One of the main card bouts at Bellator 134 is a three-round welterweight bout between Paul Daley and Andre Santos. According to the current betting lines available at Several Bookmakers, Daley is a -350 favorite (bet $350 to win $100) while Santos is a +250 underdog (bet $100 to win $250). MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened up Daley at -305 and Santos at +225, and so far action has come in on the favorite Daley. I love Daley in this matchup and fully expect him to win in highlight-reel fashion. Here’s why. Daley (35-12-1) is one of the best strikers in the Bellator welterweight division, and in all of the promotion in general. The 32-year-old Brit is 1-0 so far in Bellator with a knockout win over Rudy Bears, although that was in his first stint in Bellator three years ago. He’s won six of his last seven fights overall with all six of those finishes since the Bears fight coming via T/KO. In his career Daley has 26 knockouts, proving his ability to pack a punch. He has excellent boxing and that special ability to put opponents to sleep. His grappling as a whole isn’t great, as he’s been tapped out five times in his career, but he’s improved his takedown defence over the years and hasn’t been submitted in seven years. He will be looking to keep this fight with Santos on the feet and knock his opponent out, and as long as he does that he should absolutely get the stoppage win over an overmatched opponent. Santos (37-9) is 1-0 in Bellator with a unanimous decision win over James Terry. The 34-year-old Brazilian is mostly a submission fighter with 22 wins coming via submission, but he’s been working on his striking and overall he has five knockouts to his credit. While he does have a very nice record on paper, his overall level of competition has been poor and he’s lost to almost every good fighter he’s fought. He’s definitely a solid veteran but this fight with Daley seems like a squash match. The way for Santos to win is to take this fight to the mat, but he’s not the greatest wrestler in the world and if he can’t get the takedown he will be lit up on the feet and probably get knocked out, which is why you see the line the way it is. This is a showcase fight for Daley, and I expect him to really shine in this fight. He has the wrestling defence to keep this fight standing and on the feet I expect him to overwhelm Santos with his power and probably score a highlight-reel knockout. At the current price, Daley is absolutely someone to consider parlaying this weekend.
