BELLATOR 167: TAIMANGLO VS. CALDWELL II Date: December 3, 2016 Arena: WinStar World Casino Resort City: Thackerville, OK Bellator is back on the second night of back to back nights of fights with Bellator 167: Taimanglo vs. Caldwell II. The four fight main card will kick off at 9pm ET on Spike TV, with preliminary action preciding it on the promotion’s website at 7pm ET. If interested in wagering on any bouts for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakers. Here are my live dogs: Women’s Flyweight bout bout: Ilima MacFarlane (-280) vs Emily Ducote (+240) Gabe’s Thoughts: I agree with MacFarlane being the betting favorite in this women’s 125-pound contest, however I do not agree with her current offering price of -280. I expect her to remain undefeated with a win in this contest but I don’t think she should be a near 3-to-1 betting favorite. At the current odds, I see this as a “dog or pass” situation and think Ducote holds a bit of value, so I think she is worth a stab with the wallet. Gabe’s Call: MacFarlane by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Ducote (+240) .5u to win 1.2u Welterweight bout: Andre Fialho (+100) vs Chidi Njokuani (-110) Gabe’s Thoughts: I see this match-up as a “dog or pass” situation and I’m going to make a move on the underdog, despite of the fact that he dropped from +150 to the current +100. I think the undefeated American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product has a good chance of remaining undefeated with an impressive victory over the veteran Njokuani in this contest. I expect this match-up to be fireworks; both guys are finishes but I think Fialho is harder to put away. I like him to deliver a good performance this evening and send a message to the rest of the Bellator welterweight division. Gabe’s Call: Fialho by T/KO (punches, 1:33 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Fialho (+100) 2.5u to win 2.5u Featherweight bout: Justin Lawrence (-140) vs John Teixeira (+130) Gabe’s Thoughts: This is a match-up between a pair of featherweights who had short lived runs in the UFC; one much shorter than the other. Lawrence is the better striker on paper heading into this 145-pound contest, but I think Teixeira is the overall better fighter and feel he should be a slight betting favorite heading into this bout, not the slight underdog. At the current betting odds, I think he holds some value and think he is worth a play. He has been undefeated since being released from the UFC after losing one fight, though he did miss weight for the contest, which happened to be the only time he has missed weight in his career. At +130, I do think he is the right side for a play here and could see him winning this fight inside the distance or on the judges’ scorecards. Gabe’s Call: Teixeira by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Teixeira (+130) 2.5u to win 3.25u
