The opening betting line for the main event of Bellator‘s first pay-per-view was today released by leading MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas at Several Bookmakers, and it’s a line that is sure to draw interest from sports bettors. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has opened as a -265 favorite (bet $265 to win $100), while the comeback on his opponent Tito Ortiz is +185 (bet $100 to win $185). Here’s what Kalikas said in regards to the fight: “I can understand why Bellator decided to match these guys up to headline their inaugural PPV event. Even though both fighters seem to be on a decline and were recently released from the UFC, it’s still a very intriguing match up to most die hard MMA fans. A battle between two MMA legends with decent name recognition certainly shouldn’t hurt PPV sales.” Say what you want about the fight itself but the fact of the matter is both Rampage and Ortiz are still big names in the sports world, and two of only a handful of MMA fighters who have drawn over 1 million PPV buys. This is a fight that is going to be hyped up through the roof in the coming months on Spike TV and is therefore sure to draw plenty of action at the sportsbooks. As far as what I think of the odds, while I agree that Jackson deserves to be the favorite in the fight, I have not been impressed with him at all during his current three-fight losing streak and I believe he is overvalued at -265. That being said, Ortiz is another giant fade at this point of his career as he’s lost seven of his last nine fights and hasn’t even competed since last July at UFC 148, when he lost a close decision to Forrest Griffin and then retired afterwards. Considering his inactivity and the fact he hasn’t won a fight against someone not named Ryan Bader since 2006, it’s not hard to see why Ortiz is the dog. At the same time, though, Ortiz has been much more active in his recent fights and he even had Rashad Evans in trouble during their UFC 133 fight. If he can land more strikes on Rampage and maybe even mix in some takedowns he could find some success, but Rampage — even though he hasn’t won a fight by KO since 2008 — does possess some good power still and he could very well put Ortiz’ lights out if he connects on the right spot. With both fighters being fades, I would definitely look to pass on betting this one and just enjoy it as a fan — if you can.
