Bellator 240 takes place Saturday, February 22 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the main card, and here they are.
Bellator 240 Opening Odds
Brent Primus -700
Chris Bungard +500
Georgi Karakhanyan -165
Paul Redmond +135
Kiefer Crosbie -500
Iamik Furtado +375
Judith Ruis -400
Leah McCourt +300
Aaron Chalmers -170
Austin Clem +140
And here are my initial thoughts on the Bellator 240 Opening Odds:
- It’s a shame Primus is so underutilized by Bellator because he really is one of the best lightweights in the world not in the UFC. In his last fight, Primus pulled off a rare gogoplata submission, and he’s only two fights removed from beating Michael Chandler to win the Bellator lightweight title. It’s a shame he just doesn’t fight more often. As for Bungard, he’s quite experienced on the European regional scene and has looked pretty good in Bellator including a nice win over Terry Brazier. But I’m very high on Primus and believe he should be able to finish this fight just as the lopsided odds suggest. If props come out on Primus finishing the fight or the fight not going the distance, perhaps that’s the play to make here.
- Another fun lightweight bout sees Karakhanyan take on Redmond. Karakhanyan was one of the top featherweights in the world at one point not in the UFC but has struggled as of late, including an eight-second KO loss in his last fight to AJ McKee. But he remains a highly-experienced fighter who can’t be counted out just yet. Redmond, meanwhile, has won both of his fights in Bellator and five of his last seven fights since the UFC released him. Still, I favor Karakhanyan in this fight due to his ability to finish fights and his championship experience.
- In women’s action, we have the featherweights going at is as McCourt takes on Ruis. McCourt is on a three-fight win streak since losing her MMA debut in 2017 and has won both of her fights in Bellator. As for Ruis, she has a bit more experience though she will be making her Bellator debut her. Ruis has won her last two fights but like McCourt, her level of competition has been weak. The odds for this fight were opened completely wrong and they’ve flipped 180 since the open with McCourt now as the big favorite to win. I’m not quite sure why the oddsmakers opened Ruis as such a sizeable favorite, but the odds now look more in line.
- The Chalmers vs. Clem fight should also be a fun one. Chalmers is coming off of a nice stoppage win in his last fight to bounce back from a surprising loss to prospect killer Cory Browning before that. The reality TV star has turned into a decent MMA fighter and is perfect for these European-centric Bellator cards. As for Clem, he’s making his Bellator debut here but is likely going to be in over his head. Look for Chalmers to win this fight, and considering he actually opened at a reasonable number, he could be a popular bet this weekend.
