Bellator was back in action earlier tonight (Friday, April 22, 2016) for its 153rd event. The event featured several of the promotion’s most popular fighters as well as the debut of former UFC champion Benson Henderson. Overall, on the night three betting favorites were victorious while two underdogs picked up wins based on Several Bookmakers‘s closing odds. Bellator 153 Favorites That Won In the co-main event of the evening, former featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull overcame a rib injury to score a second round guillotine choke submission victory over a game Henry Corrales. Pitbull called out champion Daniel Straus in his post-fight speech. Pitbull was -480 (Bet $480 to win $100) while Corrales closed at +423 (Bet $100 to win $423). In a lightweight bout, Brent Primus was outstruck and outfought for about two and a half rounds before finally scoring a takedown late in the fight against Gleristone Santos. Primus threatened on the canvas but wasn’t able to pull off a finish. That should have been the end of the story there, but somehow two of the judges gave Primus the nod as he went on to win a split decision. Primus came through as a -190 betting favorite while Santos was defeated as a +175 underdog. In the opening bout of the main card, Michael “Venom” Page added another notch to his legend by not just defeating Jeremie Holloway, but by pulling off a toe hold submission. Holloway nearly was knocked out in the first five seconds but survived long enough to attempt a leg lock at the midway point of the round. Page instead turned the tides and torqued Holloway’s ankle until he tapped out. Page proved worthy of his massive -980 favorite price while Holloway was a +780 dog. Bellator 153 Underdogs that Won In the main event of the evening, former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson came up short in his bid for Andrey Koreshkov’s welterweight title. Koreshkov came out guns blazing, hurting Henderson badly in the first round and mixing in several heavy leg kicks with body shots along the way. In a bout many were hyping up, it wasn’t even close to competitive as Koreshkov battered Henderson over the course of five one-sided rounds en route to a dominant unanimous decision. Koreshkov defended his title as a +175 dog while Henderson lost his Bellator debut as a -190 betting favorite. In a welterweight bout, Evangelista Santos wisely latched onto a leg against Brennan Ward. Ward closed the distance quickly but had his leg torqued with a nasty heel hook and was forced to tap inside the opening minute of the fight. Ruth pulled out the victory despite being a +435 underdog while Ward lost at -500.
