Bellator MMA vs Rizin 2 Preview: Championship Mentality
Five-Fight Card Features the Grand Prix and a Title Fight
Familiar Names Face Contrasting Odds Bellator-Rizin 2
Bellator MMA and Rizin combine forces to bring together another stacked card. This time, the inaugural flyweight championship and a spot in the Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix semi-finals are at stake. Former champions Patricky “Pitbull” Freire and Kyoji Horiguchi are two of the headliners. The Bellator MMA vs Rizin 2 odds peg them at contrasting lines. The former is an underdog against late replacement Roberto de Souza while Horiguchi is significantly favored over Makoto Shinryu.
MMA vs Rizin 2
Date & Time:
Location: Saitama Super Arena, Japan
Streaming: Showtime, FITE TV (Super Rizin 2)
Pitbull Has a “Dog” in Him; de Souza a Different Beast
Entering his main event bout as a +110 underdog, sharp money could be on the 37-year-old Bellator veteran. Patricky Pitbull is not only a former champion but has excelled as an underdog with Bellator: 6-5 since he joined the promotion back in 2011. He’s upset the likes of Benson Henderson and Josh Thomson, two former champions.
Now, Freire looks to add another champion to his resume: Roberto de Souza, the current Rizin lightweight champion. The MMA odds place de Souza as the -140 favorite. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu phenom is 8-2 under Bellator/Rizin and all but one of his wins have come via a finish.
Originally out of this Bellator MMA vs Rizin 2 card, de Souza fills in for AJ McKee, the fighter who defeated him in the last Bellator-Rizin event. The champion is coming off a decision win over Spike Carlyle just two months ago. He has the edge here as he is a grappler going against Freire who was just training for a striker in McKee.
Horiguchi Ready to Become a Champion Again
It’s been over four years since Kyoji Horiguchi won the Bellator Bantamweight Championship. At the time, he was also the Rizin bantamweight champion. However, he lost three of his next five fights. It was time to move back down to flyweight where Horiguchi spent a good chunk of his best years.
“I’ve always known I belong at flyweight but I kept pushing myself at bantamweight,” Horiguchi told Rizin Confessions.
At 5’5” with a 65-inch reach, Horiguchi was a stocky bantamweight. He still had a solid career as a 135-pounder. But fighting a division below is his natural weight class. Now, he’s sizably favored at -500 by the Bellator MMA vs Rizin 2 odds to dust Makoto Shinryu. Doing so will make him Bellator’s fourth two-division champion and cement his status as one of the greatest MMA fighters.
“The little brat needs to learn some manners,” Horiguchi said of his opponent. “His fights are boring, so he needs to talk to gain attention. I’m going in there to do what i always do (and) he will find out the hard way.”
Shinryu, who’s given name is actually Takahashi, is primarily a grappler. He is ranked by most outlets as the top flyweight out of Japan with a 16-1-1 record and is 4-0 under Bellator/Rizin. But he’s listed at +360 thus he could be in for a beating as Horiguchi boasts.
Title Shots Up for Grabs on Undercard Fighters
There are also title implications for the other three fights. In the featured bout is Japan’s Kana Watanabe against Veta Arteaga. The local favorite is 3-2 under Bellator and is -550 to beat Arteaga (+380). An impressive win could pit her in a rematch against the winner of a potential title bout between Liz Carmouche and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, the two fighters who defeated her.
At men’s bantamweight, Danny Sabatello is favored at -170 to turn back Magomed Magomedov (+140) and book a title shot. Sabatello has only lost once in Bellator. He’s got a pressure-heavy wrestling style that is difficult to deal with albeit tough to watch. Magomedov is 3-2 in Bellator and his losses have come against the two men who fought in the Grand Prix final.
Andrey Koreshkov and Lorenz Larkin rematch to open Bellator MMA vs Rizin 2. The former is slightly favored at -145 even if his last defeat came against Larkin (+120). Both are on the cusp of a title shot with Koreshkov having won four straight while Larkin has been unbeaten since 2017 (7-0). This could have an explosive Bellator vs Rizin result.
For MMA betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
Follow us on Twitter
