After what was one of the most memorable (not necessarily for the best reasons) Bellator cards of all time, the promotion tries to get back to the real fights. Marcos Galvao defending his bantamweight title against Eduardo Dantas (in a rematch of their 2013 bout that Dantas won by KO) is far better than anything that Bellator put on last week, even though far fewer viewers will be watching it. Aside from that, the card doesn’t offer a whole lot, as Cheick Kongo takes on Vinicius Quieroz in the co-main event. Former TUF winner Kendall Grove takes on Francisco France in a middleweight bout, David Rickels returns in lightweight action against Bobby Cooper, and the main card is kicked off with women’s flyweights Lena Ovchynnikova and Rebecca Ruth. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting odds for Bellator 150 today at Several Bookmakers. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (Spike TV, 9pm ET)
——————– Brad’s Analysis: It’s tough to see this Galvao/Dantas fight going much differently than their first. The way these two match up from a style perspective just works well for Dantas. He’s got good — but not great — takedown defense, significantly better striking, and a grappling game which won’t be troubled by Galvao’s relatively conservative approach. I think Dantas is able to keep it standing, work his kicks early, and eventually land some big shots that put Galvao down for him to recapture his belt. As much as everyone still harps on Cheick Kongo for having a faded chin, he hasn’t been knocked out in about three years, and even that was against far better competition than he’s seen in Bellator. Vinicius Quieroz isn’t any better than the guys he’s faced to this point in Bellator, and he should be able to wrestle his way to another win here. I prefer that over 1.5 more than any line on this fight though. Kendall Grove struggles when fighters are willing and able to outgrapple him, and that’s exactly what I think Kiko France can do. Grove has an advantage on the feet in this one, but France is the better wrestler and has the better BJJ once it hits the mat. I’ll take the slight upset here. David Rickels is a Bellator staple at this point, and after a few tough bouts, he’s being served up one he can definitely win. Bobby Cooper is tough, but that’s really his best attribute. It’ll be impressive if Rickels can stop him, but I’m more expecting a one-sided decision for ‘The Caveman’ in this one. I think this is a good spot to fade a female fighter who is hyped more for her looks than her talent. Lena Ovchynnikova was a decorated amateur Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer, but has more wins by submission in her MMA career than anything else. That’s mostly due to her poor level of competition, and aside from Joanne Calderwood, Rebecca Ruth may be the best fighter (both phyiscally and technically) that she’s fought.