It will be the Bantamweights' turn this weekend when the Bellator Fighting Championships land in New Jersey for Bellator 65. Headlining the card will be a title fight between current champion Zach Makovsky and Season 5 Bantamweight tournament winner Eduardo Dantas.
Oddmakers at Bovada currently have Makovsky as the slim -140 favorite to defend his title for the first time. He’s had two non-title fights against sub-par opposition since winning the championship following the Season 3 tournament, both bouts ending with Makovsky finishing his opponent in convincing fashion.
Eduardo Dantas earned his title shot by winning the Season 5 Bantamweight tournament via wins over Wilson Reis, Ed West, and Alexis Vila. The former Shooto Bantamweight world champ brings a six-fight win streak and has a real chance of becoming the next Bellator Bantamweight champion as the Bovada +110 underdog.
Two Bantamweight Season 6 tournament fights are also scheduled for the Bellator 65 card. Ed West and Marcos Galvao are closely handicapped in their bantamweight fight, with the edge at Topbet currently going to Gavao at -150. West will currently pay +120 and could be the best upset option on the fight card.
Alexis Vila made it the Season 5 Bantamweight tournament finals only to suffer his first professional loss to Eduardo Dantas. He will be out for redemption this season, but first he will have to get past Luis Nogueira. Oddsmakers at Topbet currently have Vila as the -175 favorite, which looks like a bargain on the Olympic Bronze-medal winning wrestler.
Action also available on the Bellator 65 fight card will be a Welterweight battle between Lyman Good and Levon Maynard. As the Season 1 Welterweight tournament winner, Good came up short against champion Ben Askren for the title and then was unable to get it done in the Bellator Season 5 Welterweight tournament, suffering a finals loss to Rick Hawn.
Good is currently the heavy -550 favorite at Topbet while Maynard will pay +400. Levon Maynard has lost four of his last seven bouts and will likely be out-classed in this fight and is not a tempting underdog option.