On Thursday, November 5th, Bellator will return to action with Bellator 251: Manhoef vs Anderson live from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. This event marks the Bellator debut of former UFC light heavyweight contender Corey Anderson.
The co-main event is a heavyweight bout between Tyrell Fortunate and Said Sowma. Also on the main card, which is set to begin at 7PM ET on CBS Sports Network and DAZN, is a middleweight bout of Curtis vs Vanderford and Anderson vs Mota in welterweight action.
Bellator betting sites have released odds on this event. Let’s step inside the betting octagon, examine the latest odds for any potential value, and hit these predictions with a nasty uppercut.
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Derek Anderson vs Killys Mota
- Derek Anderson (-250)
- Killys Mota (+195)
The opening bout of the Bellator 251 main card is a welterweight fight between Bellator veteran Derek Anderson and Killys Mota.
Mota made his Bellator debut one year ago and pulled out the upset victory over Mandel Nallo via 3rd round TKO. It was a bounce back performance for Mota who lost in December 2018 to Austin Hubbard via 5th round TKO in the LFA.
10 of his 12 pro wins have come via stoppage with six by way of TKO/KO. He’s 2-0 when going the distance.
Derek Anderson has been with Bellator for seven years and has composed an overall record of 7-3 under the banner. He’s won two straight fights with both coming via unanimous decision.
His last loss came in January 2017 against Derek Campos. Anderson has two victories over Patricky Freire and wins against Saad Awad and Brandon Girtz. 11 of his 16 pro victories have come via stoppage with six by way of submission. He’s 5-2 when going the distance.
Mota got the surprising win against Nalla last year, but I don’t see him pulling out a second upset in a row. Anderson is the better overall fighter, has fought tougher competition and should win this bout via decision.
Anderson’s last six Bellator fights have all gone to decision and he’s 4-2 in those contests with losses to Campos and Brent Primus. Mota isn’t on their level. I expect Anderson to outwork Mota for the majority of the fight and cruise to a third straight unanimous decision win.
Derek Anderson vs Killys Mota –Anderson (-250)
Austin Vanderford vs Christopher Curtis
- Austin Vanderford (-500)
- Christopher Curtis (+355)
This middleweight fight has the biggest odds disparity for the Bellator 251 main card as Austin Vanderford is a large betting favorite over the underdog Chris Curtis.
There are rumors floating around that Curtis might be out of the fight due to covid. Until, Bellator confirms this, we’ll continue with the betting prediction.
Curtis is making his Bellator debut this week having last fought in January and winning via 4th round TKO. The win snapped a three fight losing streak in the PFL. All three fights took place in 2019. 11 of his 22 pro wins have come via TKO/KO. He’s 10-6 when going to a decision.
Vanderford had three trips inside the Bellator cage last year and went 3-0. He last fought in November and beat Bozinyan via unanimous decision. Austin also has a 2nd round submission win on DWTCS in July 2019, but wasn’t offered a UFC contract at the time.
So, Vanderford made his way to Bellator where he has become a rising prospect. Six of his nine pro wins have come via stoppage with three victories apiece for submission and TKO/KO. He’s 3-0 when going the distance.
If this fight goes forward, and it is as of this writing, then I expect Vanderford to get the win in what should be his toughest test to date.
Curtis is a decent veteran of the fight game, but he doesn’t really excel in any one area. Vanderford should be able to outwork Curtis and get the decision victory, so look to bet on him at Bellator betting sites.
Austin Vanderford vs Christopher Curtis –Vanderford (-500)
Tyrell Fortune vs Said Sowma
- Tyrell Fortune (-455)
- Said Sowma (+330)
Said Sowma is making his Bellator debut this week after finding some success in the Titan FC where he went 3-1 overall. Sowman last fought in September and won via 3rd round TKO in the Titan FC. This will be his 4th fight in 2020. Said is 3-0 so far this year.
Four of his six pro wins have come via stoppage with three by way of TKO/KO. He’s 2-0 when going the distance.
Tyrell Fortune has spent his entire pro MMA career with Bellator where he was one of the company’s rising stars before losing to Timothy Johnson nine months ago via 1st round KO. The loss derailed his unbeaten career and knocked the shine off of his status in the division.
Fortune stepped back into the cage in September, but that fight ended in a No Contest after Fortune hit Jack May with a knee to the groin. Six of his eight pro wins have come via stoppage with five by way of TKO/KO. He’s 2-0 when going the distance.
Set ’em up & knock ’em down!
Don’t miss @FortuneOverFam‘s 3️⃣rd #Bellator bout this year when he takes on Said Sowma on Thursday, November 5️⃣th LIVE on @CBSSportsNet.#MMA #Bellator251 pic.twitter.com/BkrAPeS4C9
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) November 1, 2020
Sowma’s best chance at winning this fight is to keep it upright and avoid the takedowns. Unfortunately for the newcomer, that’s not going to happen. Fortune has the athletic and strength advantages in this bout.
A motivated Tyrell Fortune will use his top notch wrestling skills to get this fight to the mat where he will eventually find the TKO for a much needed victory. I don’t see this fight touching the 3rd round.
Tyrell Fortune vs Said Sowma –Fortune (-455)
Melvin Manhoef vs Corey Anderson
- Melvin Manhoef (+260)
- Corey Anderson (-345)
Corey Anderson will make his highly anticipated Bellator debut this weekend. The former UFC light heavyweight contender asked for his release from the promotion and received it in the spring.
He last fought in February and lost to Jan Blachowicz, the current UFC light heavyweight champ, via 1st round KO. Prior to that, Anderson won four straight fights including wins over Glover Teixeira, Ilir Latifi and Johnny Walker.
Anderson spent six years with the UFC and went 10-5 overall inside the octagon. He certainly wasn’t a finished fighter in his career, he was just finished with the UFC. Five of his 13 pro wins have come via TKO/KO. He’s 8-1 when going the distance. He’s also lost four times via TKO/KO.
The 44 year old Melvin Manhoef is a former kickboxing star. Since joining Bellator six years ago, he’s gone 4-3-1 with the promotion. Manhoef is on a two fight win streak with his last bout coming 13 months ago. He won that fight via 1st round TKO over Yannick Bahati.
#Bellator251: Make your predictions for Melvin Manhoef vs. Corey Anderson https://t.co/jB6WUfxFhN
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) November 1, 2020
As good as Manhoef has been throughout his lengthy MMA career, his time is up as a contender in Bellator. I don’t see the veteran getting past Anderson on Thursday. In fact, I see Anderson winning this fight via TKO/KO. Five of Manhoef’s 14 losses have come via TKO/KO including two of his last three.
This bout will have plenty of fireworks until one man is face down on the mat, which will be Manhoef. I believe Anderson will get the TKO win around the halfway mark of this contest.
With the win, Anderson could jump up to challenge for the light heavyweight title. However, I think it would be better to have Anderson take on Ryan Bader first. Bader was the former LH champ and these two have talked about fighting each other in Bellator.
Additionally, Anderson could welcome Gegard Mousasi to the 205 pound weight class in his next fight. Bellator President Scott Coker has stated that he wants the current middleweight champ to go up to light heavyweight and fight guys like Anderson.
Melvin Manhoef vs Corey Anderson –Anderson (-345)
Full Bellator 251 Card
- Melvin Manhoef (32-14-1) vs Corey Anderson (13-5)
- Tyrell Fortune (8-1) vs Said Sowma (6-1)
- Austin Vanderford (9-0) vs Christopher Curtis (22-8)
- Derek Anderson (16-3) vs Killys Mota (12-1)
Preliminary Card
- Bryce Logan (12-4) vs Georgi Karakhanyan (29-11-1)
- Nainoa Dung (3-2) vs Piankhi Zimmerman (5-4-1)
- Julius Anglickas (8-1) vs Alex Polizzi (7-0)
- Janay Harding (5-5) vs Jessica Miele (9-4)
- Terrance Jean-Jacques (5-2) vs Gustavo Trujillo (3-1)
- Sumiko Inaba (0-0) vs Jessica Ruiz (0-1)
- Jaylon Bates (0-0) vs Joseph Supino (0-0)
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …
