Bellator 114 is live today from the Maverik Center in East Valley, Utah, with the prelims kicking off at 7pm ET on Spike.com and the main card airing live on Spike TV at 9pm ET. Here are my plays for the card… Middleweight title bout: Alexander Shlemenko (-265) vs Brennan Ward (+245) Gabe’s Prediction: I think Ward is going to be a pretty tough challenge for the Russian. I think it will be a close fight, and believe that Ward could even put Shlemenko away. That said, I think the veteran’s durability will hold up more often than not, and even if he gets hurt early on, he will move on to win on points. I don’t think he will finish Ward, unless Ward fades heavily. I think this fight is closer than the betting odds suggest, and don’t see value on either side, but I do favor a couple of props… Gabe’s Call: Alexander Shlemenko by Unanimous Decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Shlemenko by Decision (+275) .4u to win 1.1u and Ward by T/KO .2u to win .83u Featherweight bout: Desmond Green (-200) vs Will Martinez (+185) Gabe’s Prediction: Simply put, I think Green is going to initiate his wrestling, using it as his key towards grinding out a unanimous decision victory over Martinez, and earning a spot in the Bellator featherweight tournament finals. Gabe’s Call: Desmond Green (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Over 2.5 rounds (-170) 1.7u to win 1u Middleweight bout: Brett Cooper (-190) vs Kendall Grove (+175) Gabe’s Prediction: This is a semi-final match-up for Bellator’s middleweight tournament, and it is between a recent title challenger in Cooper and a former TUF winner in Grove. The Hawaiian won season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter, and after going 7-6 with the promotion in the span of five years, “Da Spyder” was given his walking papers. Since his release, he is 8-4 and currently on a two fight winning streak, with his eyes set on the Bellator 185 pound gold. If he can get past Cooper, he will only be one win away from achieving that goal. Cooper is coming off his title shot, losing a very close unanimous decision to the champion Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 98 nearly seven months ago. He was very impressive in his losing effort and undoubtedly won over many fans with his performance. Grove has moved his training camp from his home in Hawaii to Alliance MMA in San Diego, CA. He has been working on improving his game, which is wise of him, because while an 11-year veteran of the sport, he still has many holes in his game, not to mention a pure lack of ability to technically use his size and reach to his advantage. I don’t think Grove has yet to really improve on his holes, and I think Cooper will manage to get the better of him over the course of three rounds, ultimately taking a decision on the judges’ scorecards. Gabe’s Call: Brett Cooper by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Brett Cooper (-190) 4.18u to win 2.2u
