Bellator 203 takes place Saturday, July 14 at Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. The offshore sportsbooks recently released the opening odds for the card, and here they are.
Bellator 203 Opening Odds
Patricio Pitbull -350
Daniel Weichel +250
And here are my initial thoughts on the odds:
– Thus far the only odds out for this card at this present time of writing this article are in the main event battle between Pitbull, the Bellator featherweight champion, and Weichel, the No. 1 contender in Bellator’s deep 145lbs division. Pitbull (26-4) won the title back from Daniel Straus in his last fight in the fourth fight between them. Pitbull has an overall record of 14-4 in Bellator and has wins over the likes of Straus (three times), Pat Curran, Wilson Reis (twice) and a previous win over Weichel, who he knocked out back at Bellator 138 in January 2015. The 31-year-old Pitbull has actually lost two of his last three bouts but he already avenged the loss he had to Straus and his loss to Benson Henderson took place at a weight class above in a fight where he was injured. Overall the Brazilian Pitbull is a very dangerous fighter and he has 20 wins by stoppage in his career. He can knock his opponents out on the feet and submit them on the ground and in his career he has only really lost to elite opposition. He’s a winning fighter. Much of the same can be said about Weichel (39-9) is one of the most experienced featherweights in MMA. The German native is only 33 yet has almost 50 fights in his pro career, including a stellar 8-1 record in Bellator. He has wins over the likes of Curran, Matt Bessette, Desmond Green and his only loss came to Pitbull. That fight between Pitbull and Weichel was really crazy, as it looks like Weichel was about to knock Pitbull out before getting clocked and knocked out himself. Bellator is surely hoping for a similar fight this time around as the pair’s first was a “Fight of the Night” candidate. Pitbull won the first fight and I think he should have the upper hand in this rematch but I was surprised to see such a steep opening line as Weichel is an excellent fighter himself. At the opening odds, I would have to say the value is on Weichel as a dog. The opening line has come back down a bit since it opened, so clearly other bettors are on to the German at dog money. I think Pitbull is really solid and it’s hard to bet against him but I do think the initial action on the underdog was correct just because we saw how close the first fight between these two was and Weichel has looked unbeatable otherwise. This is one of the best Bellator fights of the year and I’m excited to see it take place as the winner will reaffirm them self as a top-five featherweight in all of MMA. Watch it and enjoy it.
