Bellator 129 took place tonight (Oct. 17) at Mid-American Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and a card that looked bad on paper played out even worse in the cage for one of the worst offerings Bellator has ever put on. Overall from a betting perspective, two favorites and one underdog won while one fight was a push based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. Underdogs That Won In the main event of the evening, Paul Bradley defeated Josh Neer via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3) in a welterweight fight. Bradley used his wrestling to take Neer down and control him from top position en route to a clear victory. It sure wasn’t pretty to watch, but it was still a good win for Bradley as he looks to move forward in the Bellator welterweight division. Bradley, who opened as the favorite, closed as a +100 underdog (bet $100 to win $100) while Neer closed as a -110 favorite in defeat (bet $110 to win $100). Favorites That Won In a welterweight bout, Andre Santos defeated James Terry via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). This was a very closely-contested fight that realistically could have gone either way on the cards, but ultimately the judges awarded the decision to Santos, although I was surprised by the scores. The first round was very competitive on the feet, but overall Santos landed the more effective strikes and probably should have received the nod. In the second round, again the striking was competitive as far as volume goes, but Terry was a bit more aggressive and also landed a takedown and probably deserved it. The third round was also very competitive, and it came down to what you gave more weight to, Santos’ knockdown or Terry’s takedown and top control. I personally thought Santos’ knockdown sealed the round for him, but it was close. Ultimately, it wasn’t as much of a sweat as it seemed during the fight and Santos got the nod. Santos cashed at -120 while Terry lost at +110. In a middleweight bout, Joe Vedepo defeated Davin Clark via third-round TKO (punches). Vedepo’s wrestling was dominant throughout the fight as he continually took down his opponent at will and controlled him on the ground. Then in the third round he got the back mount on Clark and started to rain down the punches until the referee stopped the fight. Vedepo cashed as a -170 favorite while Clark won as a +160 dog. Pushes In the co-main event of the evening, Houston Alexander and Virgil Zwicker fought to a majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28) in a heavyweight contest. Zwicker had the advantage on the feet, but wasn’t able to knock Alexander out. Alexander used his wrestling advantage throughout the bout, continually taking Zwicker down and beating him up on the ground. Alexander would have won the fight, but he was deducted a point in the third round for a headbutt, and it ended up costing him the win as the fight was ruled a draw on the judges scorecards. Therefore, neither Alexander at +120 or Zwicker at -130 cashed.
