The Bellator season eight featherweight tournament began tonight at Bellator 88 with four quarterfinal bouts, and the event also featured a headliner between Alexander Shlemenko and Maiquel Falcao for the vacant middleweight championship. Overall on the night four favorites came through while one underdog cashed. Here’s a betting recap for the event based on closing MMA odds: BELLATOR BETTING FAVORITES THAT WON In the main event, Alexander Shlemenko defeated Maiquel Falcao via second-round TKO. Shlemenko closed as a -400 favorite, while the comeback on Falcao was +335. It was a competitive fight up until the point of the TKO, but after Shlemenko landed a vicious body shot Falcao dropped to the ground and was soon finished off via punches. With the victory, Shlemenko picks up the vacant Bellator Middleweight Championship and awaits the winner of the next middleweight tournament. In a featherweight quarterfinal bout Marlon Sandro was able to defeat Akop Stepanyan by majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27) in what was a strange fight marred by a point deduction to Stepanyan for grabbing the cage. Even without the point deduction, Stepanyan would have lost the bout, but with how competitive it ended up being Sandro bettors were lucky to get the win considering his hefty price tag. Sandro closed at -335, while Stepanyan closed at +305. In the next quarterfinal, Mike Richman knocked out Mitch Jackson with a head kick to move on in the tourney. Richman was absolutely lethal with his strikes, and looks like he’s one of the favorites to win the eight-man field. Richman was a -330 favorite, while Jackson was a +300 underdog. And in the first quarterfinal, Alexandre “Popp” Bezerra was able to submit Genair da Silva with an armbar to move on to the next round of the tournament. Bezerra closed as a -210 favorite, while da Silva was a +190 dog. BELLATOR BETTING UNDERDOGS THAT WON The only underdog to cash on the night was Magomedrasul Khasbulaev, who defeated Fabricio Guerreiro via second-round submission. Khasbulaev closed as a +200 underdog while Guerreiro was a -220 favorite, so if you bet Khasbulaev, congratulations on your winnings. MORE BELLAOR 87 ODDS AND ENDS I feel like I’m on repeat but referee Dan Miragliotta had yet another off night. During the Richman/Jackson finish, Jackson was clearly out of the fight yet for some reason Miragliotta just watched as he took unnecessary punishment. Not sure what’s been going on with Big Dan lately but I don’t like it.
