Bellator returns to the States for the first of back-to-back events. Friday night starts a busy weekend for the promotion when Matt Mitrione takes on Sergei Kharitonov in the Bellator 215 main event taking place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Then on Saturday night Michael Page faces Paul Daley in the main event at Bellator 216. Let’s take a look at Friday night’s event featuring a heavyweight match-up of Mitrione vs. Kharitonov.
Matt Mitrione started his Bellator run 4-0 before suffering his first defeat at the hands of eventual tournament winner and heavyweight champion Ryan Bader at Bellator 207. Two of Mitrione’s Bellator wins include Roy Nelson and Fedor Emelianenko. The forty-year-old American boasts eleven finishes in thirteen career wins.
MMA veteran Sergei Kharitonov makes the walk for the thirty-fifth time when he squares off against Mitrione on Friday night. The thirty-eight-year-old Russian born fighter is 5-0 with one no-contest. His most recent win came at Bellator 207 where he stopped Roy Nelson in the first round. Of Kharitonov’s twenty-eight wins only two made it to the judge’s scorecards.
The co-main pits Logan Storley against Ion Pascu. Storley is 4-0 under the Bellator banner. His most recent win came at Bellator 204 where he stopped AJ Matthews in the second round. Of the twenty-six-year-old’s nine wins, seven ended inside the distance. Ion Pascu is 0-2 in Bellator, losing to Ed Ruth and then Lorenz Larkin. His last win came at BAMMA 35 in May 2018 where he beat Alex Lohore by unanimous decision. Thirteen of the thirty-six-year-old Romanian’s victories ended inside the distance.
The five-fight main card also includes Eduardo Dantas against Toby Misech, Kike Kimbel vs. John Douma and Austin Vanderford takes on Cody Jones.
Note: The predictions in this column do not necessarily mean that I will be betting them. I have changed my mind in the past and gone the other way after conducting more research. For all of my official bets follow me on Twitter @MichaelGrocke.
Main Card
Matt Mitrione (13-6) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (27-6) – Heavyweight 265 lbs.
Current Odds: Mitrione -125; Kharitonov +105
Pick: Mitrione by Decision
Logan Storley (9-0) vs. Ion Pascu (18-9) – Welterweight 170 lbs.
Current Odds: Storley -750; Pascu +450
Pick: Storley by (T)KO
Eduardo Dantas (20-6) vs. Toby Misech (11-6) – Bantamweight 135 lbs.
Current Odds: Dantas -380; Misech +260
Pick: Dantas by Submission
Mike Kimbel (2-0) vs. John Douma (3-1) – Bantamweight 135 lbs.
Current Odds: Kimbel -400; Douma +280
Pick: Kimbel by (T)KO
Austin Vanderford (6-0) vs. Cody Jones (6-2) – Catchweight 170 lbs.
Current Odds: Vanderford -530; Jones +350
Pick: Vanderford by Submission
NEXT: FIVE OF THE BEST AND WORST MMA ROMANCES
Prelims Quick Look
McCrohan over Markland
VanZandt over Watkins
Mowry over Abbey
Leibrock over Bell
Rogers over Rine
Probin over Zebian
Adashev over Leon
Goff over Hardy
Enjoy the fights!
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