The Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix gets underway with quarterfinal matches on April 9 and April 16. The event will conclude with the final to be held in October.
The field of eight is outstanding though one fighter is a clear favorite. He just happens to be the Bellator Light Heavyweight champion.
Vadim Nemkov
The safe pick for bettors in this event is current champion Vadim Nemkov. Since signing on with Bellator, Nemkov is a perfect 5-0 and 12-2 overall. He is favored to win the event given +180 odds.
Nemkov will have a tough go in the quarterfinal round where he will face Phil Davis, who is 22-5-1 overall and 9-2 in Bellator. Davis is a longshot at +1600 to win the tournament, but he is 3-1 in rematches.
Nemkov beat Davis in 2018 by split decision. He will have the advantage of that win plus he is just 28 years old. Davis is 36. After beating Davis for a second time, the road will get even tougher for Nemkov.
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Ryan Bader
Bader is 27-6-1 overall in MMA and 5-1-1 in Bellator. He draws Lyoto Machida in the quarterfinals and is a -500 favorite to win that fight. Machida is now in his 40s which explains why Bader is such a big favorite.
Bader lost his light heavyweight title to Nemkov and would love nothing more than to get it back. He is listed at +550 to win the Grand Prix. The 42-year-old Machida is 0-3 in rematches. That does not bode well for him in the quarterfinals.
Anthony Johnson
Not too long ago, Johnson was a top three light heavyweight. The two-time former UFC light heavyweight title challenger will get into the cage for the first time since 2017 when he takes on Yoel Romero.
Johnson, who is listed at +700 to win the Grand Prix, is actually an underdog to the 43-year-old Romero in the quarterfinals. Johnson is 22-6 overall and this will be his inaugural Bellator fight. Romero is still a dangerous fighter, but he has lost four of his last five fights. Romero is getting +400 odds to win the Grand Prix.
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Corey Anderson
One of the true sleepers to win the Grand Prix is Anderson who is listed at +1000. He spent six years in the UFC with a 14-5 overall record but 5-1 in his last six fights. One of his wins was over Glover Teixeira, the No. 1-ranked light heavyweight in the UFC. He signed on to Bellator in 2020.
Like Anderson, Johnson opened as an underdog in his quarterfinal match. He’ll face Dovletdzhan Yashimuradov, who is also listed at +1000 to win the Grand Prix.
Phil Davis
The real longshot to win the Grand Prix is Davis, who has one of the more impressive Bellator resumes. He is 9-2 in BMMA and 22-5-1 overall. His only BMMA losses are to former or current champions and by split decision.
Still, Davis finds himself listed at +1600 to win it all. One of the big reasons is his first opponent – Nemkov. Davis is a +275 underdog in the quarterfinal match with Nemkov, who beat Davis by split decision in 2018.
Davis is 3-1 in rematches making him a legitimate contender against Nemkov and the rest of the field in the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix.
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