Last night (Oct. 11, 2013), the Bellator 103 event went down at the Kansas Star Casino to predictable results. The main card portion of the card was filled with lines that were big spreads, and none of the underdogs were able to break through and make it interesting. Bellator also filled out most of its November 5th PPV lineup, which is a good thing since that show is just three weeks away. In the two non tournament bouts, Mikhail Zayats, who was over (-500) as a favorite, made short work of UFC veteran Aaron Rosa. Bellator is making good use of discarded UFC veterans, as they have been losing in their show pretty regularly. Rosa lasted less than a minute for Zayats. Dave Rickels outgunned JJ Ambrose over three rounds as expected. Rickels was paying more than (-500) as well. The featherweight tournament saw both favorites advance as Patricio “Pitbull” Freire took out Fabricio Guerreiro over three rounds and Justin Wilcox took out Joe Taimanglo. Pitbull was a whopping (-900) favorite, while Wilcox was hovering around (-500). When the two square off in the tournament finals later this year, look for Pitbull to be favored, but the line will be closer than any of the ones we have for this show. Bellator’s PPV is later this month, and the card stands at 11 fights right now, including four bouts announced for the PPV. Lines are up for the Tito Ortiz (+190) and Quinton Jackson (-250) and the Lightweight title bout between former champion Eddie Alvarez (+165) and Current titlist Michael Chandler (-205). Lines are still being developed for the Featherweight title match between champion Pat Curran and Daniel Straus, as well as the interim title match at Light Heavyweight between King Mo Lawal and Emanuel Newton. Look for Curran to be a strong favorite, and look for King Mo to be a pretty big favorite over Newton, despite the fact that Newton owns a KO victory over him. Should lightning strike twice again for Newton, it would be a huge waste of investment on Mo by Bellator. To his credit, Mo is a disciplined athlete who has been putting in the work to live up to his contract, and he should have an easy time with the match. The SPIKE TV portion of the card is headlined by the “Fight Master” reality series tournament final between Joe Riggs and Mike Bronzoulis. Very few people really actually followed Fightmaster, and the series hasn’t been renewed for a second season. Nevertheless, Bronzoulis and Riggs is a pretty even match of two veterans who are trying to remain in the game as they near the end of their careers. Bronzoulis is three years older, but Riggs has a lot more miles in terms of fight years. Nevertheless, Riggs also has faced much better competition over his career, and at times has held his own (wins over Nick Diaz and Chris Lytle) against top names, so look for him to be favored at the books.
