Bellator 210 takes place Friday, November 30 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The offshore sportsbooks have opened up the odds for the main card and here they are.
Bellator 210 Opening Odds
Chidi Njokuani -135
John Salter -105
David Rickels -350
Guilherme Bomba +250
Juan Archuleta -565
Jeremy Spoon +375
Kristina Williams -120
Bruna Ellen -120
And here are my initial thoughts on the opening odds:
– The main event is a real tough one to call between middleweight contenders Njokuani and Salter. Njokuani (18-5, 1 NC) is 5-1 overall in Bellator and last defeated Hisaki Kitano exactly a year ago. He is a high-level striker and has flashed some knockout power in Bellator, but a brutal TKO loss to Andrey Koreshkov shows where his ceiling is at. Salter (15-4) won his first five fights in Bellator before getting stopped by Rafael Lovato Jr. in his last bout. Throughout his career Salter has proven to be a finisher, with all of his wins coming by either knockout or submission. This is a really tough one to call and the near Pick ’em odds are dead on. I’d slightly lean Salter just due to being more well-rounded, but don’t see any value at these odds.
– The Rickels vs. Bomba fight should be entertaining. Rickels (19-5, 2 NC) is 13-5, 2 NC in Bellator so he’s proven he knows how to win, the problem is he just can’t do it when he steps up in competition and fights top-level opposition. In his last fight, he suffered a bad knockout loss to Michael Page, and throughout his career he’s taken quite a bit of damage. That eventually adds up. Bomba (10-4) is 3-1 so far in Bellator with all three wins by stoppage. He also has previous experience fighting in the UFC, though he did not have success in the Octagon. There’s no way I would recommend laying that kind of juice on Rickels considering the state of his chin, and I wouldn’t blame anyone for taking a punt on Bomba considering the odds.
– The biggest mismatch on the card according to the odds is a featherweight bout between rising contender Archuleta and the veteran Spoon. Archuleta (20-1) is riding a 15-fight win streak and he brutally knocked out UFC veteran Robbie Peralta in his Bellator debut. He’s a training partner of Cub Swanson and getting in high-level training with a guy like that has really helped Archuleta improve since his lone career loss in WSOF back in 2015. He has 10 wins by knockout and showed in his Bellator debut how much power he has. Spoon (20-3) has an excellent record but he struggled in his previous two stints in Bellator, holding just a 2-2 record all-time in the promotion. He is coming off of four straight wins on the regional scene but he hasn’t fought since 2016. This should be an easy win for Archuleta, and he’s someone to put into parlays with UFC fighters this weekend.
– The Williams vs. Ellen fight really shouldn’t be on the main card considering some of the quality fights Bellator has drowned on the prelims. Williams (2-1) is 2-1 in Bellator with a loss against Valerie Letourneau in her last outing. Ellen (4-1) is 2-1 in Bellator and won her last two fights by decision. The odds being a Pick ’em look accurate as it’s hard to get a guage on either fighter. I’ll pick Williams but couldn’t possibly encourage a bet.
