This Friday (April 21, 2017), for the first time since the days of Travis Fulton fighting every weekend in the Midwest, a pair of competitors will step into the cage for the fourth time in the same promotion. Daniel Straus and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire have already fought each other three times under the Bellator banner. Pitbull won their first meeting in a 2011 tournament final when Bellator still used that format, and he also defended the featherweight title successfully early in 2015. The third time was the charm for Straus, who captured the title from Pitbull in November 2015, but has yet to compete since then. Freire has appeared twice since the trilogy bout with Straus, defeating Henry Corrales by submission and suffering an injury loss to former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson as he decided to try his luck at lightweight. Once again healthy, he returns to his normal weight class for another meeting with his nemesis Straus.
Bellator 178 also features one of the brighter female prospects on the Bellator roster. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane has emerged from the glut of looks-first fighters Scott Coker has brought into his organization, and she seems to possess a legitimate game, with particularly good grappling skills. Those skills have translated into a 5-0 career record, including 4-0 inside Bellator. Her opponent this time around is the also undefeated Jessica Middleton, who has had both of her professional bouts in Bellator.
The trend of prospects on this card continues with AJ McKee Jr., as he faces perhaps the stiffest test of his career. McKee has rolled through the majority of his 7-0 career thus far, only reaching the final bell in his last two contests. He could experience even more pushback against 12-1 Dominic Mazzotta on Friday. Mazzotta’s lone career loss came at the hands of current UFC bantamweight Cody Garbrandt in just his fourth pro bout. During his nine-fight winning streak since that setback, he has racked up seven submissions. Those skills should prove helpful against McKee, who seems to revert to his grappling when tested.
Opening up the main card is Saad Awad, who seemingly can’t decide if he wants to be a welterweight or lightweight these days. In this bout, he’s dropping back down to 155 — where he has dropped his past two bouts — to take on Ryan Quinn. The 30-year-old Quinn has an interesting track record with Bellator, as he debuted with the promotion all the way back in 2010 at Bellator 15. In the seven years since, he has gone a whopping 7-0 under the Bellator banner, with his career mark at just 6-6-1 outside the promotion.
While they won’t have bettable lines, two of the more interesting fighters on Bellator 178 will be featured on the undercard. Ed Ruth and Tyrell Fortune — perhaps the two most promising members of Bellator’s “Fab Five” — will be looking to move their career marks to 3-0 on Friday night. Ruth has required less than a round combined to win his first two bouts, and he will take on 6-2 David Mundell this time out. Meanwhile, Fortune faced a bit of adversity in his last outing against the surprising Will Johnson, but he persevered for the victory.
MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting odds for the main card of Bellator 178 today at Several Bookmakers. Check them out below…
| Moneyline | Totals |
| Daniel Straus -150 | Over 4.5 -130 |
| Patricio Freire +110 | Under 4.5 -110 |
| Ilima-Lei Macfarlane -350 | Over 2.5 -230 |
| Jessica Middleton +250 | Under 2.5 +170 |
| AJ McKee Jr. -475 | Over 2.5 -135 |
| Dominic Mazzotta +325 | Under 2.5 -105 |
| Saad Awad -305 | Over 1.5 -150 |
| Ryan Quinn +225 | Under 1.5 +110 |
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