Bellator 250: Lima vs Mousasi Betting Preview Odds and Predictions

On Thursday, October 29^th, Bellator will return to action from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, for Bellator 250: Lima vs Mousasi. The featured fight of the night is for the vacant middleweight title as the current welterweight champ Douglas Lima takes on Gegard Mousasi.

The main card consists of three bouts. In addition to Lima vs Mousasi, Henry Corrales fights Brandon Girtz in the co-main event and Veta Arteaga battles newcomer Desiree Yanez in the opening bout.

The eight fight preliminary card has some notable names on it including Adam Borics, Nick Newell, and pro wrestler Jake Hager. This portion of the event will begin at 5:15PM ET. The main card is set to begin at 8PM ET on CBS Sports Network.

Bellator betting sites have a limited release of odds for this event. Let’s step inside the betting octagon to examine the available odds and hit these predictions with a flying knee.

You don’t want to miss this! We are just 4️⃣ sleeps out from an incredible night of fights and a middleweight title bout that is sure to deliver!

Tune in LIVE & FREE this Thursday, October 2️⃣9️⃣th, with @CBSSportsNet for #Bellator250!#MMA #Bellator pic.twitter.com/2lbzMPERjy

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 25, 2020

Bellator 250 Fight Analysis and Picks

As of this writing, there are no available betting odds for the prelims:

Adam Borics vs Erick Sanchez

This fight is to be contested at 150 pounds, which is five pounds above the featherweight division that Borics typically competes at.

Speaking of Borics, he goes from being in the featherweight Grand Prix to one of the opening bouts for this card. Borics suffered the first loss of his career in that tournament via 1^st round submission to Darrion Caldwell.

He bounced back in August to beat Mike Hamel via split decision. 10 of his 15 pro wins have come via stoppage with six by way of decision. He’s 4-0 when going to a decision.

Erick Sanchez makes his return to Bellator for the first time in nearly five years. He hasn’t competed in 14 months and that contest was a loss via unanimous decision. The Team Alpha Male fighter is 3-3 in his last six pro bouts.

Five of his nine pro wins have come via stoppage with three by way of TKO/KO. He’s 4-4 when going the distance.

This is a good matchup for Borics as it will help him inflate his record, boost his confidence, and get him back on track for a bigger fight down the road. Sanchez is stepping up in competition and I just don’t see him having what it takes to beat Borics.

Go with Borics to win via unanimous decision.

Nick Newell vs Zach Zane

This bout was originally scheduled for Bellator 241, but was cancelled hours before the event was set to start due to the health crisis. Instead of giving these fighters new opponents, Bellator has been committed to making this fight happen, which has helped both men stay focused during training.

Zane made his Bellator debut 10 months ago and won via unanimous decision. He hasn’t competed in 2020 as of yet, but did fight six times last year for five different promotions and an appearance on DWCS where he lost via unanimous decision. He went 4-2 in those contests.

13 of his 14 pro wins have come via stoppage with 10 by way of submission. He’s 1-3 when going the distance in a fight.

As for his opponent, Zane had the following comments:

“I have a lot of respect for Nick. We have that shared respect and I’m really looking forward to competing. We’re both humble, we’re both proud. There’s just a lot of respect. Both sides. We’ll both be ready. I can’t wait.”

Newell is 2-1 in his last three bouts and hasn’t competed inside the cage since last October where he lost via split decision to Luis Muro. He’s 1-1 in Bellator since joining the promotion last summer. 13 of his 16 pro wins have come via stoppage with 11 by way of submission. He’s 3-2 when going the distance.

This fight will almost certainly go to the mat as these two men have a combined 21 submission wins. From there, I believe Newell will have the edge and win via decision. Newell has the grappling advantage and should be able to outwork Zane on the mat.

Brandon Calton vs Jake Hager

Current AEW superstar Jake Hager returns to the cage for the first time in about a year. He last fought against Anthony Garrett at Bellator 231 and the fight ended in a NC due to Hager landing multiple knee strikes to his opponent’s groin.

“We the people” believe that Hager confused the cage with the squared circle and was cheating to win. Prior to that bout, Hager was 2-0 in his career with both wins coming via 1^st round submission.

Calton is 2-0 in his career with both wins coming via TKO/KO. His pro debut ended with a 14 second knockout. He went 5-0 in his amateur MMA career. Calton has the slight height and weight advantage, but it’s clear that Hager will have the speed, athletic and strength advantages.

Hager’s best chance is to get this fight to the mat, which Calton will try to knock him out before that happens. It’s a striker versus grappler matchup, for which I give the edge to Hager. He’s too athletic for Calton and should be able to navigate the punches and find the takedown for a submission win.

Veta Arteaga vs Desiree Yanez

• Veta Arteaga (NA)
• Desiree Yanez (NA)

Desiree Yanez is making her Bellator debut this week. She’s 4-1 in her last five bouts, but had a four fight win streak snapped when she lost in December via split decision. Three of her five pro wins have come via stoppage with two by way of TKO/KO. She’s 2-1 when going the distance.

.@Ms_Veta with a MEAN choke!

She’ll face #Bellator newcomer @DirtyyDezz on Thursday, October 2️⃣9️⃣th at #Bellator250.#MMA pic.twitter.com/OFQMEjYAWl

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 24, 2020

Veta Arteaga has lost two straight bouts which included a defeat to the flyweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane. Her last bout came in December where she lost to Alejandra Lara via unanimous decision. Arteaga is 4-4 with Bellator. She’s 3-3 when going the distance in a fight.

Combined, these two women have gone the distance in nine of their 16 pro bouts. I see this fight going the distance as well. Arteaga has fought the tougher competition compared to Yanez, so I’m taking the Bellator veteran to win via unanimous decision. However, this could be a big win for Yanez if she can pull it off.

Henry Corrales vs Brandon Girtz

• Henry Corrales (NA)
• Brandon Girtz (NA)

This bout will be a featherweight contest despite Girtz typically fighting in the lightweight division. He will come down 10 pounds for this matchup.

Girtz lost his last bout in February via unanimous decision to Myles Jury. He’s 2-5 in his last seven contests after starting out 5-2 inside Bellator. Girtz is 7-7 inside the Bellator cage. 11 of his 16 pro wins have come via stoppage with eight by way of submission. He’s 5-4 when going the distance.

Beat him to the punch.@HenryCorrales86 🆚 @BrandonGirtzMMA has “barn burner” written all over it.

Tune in LIVE & FREE on Thursday, October 2️⃣9️⃣th with @CBSSportsNet.#MMA #Bellator pic.twitter.com/g7e8kzzGjU

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 25, 2020

Corrales entered Bellator as a former KOTC bantamweight and featherweight champ. He was undefeated in his career, but would go on to lose his first three Bellator bouts. With his Bellator contract on the line, Corrales would go on to win five straight fights including a KO win over Pico last year.

However, Corrales saw that five fight win streak come to an end with two straight losses via unanimous decision to Darrion Caldwell and Juan Archuleta. 13 of his 17 pro wins have come via stoppage with seven by way of TKO/KO. He’s 4-3 when going the distance in a fight.

Both fighters need a win to prove that they are still viable contenders in their respective divisions. I have a hard time believing that Girtz will find success moving down in weight. Corrales should have the speed and athletic advantages. If Girtz can make this an ugly fight then he has a shot at winning.

With that said, I am going with Corrales in this co-main event. I like his striking skills and feel that he’s more polished in this department than Girtz. I believe he can outpoint Girtz and win this bout via unanimous decision.

Douglas Lima vs Gegard Mousasi

• Douglas Lima (+140)
• Gegard Mousasi (-170)

The main event of the night is for the vacant Bellator middleweight title. Former champ Rafael Lovato Jr. had to relinquish the belt due significant health issues. He won that title at Bellator 223 by defeating Mousasi.

Mousasi joined Bellator three years ago and has gone 4-1 since then. He captured the middleweight title and had won eight straight fights before losing to Lovato 16 months ago. He last competed 13 months ago and defeated Lyoto Machida via split decision.

38 of his 46 pro wins have come via stoppage with 26 by way of TKO/KO. He’s 8-3-2 when going the distance.

Mousasi is very confident in his striking where he believes he has the advantage. He prefers to keep this fight upright as he doesn’t want to take Lima down to the mat:

“He knows I’m not trying to take him down. I even heard his coaches saying, ‘hey, I will try to take him down.’ Maybe they’re gonna surprise me by taking me down. So that’s also a possibility. I feel I can fight stand up easily. Not get hit. If I keep the range, the distance, I’m not gonna be in any danger I feel. So it depends on me. How aggressive I’m gonna be in the fight but that’s something I have to feel in the fight.”

Lima is the current welterweight champ and is looking to become the promotion’s third “champ champ” by capturing the middleweight belt as well. He won the welterweight Grand Prix last year by handing Michael Page his first career loss and then by dethroning the champ Rory MacDonald.

MacDonald has actually lost to both Lima and Mousasi in the last two years. Furthermore, Page is publicly demanding a rematch against Lima and said he would follow him to middleweight or even all the way up to heavyweight if he had to.

As for Lima, he’s kept his focus on Mousasi without much of a reaction towards Page. Lima joined Bellator nine years ago and has gone 14-3 since then. He’s on a three fight win streak and has won six of his last seven bouts.

26 of his 32 pro wins have come via stoppage with 16 by way of TKO/KO. He’s 6-5 when going the distance.

This is going to be a great main event fight. Both men are highly skilled fighters. Mousasi has the striking advantage in regards to fighting from a distance. Lima has one punch knockout power and scary kicks as well.

Mousasi has a solid judo background, which makes taking him down a tough task for Lima. However, if he can, then Lima will have the advantage due to his BJJ background. Let’s also not forget that Lima went 21-0 in his amateur Muay Thai career as that will come into play on Thursday.

This fight should be even with online betting sites. Yet, Mousasi is a sizable betting favorite in large part due to the size difference. The value is with Lima as he’s definitely a live dog in this contest. However, the safe play is on Mousasi to win most likely via decision.

Either way, this is one of the best main events for Bellator this year. It will also be more entertaining than any contest for UFC on ESPN+39 this Saturday.

Full Bellator 250 Card

The following is the scheduled lineup for Bellator 250:

• Gegard Mousasi (46-7-2) vs Douglas Lima (32-7)
• Henry Corrales (17-5) vs Brandon Girtz (16-9)
• Veta Arteaga (5-4) vs Desiree Yanez (5-2)

Preliminary Card

• Jake Hager (2-0) vs Brandon Calton (2-0)
• Bobby Voelker (33-13) vs Sabah Homasi (14-8)
• Nick Newell (16-3) vs Zach Zane (14-9)
• Cody Law (0-0) vs Orlando Ortega (0-0)
• Taylor Johnson (6-1) vs John Eblen (6-0)
• Jared Scoggins (10-1) vs Toby Misech (11-7)
• Adam Borics (13-1) vs Erick Sanchez (9-5)
• Dalton Rosta (3-0) vs Jered Gwerder (5-1)