Bellator 172: Fedor vs. Mitrione Date: February 18, 2017 Arena: SAP Center City: San Jose, CA Bellator Fighting Championship is back this Saturday (February 18, 2017) with Bellator 172: Fedor vs. Mitrione. The five-fight main card is scheduled to kick off at 9 p.m. ET on Spike TV, with preliminary action preceding it on the promotion’s website at 7 p.m. If interested in wagering on any bouts for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available to you at Several Bookmakers. UFC Fight Night 105: Lewis vs. Browne Date: February 19, 2017 Arena: Scotiabank Centre City: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for the second time in promotional history this Sunday (February 19, 2017) with UFC Fight Night 105: Lewis vs. Browne. The 11-fight card is set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass, then continue with preliminary action on FOX Sports 1 at 7 p.m. The six-fight main card will get underway at 9 p.m. on the same channel. If interested in wagering on any bouts for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available to you at Several Bookmakers. My Over/Under Totals are: Heavyweight bout: Matt Mitrione (-130) vs. Fedor Emelianenko (+110) Gabe’s Thoughts: “The Last Emperor”is back! The Russian will be making his Bellator debut against UFC veteran Matt Mitrione. Much like the betting odds suggest, I think this is anybody’s fight. However, that’s only if it plays out on the feet. If Fedor opts to grapple, I think he will find success and will get Mitrione down to the mat, whether he scores the takesdown right away or works hard for it. Should he choose to grapple in this Bellator main event contest scheduled for three rounds, I think he will make quick work of Mitrione and finish this fight by submission in the opening stanza. That said, I cannot trust that he will play it smart and take Mitrione down because I think that would have been a very easy route to victory in his most recent bout against Fabio Maldonado. But instead, he chose to stand with the Brazilian and ended up getting caught on the feet and nearly finished. I don’t trust he will take the easy route to victory against Mitrione either, but I do feel confident that he will either find a finish one way or the other, or get knocked out by “Meathead” in the opening frame. No matter who gets his hand raised in this matchup, I think the best bet is the Total of Under 1.5 rounds at -185. Gabe’s Call: Emelianenko by Submission (armbar, 2:11 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Under 1.5 rounds (-185) Women’s Bantamweight bout: Sara McMann (-600) vs. Gina Mazany (+450) Gabe’s Thoughts: Mazany is making her short-notice promotional debut against McMann in this contest, replacing an injured Liz Carmouche. She is a solid prospect, but I think McMann will be too much for her in her UFC debut. I don’t agree with McMann’s current asking price of -600, but I can’t pull the trigger on Mazany at +450 either. Mazany trains out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and has solid striking skills, so she has a chance of finishing McMann early in this contest if she is able to land clean with her shots before being put on her back, where I think she will be out-wrestled and eventually submitted by the Marcello Garcia-trained bantamweight. I think this fight is closer than the betting odds suggest, but I do favor McMann to finish this fight, and I think the best and safest play here is the Total of Under 2.5 rounds at +160, as I think this fight ends within two-and-a-half rounds. Gabe’s Call: McMann by Submission (arm triangle choke, 2:45 round 2) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Under 2.5 rounds (+160) 
