AXS TV’s lone East Coast promotion returns to the airwaves this Friday night as CES MMA 28 goes live from the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island. The card is headlined by two-time Bellator tournament champion Rick Hawn, who takes on Derek Loffer in a 165lb catchweight main event. Hawn has always used his blend of Judo and Boxing to find success in MMA, with his only losses coming to fighters who competed for title belts in Bellator. Loffer brings a much more reckless style to the cage, and while it has resulted in finishes in 8 of his 9 wins, he has also been stopped in both of his pro losses. The co-main event of CES MMA 28 features promotional mainstay Luis Felix facing Reggie Merriweather in a 160lb catchweight. Felix was initially slated to face former WSOF headliner Richard Patishnock, but that bout fell apart due to injury and Merriweather stepped in on short notice. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting line for the main event of CES MMA 28 today at Several Bookmakers. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (AXS TV, 10pm ET) Rick Hawn -405 Derek Loffer +285 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: There are probably a lot of people who would be confident throwing Hawn into a parlay, but I am not one of them. Loffer is a few steps down from the fighters Hawn has lost to in the past, but his recent performances have been so uninspiring that I can’t be sure he won’t come out in this fight and refuse to throw against a fighter who will be coming forward against him and scoring on the judges cards. Add his age into the mix, and you have to wonder if his chin will start to fade at some point. I still expect Hawn to win this fight, but it’s not a great situation to lay money on. We actually saw a similar situation last week with Jeff Curran, who was the more skilled fighter and had a historically stout chin, but got knocked out with an innocuous shot.
