Bellator 143 Date: September 25, 2015 Arena: State Farm Arena City: Hidalgo, TX Bellator Fighting Championships returns this evening with Bellator 143: Davis vs Warren. The 13-fight card will get going with eight preliminary card bouts on the promotion’s website at 6:30pm ET, with main card action getting underway on Spike TV at 9pm ET. If interested in wagering on these plays, or any plays for this fight card, all betting lines will be made available at Several Bookmakerss. Here are my live dogs for Bellator 143: Middleweight bout: Joey Beltran (+130) vs Kendall Grove (-150) Gabe’s Thoughts: I see this as a coin-flip fight, so at +130, I’m going to have to side with “The Mexicutioner” for a small value play. Grove will have a big height and reach advantage over Beltran heading into this 185-pound scrap, but I don’t think he will find success in utilizing it. I see Beltran closing the distance and using dirty boxing to grind out a decision on the judges’ scorecards following three rounds of action. Gabe’s Call: Beltran by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Beltran (+130) 1u to win 1.3u Bantamweight bout: Darrion Caldwell (-485) vs Shawn Bunch (+350) Gabe’s Thoughts: I think there is a decent chance that Bunch makes this an ugly fight and grinds out a decision on the judges’ scorecards. At the current betting odds, I think he is the right side for a value play at his current offering price of +350, as I think this fight is a lot closer than those odds suggest. Caldwell is undefeated and is the superior mixed martial artist, not to mention five years Bunch’s junior, but I think stylistically, there’s a good chance Bunch hands Caldwell his first career loss. Bunch will be at a massive size and reach disadvantage in this bout, but I think he will find success in closing the distance and grinding Caldwell out. Gabe’s Call: Bunch by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Bunch (+350) 2u to win 7u
