MMA betting fans are in for a great card of Bellator action on Friday night as Bellator 70 will feature a Heavyweight title fight, a Lightweight tournament final, and a Bantamweight semi-final battle.
After over a year and a half Bellator Heavyweight champion Cole Konrad will finally defend his belt, and the sportsbooks are asking a hefty price on him against Eric Prindle. As a -1400 favorite at Topbet Konrad and his wrestling skills should have control of this fight from start to finish.
If you like longshots Eric Prindle will have a puncher’s chance and will pay a whopping +900 for an upset win. He will need to land a big shot and stay off the mat to do so, but stranger things have happened in MMA.
Rick Hawn is also a big favorite to win the Bellator Lightweight tournament final against Brent Weedman. Oddsmakers at Bovada are offering a -400 line on Hawn, while a successful bet on Weedman at Topbet will currently pay +325.
Weedman hasn’t been successful against top-tier Bellator competition in the past, and Hawn certainly fits into that category. Hawn should dominate wherever the fight goes for a decision win.
Luis Nogueira is currently a -250 favorite at Topbet to get into the Bellator Bantamweight tournament final and is expected to be stronger than his opponent in most situations. All he has to do is avoid getting thrown and controlled and he should be able to wear down Hiroshi Nakamura and eventually finish the fight.
As the +200 Bovada underdog, Nakamura will try to use his judo skills to throw Nogueira to the floor and utilize ground-and-pound technique to win. For that potential reason he looks like the best shot on the card for an upset payout, but he will have to stay off his back.
Derek Campos and Rich Clementi are closely handicapped, with Clementi currently getting the nod as the Topbet -185 favorite. Campos will pay +160 at Bovada but will be in the cage against a seasoned veteran in Clementi - who has amassed 42 MMA wins in his career.