Bellator Europe 10: Kongo vs Johnson Betting Preview, Odds and Picks

Bellator Europe 10 will be the second half of a large Bellator event live from the Accor Arena in Paris, France, on Saturday, October 10^th. This event features 12 fights divided up over two different Bellator cards and it’s also the first major MMA show to be held in France.

This betting preview will be for Bellator Europe 10: Kongo vs Johnson which is an eight fight card. The main event of the night is a heavyweight rematch between Cheick Kongo and Timothy Johnson.

Bellator Europe 10 begins at 2pm ET on Bellator’s YouTube channel with a six fight preliminary card. The main card is set to begin at 5PM ET on CBS Sports Network. The first half of this Bellator Paris event is Bellator 248: MVP vs Houston and it will begin at 11:30am ET.

Online betting sites have released odds for the entire Bellator Europe 10 lineup. Let’s step inside the betting octagon to examine these odds, identify betting value, and put these predictions in a rear naked chokehold. As of this writing, only moneylines are available to wager on.

Créateurs d’histoire!

These 9️⃣ French fighters are set to break ground as Bellator MMA lands for the first time ever in Paris 👏 🇫🇷.

Don’t miss #BellatorParis LIVE this Saturday on BBC iPlayer from 4:30pm BST and Channel 5 at 10pm BST. pic.twitter.com/dg9Xh5399j

— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) October 8, 2020

Dylan Logan vs William Gomis

• Dylan Logan (+145)
• William Gomis (-170)

Dylan Logan enters as the underdog despite this being his 4^th fight for Bellator. He’s currently 2-1 with the promotion after dropping his last fight in February to Callum Murrie via 1^st round submission. All four of his wins have come via submission. He’s never gone the distance in a pro fight.

William Gomis is making his Bellator debut and doing so in his home country. He’s one of nine French fighters to be on this card. He last fought in April 2019 and won via 2^nd round KO. Four of his six pro wins have come via TKO/KO. He’s 2-1 when going the distance.

I’m going with the French fighter in this one. Although both men still have room to grow as fighters, I haven’t been impressed with Logan in Bellator. Gomis is the better striker and should be able to find a TKO/KO in his debut.

Jean N’Doye vs Ciaran Clarke

• Jean N’Doye (-240)
• Ciaran Clarke (+190)

Ciaran Clarke has just two fights on his resume, both with Bellator, but there’s some buzz around him despite being a large underdog in this contest. He fights out of SBG Ireland and has shown some promise. His last bout was in February and he won via unanimous decision.

N’Doye is fighting in his home country and has won three straight fights. His lone loss was a split decision defeat in April 2012. He hasn’t fought in quite some time, but has still been involved in MMA via coaching.

I would avoid betting on this fight altogether. On one hand, you have a fighter with just two pro bouts and on the other hand you have a fighter who hasn’t competed in several years. There are too many question marks with both competitors.

If you are going to wager, then take Clarke who’s actually competed in the last few years and offers better value.

Maguy Berchel vs Lucie Bertaud

• Maguy Berchel (-350)
• Lucie Bertaud (-285)

What better way to celebrate France’s first big MMA show than with two French fighters facing off against each other? Both combatants will also be making their Bellator debuts.

Lucie Bertaud last fought 11 months ago and won via unanimous decision. The victory snapped a two fight losing streak. Both of her career wins have come via decision. She has a solid background in boxing and sambo, but hasn’t been able to put that together inside the cage.

Maguy Berchel is 4-2 in her last six fights and last competed 13 months ago. She suffered a unanimous decision loss in that contest. Six of her 10 pro wins have come via stoppage with five by way of submission. Berchel is 4-2-1 when going the distance in a fight.

This bout is a one-sided affair on paper, with the sportsbooks, but might not be once they step inside the cage. I like Bertau’d chances if the fight can stay upright. Unfortunately, I expect Berchel to eventually get this fight to the mat where she will force Bertaud to tap out.

Dominic Wooding vs Fabacary Diatta

• Dominic Wooding (-120)
• Fabacary Diatta (+100)

Diatta is the slight underdog heading into his Bellator debut. He’s an undefeated French fighter who last fought in February and won via 1^st round TKO. That was his first fight in nearly three years and he looked rather solid.

Three of his wins have come via stoppage with two by way of TKO/KO. He’s 3-0 when going the distance.

Dom Wooding (@RealDWooding) is on location in France. Bellator Paris is just three days away. Fight Week has begun. 💥 #FightWeek #Bellator249 #GP pic.twitter.com/wuE6b8wHpb

— Paradigm Sports Management (@ParadigmSports) October 7, 2020

Wooding is making his third trip inside the Bellator cage where he’s 1-1 so far. Wooding is 3-3 in his last six fights and is looking to get back into the win column. His last fight was 13 months ago and he lost via unanimous decision. All six of Wooding’s wins have come via TKO/KO. He’s 0-2 when going the distance.

Wooding is a more proven commodity despite only being 1-1 with Bellator. He’s fought a higher caliber of opponents and appears to be the better striker between the two. Since this fight is not a threat to go to the mat, I expect Wooding to win via TKO/KO over Diatta.

Ilias Bulaid vs Ivan Naccari

• Ilias Bulaid (-500)
• Ivan Naccari (+375)

This fight is a battle of two combatants with a combined total of three pro bouts in their careers.

Naccari has just one pro bout in his career and he lost that via submission. Bulaid has competed in the Bellator cage for both of his pro bouts. He last fought in February and won via unanimous decision.

Here’s another contest that you shouldn’t wager on. Not only are the odds for Bulaid too high to make any money off of, there’s just too many unknowns with these fighters. Skip this bout and focus on other Bellator Europe 10 fights.

Terry Brazier vs Yves Landu

• Terry Brazier (-300)
• Yves Landu (+250)

Yves Landu is making his Bellator debut this weekend like many other of his fellow countrymen. He’s from Paris, France, and will get to fight in his hometown for his debut. Unfortunately, I don’t see things going well for Landu.

Terry Brazier is 1-2 with Bellator, but is the better overall fighter between the two men. He last competed 11 months ago and lost via unanimous decision to Soren Bak.

Prior to Bellator, Brazier had a seven fight win streak as a top fighter in BAMMA. He was the lightweight and welterweight champ for the promotion.

T minus 3 days #BellatorParis @Bellator_Europe @BellatorMMA 😎👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/AOBuzJrOUz

— Terry ‘The Dominator’ Brazier (@MMABrazierTerry) October 7, 2020

Seven of Brazier’s 11 pro wins have come via stoppage with four by way of TKO/KO. He’s 4-1 when going the distance. Eight of Landu’s 15 pro wins have come via stoppage with five by way of submission. He’s 7-6 when going the distance.

This fight will most likely go the full three rounds. For Landu, he’s gone the distance in six of his last 10 pro bouts. Brazier has gone the distance in three of his last five contests.

I’m taking Brazier to win this fight via unanimous decision due to his all-around fight game. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins via submission due to his superior grappling skills.

Saul Rogers vs Arbi Mezhidov

• Saul Rogers (-225)
• Arbi Mezhidov (+190)

In the co-main event, and the first of just two main card fights, both fighters have identical 13-3 records.

Arbi Mezhidov is on a two fight win streak, but hasn’t competed in 10 months. He won that fight via 2^nd round TKO. Mezhidov is making his Bellator debut and is up against a tough opponent. Nine of his 13 pro wins have come via TKO/KO. He’s 4-1 when going the distance.

Saul Rogers is 1-1 with Bellator and was a part of the featherweight Grand Prix where he lost to Daniel Weichel 13 months ago via unanimous decision. That was also his last bout. Eight of his 13 pro wins have come via submission. He’s 4-1 when going the distance.

Rogers is the more proven fighter between these two combatants and had some strong moments against Weichel last year. He should be able to find plenty of success in this bout against Mezhidov on Saturday.

Rogers is a better grappler and will eventually find a submission hold to lock in on Mezhidov who has already lost twice in his career by tapping out. I don’t expect this bout to be very competitive. It will last as long as it takes for Rogers to get the fight to the mat.

Cheick Kongo vs Timothy Johnson

• Cheick Kongo (-145)
• Timothy Johnson (+125)

The main event of Bellator Europe 10 is a rematch between these two heavyweights. Their first bout came two years ago and Kongo won via 1^st round KO.

Johnson’s first fight with Bellator was that contest against Kongo. The former UFC fighter went 4-3 inside the octagon and thought his success would improve in Bellator. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as he lost his first two fights with the promotion.

However, Johnson has won two straight contests in 2020 and both via TKO/KO. He defeated Tyrell Fortunate in February and followed that up with a big win over Matt Mitrione a few months ago.

11 of his 14 pro wins have come via stoppage with seven by way of TKO/KO. Johnson is 3-2 when going to a decision.

Don’t miss @TBearTim vs @Kongo4Real LIVE this Saturday!

🇺🇸 – YouTube

🇬🇧 – Channel 5 pic.twitter.com/FKVZHMordr

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 5, 2020

At 45 years old, Kongo is still competing at a high level for Bellator. He had won eight straight fights and earned a title shot against Ryan Bader last year, which ended in a NC due to Kongo receiving an eye poke. But, instead of getting the rematch vs Bader, Bellator put him in the cage with Johnson again.

For Kongo, this will be his 34^th fight in Bellator and UFC.  It’s also his 16^th Bellator fight in the heavyweight division. He’s 12-4 as a heavyweight for Bellator.

18 of his 30 pro wins have come via stoppage with 15 by way of TKO/KO. He’s 12-6-2 when going the distance.

This fight will come down to how successful Johnson is in taking Kongo down to the mat. Cheick is the better striker and will win this fight if it stays upright. Yet, if Johnson can get the fight to the mat like he did against Mitrione two months ago then he will pull off the mild upset.

With that said, I have to give the edge to Kongo in this contest. Despite his age, he’s still a dangerous striker and has the resume to back it up. I believe he will thwart Johnson’s takedown attempts and eventually finish this bout with a TKO/KO.