Bellator 256: Bader vs. Machida 2 takes place on Friday, April 9 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The offshore sportsbooks recently opened up the betting odds for the event, and MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a look at the opening odds below.
Bellator 256 Odds
Ryan Bader -500
Lyoto Machida +375
Liz Carmouche -185
Vanessa Porto +155
Adam Borics -135
Jeremy Kennedy +105
Julia Budd -220
Dayana Silva +180
Cat Zingano -530
Olivia Parker +350
Here are my initial thoughts on the Opening Odds For Bellator 256:
- The main event of Bellator 256 features a rematch between Ryan Bader (27-6) and Lyoto Machida (26-10). These two previously met back in the UFC in 2012, and Machida won the fight via KO. However, the tides have changed and now, nine years later, Bader is a massive favorite to hand Machida a loss in the rematch. Based on Machida’s recent form, it’s hard to disagree with the odds here. At age 43, Machida is far older than he was the first time these two fought, and he’s coming off of two straight losses to Gegard Mousasi and Phil Davis. To be fair to Machida, both of those fights were split decision defeats, so he’s not getting completely blown out of the water. But he does appear to be on the decline and going up against a powerful puncher and wrestler in Bader, it’s a tough matchup. Bader is coming off of a brutal TKO loss himself to current Bellator light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov in a fight where he lost his belt. But he is still the Bellator heavyweight champion and among the promotion’s top pound-for-pound fighters. I do think the odds are a bit too wide here considering Machida is still a dangerous striker, but everything is pointing to Bader winning.
- The co-main event is a very intriguing women’s flyweight bout between Liz Carmouche (14-7) and Vanessa Porto (22-8). Carmouche is coming off of a submission win over DeAnna Bennett in her Bellator debut last fall after being released by the UFC and she showed in that fight that she still has the skills to win fights at age 37. In this fight, Carmouche takes on Porto, who is a fighter that probably deserved to be in the UFC many years ago. The former Invicta FC flyweight champion, Porto enters this fight with Carmouche on a four-fight win streak. One issue is that she hasn’t fought since 2019 but overall she has looked to be in good form lately. Carmouche is a good fighter but so is Porto, and at these odds, it’s a dog-or-pass situation.
- Another fight to keep your eye on features Adam Borics (16-1) taking on Jeremy Kennedy (16-2). Both these guys are excellent featherweights who are riding into this matchup with some momentum as both fighters are coming off of big wins in the Bellator cage. That being said, while Kennedy is the bigger name in the sport, I really like Borics. He has proven himself time and time again in Bellator and has won several fights as an underdog. This line opened very close and if we can get Borics at dog money again, he just might be worth a play here.
