Bellator 232 takes place Saturday, October 26 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the main card, and here they are.
Bellator 232 Opening Odds
Rory MacDonald -130
Douglas Lima +110
Paul Daley -400
Saad Awad +300
Patrick Mix -425
Isaiah Chapman +325
Vitaly Minakov -500* fight scratched due to visa issues
Javy Ayala +375
Nick Newell -750
Luis Muro +450
Robin Van Rossmalen -185
Chris Lencioni +155
And here are my initial thoughts on the Bellator 232 Opening Odds:
- The main event between MacDonald and Lima is an incredible rematch for the Bellator welterweight title and the finals of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix. These two have met previously, with MacDonald defeating Lima by decision in January 2018 to win the Bellator title. MacDonald has been up-and-down since then. He’s 1-1-1 in his last three, with a TKO loss to Gegard Mousasi, a draw with Jon Fitch and a decision win over Neiman Gracie. Some are fading MacDonald after the Fitch fight, but I’m not completely ready to write him off just yet. As for Lima, he’s defeated Andrey Koreshkov and Michael Page by stoppage since the first fight with MacDonald. Lima looks extremely motivated to get his belt back, and this should be one heck of a rematch. MacDonald opened as a small favorite, but Lima is slightly favored now at the books. I also slightly lean towards Lima, but it’s a very close fight.
- The co-main event was supposed to be Daley against Sabah Homasi, but Homasi was injured and forced to pull out of the fight and Awad has stepped in on short notice in a catchweight bout at 175lbs. You have to give props to Awad for stepping in on short notice, but Daley is heavily favored here for a reason. Daley is far more experienced and far more successful and he’s at least coming off of a win over Erick Silva, whereas Awad has three straight fights. Daley should win by decision or by TKO.
- I like this fight between Mix and Chapman. Mix is a perfect 11-0 in MMA and is coming off of a big win over Ricky Bandejas in his Bellator debut by stoppage. As for Chapman, he’s coming off of three straight wins on the regional scene, but this is a pretty big step up in competition. Mix should be able to win this fight dominantly, and he should be able to do so by stoppage.
- Just a note here on the Minakov vs. Ayala heavyweight bout. This fight was scratched due to a visa issue for Minakov. This is the second time this fight has been scratched, as Ayala had to pull out of a previously-scheduled fight back in August.
- And finally, the Van Rossmalen vs. Lencioni fight should be interesting as well. Van Rossmalen is a striker who has had success in GLORY kickboxing, while Lencioni is a BJJ specialist. It’s a true striker vs. grappler fight, and a fight that could go either way. But at these odds, I would rather go with the dog as I look at this fight as a coin flip.
