Bellator 216 takes place Saturday, February 16 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the full odds for the card, and here they are.
Bellator 216 Opening Odds
Michael Page -350
Paul Daley +250
Vitaly Minakov -385
Cheick Kongo +265
Mirko Filipovic -185
Roy Nelson +145
Yaroslav Amosov -260
Erick Silva +180
And here are my initial reactions to the Bellator 216 opening odds:
- To be honest, I’m not as hyped up for the Page vs. Daley fight as everyone else is, and the reason is because I believe it’s a mismatch. I can’t see Daley hanging with Page at all. We know Daley has a big left hook, but Page is just too fast, too explosive and too unpredictable with his own striking. Daley won’t threaten with the takedown, meaning the only way he can win this fight is on the feet, where I believe he’s at a disadvantage. I think Page picks Daley apart and either knocks him out or wins a wide decision. I expect Page to be a popular parlay pick for bettors this weekend as he always is.
- Likewise, I view the Minakov vs. Kongo fight as a bit of a mismatch as well. Minakov is making his return to Bellator and he’s still undefeated at 21-0. The former Bellator heavyweight champion has pretty much owned everyone he’s fought during his career. He is arguably the most underrated heavyweight in the game today. He also owns a previous five-round victory over Kongo from 2014. To be fair to Kongo, he’s improved since then, going 9-1 over his last 10 fights since the Minakov loss. He’s on a seven-fight win streak right now, and is coming off of a big KO win over Tim Johnson. That being said, I just see Minakov being a bad matchup for Kongo. He should be able to hold his own on the feet and he should have the wrestling to dictate where the fight takes place. Like Page, Minakov is going to be a parlay favorite for bettors.
- The Cro Cop vs. Nelson fight is interesting. We’ve seen these two fight previously in the UFC in 2011, with Nelson defeating Cro Cop via third-round TKO. Since then, though, Nelson has lost a lot of fights and taken a ton of damage in the process, while Cro Cop went overseas to fight mostly inferior competition, and he’s currently riding a long win streak. Nelson showed the first time these two met that if he fights smart and uses his wrestling he can neutralize the striking of Cro Cop. I just don’t know if Nelson is going to be able to replicate that gameplan again. I tend to advise on passing on this one altogether.
- I know Silva is coming off of a nice armbar win in LFA, but there’s no way I would bet on him at this point of his career. Ever since the UFC started undergoing tougher drug tests he was just never the same fighter. And now he’s fighting a guy in Amosov who is undefeated at 20-0 and who just dominated Gerald Harris in his Bellator debut. Amosov should be able to win this fight easily with his wrestling alone.
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