Bellator 127 Date: October 3, 2014 Arena: Pechanga Resort and Casino City: Temecula, CA Bellator 127 will be live from Temecula, CA tonight (Friday, October 3, 2014) with an 11-fight card, including a four-fight main card that will be live on Spike at 9pm ET. If interested in wagering on these plays, or any other plays for this fight card, you may do so at Several Bookmakerss. My live dogs for Bellator 127 are: Bantamweight bout: Rafael Silva (-185) vs Rob Emerson (+145) Gabe’s Thoughts: I am a believer in Rob Emerson at 135 pounds. He will be entering this bout with a height and reach advantage over the Brazilian. In my opinion, that, combined with his solid Muay Thai, will be the recipe for him getting his hand raised. I don’t agree with the current betting odds because while I believe Silva is amongst Bellator’s best bantamweights, I think Emerson has a slight edge over him and think he should be a small favorite heading into this match-up, rather than a small underdog. At the current price of +145, I do feel like he is the right side for a play. Gabe’s Call: Emerson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Rob Emerson (+145) 3.45u to win 5u Middleweight bout: Christian M’pumbu (-210) vs Kendall Grove (+160) Gabe’s Thoughts: M’pumbu is going to try to take Grove down and grind out a decision here in his first cut down to 185 pounds. Grove has poor takedown defense, so that is a likely possibility, but I think he’ll have the cardio advantage, not to mention the advantage on the feet. He will also have an advantage in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, so I think there is a chance he could use his long limbs to pull off a sub, even though Grove is one of those lengthy fighters who is not very good at using his length and reach to his full advantage. I think this fight is a coin-flip, so at the current underdog price of +160, I’m going to go with Grove for a small play. Gabe’s Call: Grove by Submission (triangle choke, 2:00 round 3) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Kendall Grove (+160) 1.25u to win 2u
