Bellator 131 Date: November 15, 2014 Arena: Valley View Casino Center City: San Diego, CA Bellator 131 will be live on Spike TV this Saturday night at 9pm ET with a five-fight main card, with a seven-fight preliminary card to precede it on Spike.com If interested in wagering on this card, these and all other lines will be made available to you at Several Bookmakerss. Here are my plays for Bellator 131 in San Diego… Light heavyweight: bout: Stephan Bonnar (+130) vs Tito Ortiz (-160) Gabe’s Thoughts: At this point in the (post)tail-end of their careers, I think Ortiz is the fighter who has more left to offer. While I believe this is a “paycheck” fight for both veterans, I think Bonnar is fighting for the money more than Ortiz is, as I think Bonnar is closer to being “done” as far as mixed martial arts skills are concerned. I think Bonnar is going to be too slow and his takedown defense is not going to hold up against Ortiz, who I think will find success with his wrestling and ground and pound, as I see him using it to grind out a unanimous decision in this bout. Unless he is seriously juiced up, I can’t see Bonnar doing anything to really hurt Ortiz, and I don’t see him successfully keeping the fight on the feet to win at least two out of three rounds on the judges’ scorecards. I favor this 205 pound scrap to go the distance, where I think Ortiz gets his hand raised, notching a win over another veteran under his belt. Gabe’s Call: Ortiz by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Plays: Tito Ortiz (-160) 3.2u to win 2u Lightweight title bout: Michael Chandler (-250) vs Will Brooks (+190) Gabe’s Thoughts: Simply put, I think this lightweight title scrap will be closely contested, and while I slightly favor Chandler to get his hand raised this time around, I think the value, much like last time, is again with Brooks. More or less, I see this fight as a coin-flip, so please give me the +190. Both of these fighters have a future at 155 pounds and could possibly be tearing it up in the UFC in the future, post-Bellator contracts. They are both tremendously talented and I don’t think either of them should be a near 2-to-1 underdog against the other. I expect this to be a very entertaining fight, and while a finish by either lightweight would not surprise me, I think this rematch will again hit the judges’ scorecards for a decision. Chances are when it ends up in the hands of the judges’, it will be anybody’s fight, as I expect both fighters to have their fair share of moments over the course of 25 minutes of action. Gabe’s Call: Chandler by Split Decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Will Brooks (+190) 1u to win 1.9u
