settling a beef they have had dating back to their time coaching against one another on The Ultimate Fighter and the co-main is the return of Fedor Emelianenko to a fight in North America when he takes on the best heavyweight Bellator has to offer in Matt Mitrione. In addition to these two massive fights there are three title fights on the card as well including Lima vs Larkin, Chandler vs Primus and Davis vs Bader.
All of the odds below are from BetOnline.ag, which is our top rated sportsbook for betting on MMA. Here’s a full review.
Chael Sonnen vs Wanderlei Silva
Chael embarrassed himself in his loss to Tito Ortiz in his Bellator debut. He was an even bigger favourite heading into that fight, but found himself in a bad position against a stronger Tito and quickly tapped. Finding a way out of fights that he wasn’t dominating has been a trend in Chael’s career and if he doesn’t dominate this fight from start to finish (which is definitely possible) I see him finding a way out from some Silva ground and pound if he gets clipped or winds up in a bad position.
Sonnen was a good fighter at 185 pounds when he was the bigger and stronger guy (also on TRT), but he has always had a lot of trouble at light heavyweight. That said, here he is once again fighting at 205 pounds and I don’t expect the outcome to be any different than his last two light heavyweight tilts where he was seemingly beaten by strength.
Wanderlei is an old man, who hasn’t fought since 2013, so he’s definitely a wild card in this fight, but by the sounds of things he’s training very well and I expect him to be at his best to settle this beef with Sonnen.
Play: Silva +115
Fedor Emelianenko vs Matt Mitrione
To me, Fedor’s only chance to win this fight is if he gets it to the ground and takes advantage of Mitrione’s weak ground skills. That said, Mitrione is one of the most athletic and agile heavyweights you will ever see and I don’t see him allowing Fedor to close the distance to attempt to take this fight to the mat. Mitrione should be able to land his hands on Fedor and eventually either work for the knockout or more likely a TKO after Fedor falls to the mat.
Fedor does not have the chin that he used to, as was evidenced by him nearly being finished by Fabio Maldonado in his last fight. Mitrione is a big step up from Maldonado and he should be able to finish the job.
Play: Mitrione -115
Douglas Lima vs Lorenz Larkin
This welterweight tilt is the one I’m most looking forward to on the card. Lorenz Larkin is coming over from the UFC after two very impressive wins over Jorge Masvidal and Neil Magny. He’s always been a lightning fast striker and it seems like he’s finally putting everything together and reaching his potential. Douglas Lima, on the other side, may be the most underrated welterweight in the world. Even though he’s held the Bellator title for the majority of the past 5 years people still don’t tend to know who he is. If he can win this Saturday over a proven UFC vet then the world will know who Lima is.
Larkin has the speed advantage in this fight, but Lima has the power advantage. If he gets his hands on Larkin with a clean strike it will be lights out. Because this will be a stand up battle throughout I have to think that Lima will be able to find his range at some point and put his hands on Larkin. This fight could really go either way so I really like the dog here.
Play: Lima +145
Brent Primus vs Michael Chandler
Bellator doesn’t really have any new lightweight contenders to challenge Chandler, so enter Brent Primus. He has 5 wins in Bellator, but his last two wins were the only ones over notable fighters and he really had to grind his way through those fights to pick up split decision wins in both.
Michael Chandler is at a time in his career where he took his game to another level. His knockout of Friere to win the vacant title at this time last year was an amazing performance and really showed that Chandler is the top lightweight in the promotion. He followed that up with a steady, but I feel convincing split decision win over ex-UFC Champion Benson Henderson, which really cemented his spot as the top dog in the division.
Chandler doesn’t take any fight lightly and he should be better in every area than Primus in this fight.
Play: Chandler -610
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