On Thursday February 28th, 2013, Rio Rancho, New Mexico will play host to the first ever title defence of the Bellator Light Heavyweight Title. Christian M’Pumbu will put his belt on the line against 2012 Summer Series winner Attila Vegh. Also featured on the card are the semi-finals of the season 8 Lightweight Tournament. Today, Nick Kalikas breaks the odds for the organization’s first trip to New Mexico over at Several Bookmakers. ——————– Christian M’Pumbu (c) +150 Attila Vegh -180 Will Brooks -375 Saad Awad +285 David Rickels -365 Jason Fischer +275 Ed West -285 Josh Montoya +205 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: This is one of the rare occurrences where a champion opens as an underdog when defending his belt. Despite being the champion, M’Pumbu is coming off of a disappointing performance against Travis Wiuff where he became the first Bellator title holder to lose a non-title bout. In contrast, Vegh knocked Wiuff out in 25 seconds to win the Light Heavyweight tournament. Both fights serve as each competitor’s most recent appearance inside the Bellator cage. M’Pumbu will not only have Vegh standing across the cage from him, but he is also returning from a 16-month absence. Both fighters are dangerous strikers, but M’Pumbu’s lack of a wrestling game is there for Vegh to exploit if he’s looking for a less dangerous path to victory. In the Lightweight semi-finals, both Brooks and Rickels open as rightful favourites, but I can see the odds moving in different directions after that. Brooks seems to be improving at a rapid rate, is coming off of two impressive performances, and will likely see a great deal of action from the public. His opponent, Saad Awad, is more of an afterthought. Awad wasn’t even included in the original tournament bracket, and stumbled into his bout with Guillaume Di Lorenzi after an injury to Patricky Freire. He made the most of that opportunity, knocking Di Lorenzi out in just 31 seconds, but faces a more dangerous opponent in this round. Rickels and Fischer have some history, as they fought just three months ago at Bellator 82. That fight was very competitive, with Rickels picking up the decision victory in what was his Lightweight debut. The reason I think Fischer may get some love from the bettors out there is because he was (and is) still very early in his MMA career, and should still be making some advancements. His grappling game has looked impressive of late, and if he can put it to use against Rickels it could make for an interesting night. Ever since knocking out Jordan Smith, Rickels seems to have fallen in love with his striking, and it isn’t at the level that will allow him to be successful unless he rounds out his game. An interesting fight, but one I feel Rickels does have the edge in. Fischer simply hasn’t had enough time since that first bout to develop. Ed West is a fighter well-known to Bellator fans, as he has made six appearances in the organization, advancing to the finals of their inaugural Bantamweight tournament. As the level of talent has increased in Bellator, West has dropped fights more regularly. This is a good opportunity for a rebound, as he will be facing a local New Mexico product in Josh Montoya who has put together a record only slightly above .500 on the regional level relying primarily on his submission game, one of West’s strengths.
