Bellator 291
I really don’t like this Bellator card from a betting perspective. Going to keep the card small. I do like a few spots though…
Yaroslav Amosov vs Logan Storley
Amosov makes his return to Bellator reluctantly. He was on the front lines, boots on the ground in Ukraine. He said he would still be out there, but his family told him to return to fighting. Now that Amosov’s home town is clear of fighting, they thought he could use his notoriety as a fighter and his platform better than being out there fighting himself. He returns to defend his belt against a familiar foe. He fought Logan Storley to a split Dec victory back in 2020. That fight was extremely close. Amosov was defending takedowns the entire fight and looked very tired after the first round. He did just enough on the feet and threatened enough with some submissions to get the win. Amosov then went on to get the belt by beating Lima. He out grappled Lima for 5 rounds.
Logan Storley is a wrestler. He was a 4 time all American out of the university of Minnesota. He is the current Bellator interim champ. He regularly trains with the likes of Gilbert Burns over at KillClifffc. He can grapple for days. He is tenacious and won’t stop. He does have some power in his hands. His only loss is to Amosov
Amosov has been away from the cage thinking of more important things. I am sure he is prepared and he said that the thought of his friends still fighting has motivated him through out this camp. I expect he will be in excellent shape, but defense wrestling for 5 rounds is tiring. On top of that Amosov is very slow in the cage. I’m not that impressed. I think Storley comes out wrestle heavy, avoids the submissions (which Amosov is very trick with) and unify his belt. Storley by Dec
Pedro Carvalho vs Jeremy Kennedy
Carvalho has been a staple of the Bellator roster since 2018. He’s got great standup and in his last fight he showed improved take down defense and the ability to go a hard 15 without slowing down. The problem is Mads Burnell was able to take him down repeatedly. Kennedy is an even better wrestler than Burnell and he’s way more tenacious. A Canadian prospect who did not get a fair shake in the ufc. He beat Rony Jason and Kyle Bochniak before losing to Alexander Volkanovski and being cut. He may not be the submission threat of Mads, but his style will be much harder for Carvalho to deal with. You can never count Carvalho out of a fight, but I like a Kennedy wrestling decision here
Quick Hitters
Not touching Ciaran Clarke. He almost burned us bad in his last fight. He should win though
Peter Queally burned me in his last two. I will not bet him ever again
Andy Manzolo is 38 years old and fights constantly. He has a massive record with a bunch of wins all over bums. Bellator has called him in on two other occasions and he was beat both times. Norbert Novenyi is unproven and has been away for nearly 3 years, but he should win easily. Probably by finish
Karl Moore vs Rozanski is a win win for Bellator. Both guys are on a win streak and both guys are a bit over rated. The bet isn’t on this fight. The bet is on whoever wins this fights next fight. They will be a big time fade. Bellator knows what they are doing. They will use the winner to throw to a guy they are trying to build up.
Popov is a gas bag. Saricam ITD isn’t a bad bet, but Saricams last performance was nothing I want to bet on. He was able to fight for 3 rounds though. Saricam round 2 of 3 is the play for this fight
They are trying to build Liam McCracken as the next big thing from Liverpool. Adjoudj is absolutely no joke though. I remember taping him for his last fight and thinking this kid is way better than he should be. He has a weird style. Hands low, but he can crack. I think he will be too much for the 21 year old from Liverpool. Def ITD too
Piotr Niedzielski is a good parlay piece at -275
Khasan Magomedsharipov is that dude. His opponent isn’t terrible, but he should roll. Didn’t get the finish last time out, I think he does this time.
Darragh Kelly is moving down to featherweight. I think it’s a smart move. He will dominate
The Black Diamond Kenny Mokhonoana will get another finish win