Bellator 208 takes place on Saturday, October 13, 2018 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko (37-5, 13 KOs, 15 SUBs) will meet former UFC star Chael Sonnen (30-14, 7 KOs, 5 SUBs) in the Heavyweight Grand Prix Semi-Final.The main card airs live on the Paramount Network starting 9 pm ET.
If Fedor Emelianenko is fighting, longtime MMA fans are likely to pay attention. And somehow, Bellator has put him in a high stakes circumstance: the legendary Russian is just one fight away from fighting for the heavyweight title in the world’s No. 2 MMA promotion.
He just has to get through the Gangster from West Linn, Oregon. That’s right, former UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen has somehow worked his way into a heavyweight tournament. Even stranger, he could be fighting for the title too should he get past Emelianenko.
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The main event headlines this Saturday’s card, because Bellator is just weird like that. But as usual, Scott Coker is making sure that old guys aren’t the only attraction here. Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson returns to action, trying to get his groove back against Saad Awad. There’s also a heavyweight matchup between UFC castoffs Cheick Kongo and Timothy Johnson. That could end quickly or get really ugly.
Of course, there are MMA odds at BetCris for you to go over - and we’ve got some picks to make sure you come out a winner on fight night. If you’re not feeling any of these, live MMA betting at BetCris is also an option. Now onto our predictions.
Main Event, Heavyweight Grand Prix Semi-Final
Fedor Emelianenko -260
Chael Sonnen +210
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: +165 / -215
Bet on Emelianenko vs. Sonnen at BetCris
Fedor’s Bellator debut didn’t go so well: he was knocked out cold by Matt Mitrione in the first round. So we weren’t expecting much from his encore, but the Russian KO’d Frank Mir in less than a minute. So maybe he’s not completely done. After all, he’s fighting a guy whose best years were spent at a weight two classes below him.
Sonnen comes into the matchup with two straight wins - both over sluggers in Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva. In both matches, he went straight to his bread and butter and tried to wrestle - and it worked. Considering that Fedor is still a hard puncher, we fully expect Sonnen to do the same. The 41-year old has never bothered to become a great striker, but has always been a good wrestler.
MMA Odds Pick: Sonnen to win at +210
We’ll take a chance at this price. Sonnen could actually enter the cage as the bigger man, as Fedor has always been a small heavyweight. That should give the American the opportunity to press him into the cage and even score some takedowns.
Live MMA Betting Tip at BetCris
Keep a close eye on how who starts to gas. Sonnen could control the first few rounds with his wrestling, but if he’s breathing heavy, then he’s a definite target to get murked by a big punch since he’ll have to stand. This could pay out huge.
Lightweight
Benson Henderson -410
Saad Awad +330
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: UFC odds at BetCRIS
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Think Scott Coker has buyer’s remorse on Henderson? This was supposed to be a dual-weight contender, but instead he’s only managed a 2-3 record - and one of those wins was a fluke injury TKO. This could be a sign that “Smooth” is about to go through a crazy dropoff. We know that he beat Roger Huerta in his last outing, but that really doesn’t mean much.
Like Andrey Koreshkov and Patricky Freire before him, Awaad could really give Henderson problems with his power striking. The 35-year old is also excellent at picking up submissions after cracking opponents, as shown by his solid number of tap wins. However, he might struggle against Benson in the wrestling department, as the former UFC lightweight champ has always been able to go to that in the clutch.
MMA Odds Pick: Henderson to win at -410
Coker has been downgrading Benson’s competition to help him try and get his groove back. Beating Awad isn’t going to be easy, but Henderson has the tools to do so.
Heavyweight
Cheick Kongo +110
Timothy Johnson -130
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: UFC odds at BetCRIS
Bet on this fight at BetCris
Somehow, Cheick Kongo has reinvented himself from a kickboxer into a wrestler. The Frenchman was once a feared striker, but as he’s aged Kongo now relies on dragging his opponents to the mat and holding them there.
Not gonna work against Johnson. A big, burly man with a wrestling background, Johnson is not going to be bullied by Kongo. In fact, we expect him to lock up a clinch and go to town with knees and dirty boxing.
MMA Odds Pick: Johnson to win at -130
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