Bellator 228 Odds, Preview and Expert Predictions

Busy weekend for MMA betting fans. On Friday night, there’s Bellator 227 featuring Benson Henderson vs. Myles Jury. Early Saturday from Copenhagen, we have a UFC Fight Night event. And then on Saturday night, it’s Bellator 228 from L.A. Here’s a look at the top two fights on that card alongside the latest MMA Odds.

Bellator 228 Odds, Preview & Predictions

When: Saturday, 10 PM ET
Where: The Forum, Los Angeles
Live Stream: DAZN

Patricio “Pitbull” Friere (29-4) vs. Juan Archuleta (23-1)

Bellator 228 Odds: Friere -130

It’s a Bellator featherweight World Grand Prix first-round title fight, and after this entire card is finished there will be a selection show for the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix. There are three other featherweight first-round fights on the card. The featherweight champion Pitbull is -130 and Archuleta +110.

Pitbull, from Brazil, has won his past four and last was in the Octagon in May and beat Michael Chandler by first-round TKO to win the lightweight title. The finish came when Pitbull landed an overhand right to the back of the head of Chandler. On the ground, Pitbull followed up with a flurry of strikes as Chandler failed to show any sort of defense. In the past, Chandler had twice defeated the brother of Patricio, Patricky – a career lightweight.

Pitbull joined Ryan Bader (light heavyweight and heavyweight) as a simultaneous two-division champion currently active in Bellator MMA. Freire competes in his 22nd Bellator bout Saturday, the second most appearances in company history behind David Rickels (23). Freire’s seven victories in Bellator championship fights are most in company history. Freire’s 11 stoppage victories in Bellator competition are tied with Chandler for most in company history.

What about Archuleta?

Archuleta, an American, hasn’t lost since 2015 to Andres Ponce in the World Series of Fighting. Archuleta is off a second-round KO of Eduardo Dantas. “The Spaniard” Archuleta landed a powerful right hand square on Dantas’ chin in the closing seconds of Round 2, a shot that immediately robbed the two-time Bellator champion of his consciousness. It had been a fairly even fight up to that point, but even with Archuleta doing enough to win a decision, he made sure there would be no controversy with his knockout.

That was Archuleta’s 18th straight win. Archuleta was a three-division champion under the King of the Cage banner, holding titles at lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight. Archuleta is 9-0 in his career when fighting at featherweight.

Lyoto Machida (26-8) vs. Gegard Mousasi (46-7-2)

Bellator 228 Odds: Mousasi -310

Middleweight bout with Mousasi at -310 and Machida at +250. It’s a rematch of a UFC bout in February 2014 in which Machida won by unanimous decision.

The Brazilian Machida is nearing the end at age 41. He’s off a second-round TKO win in June over former UFC top contender Chael Sonnen, who retired after the loss. Machida is one of the most accomplished light heavyweights in the sport’s history. He won the UFC championship in 2009 and was considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Friday’s victory was his 11th career win by knockout.

Machida started his career off with a 16-fight winning streak. During that long stretch, he faced and defeated the likes of Stephan Bonnar, Rich Franklin and BJ Penn. Then, upon entering the UFC, he extended his streak by beating former champions Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Machida’s current four-fight winning streak is his longest since he started his career 16-0. Machida has earned 11 career victories against a fighter who once held a UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce or PRIDE title.

What about Mousasi?

Mousasi is coming off a loss to Rafael Lovato, Jr., which cost him the Bellator light heavyweight title. Before that, however, “The Dreamcatcher” went on an eight-fight winning streak, three of which occurred in Bellator and five of which occurred in the UFC.

Gegard Mousasi comes in as the favorite for Bellator 228.

With 26 knockouts in 45 fights, Mousasi boasts a 58 percent knockout rate. Mousasi is the only fighter in MMA history to claim titles under the Bellator and Strikeforce banners. Mousasi has earned 37 of his 45 career victories by stoppage. He’s earned 32 of those wins in Round 1.

Machida is jiu-jitsu black belt but it’s Mousasi who has more wins by submission with 12, giving him a 27 percent submission rate. Machida, on the other hand, has only two submission wins.

Expert Bellator 228 Betting Picks

Archuleta with a slight upset and Mousasi by KO/TKO.

Rest of the Bellator 228 Card

A. J. McKee vs. Georgi Karakhanyan
Darrion Caldwell vs. Henry Corrales
Daniel Weichel vs. Saul Rogers
Michael Jasper vs. Johnny Cisneros
Jay Viola vs. Jonathan Santa Maria
Joshua Jones vs. Dominic Clark
Weber Almeida vs. Castle Williams
Jason Edwards vs. Adrian Najera
Antonio McKee vs. William Sriyapai
Emilio Williams vs. Ian Butler
AJ Agazarm vs. Jonathan Quiroz
Andre Walker vs. Osman Diaz
Ava Knight vs. Shannon Goughary
James Barnes vs. David Duran

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Bellator 228 Odds, Preview & Predictions

Bellator 228 Odds, Preview & Predictions