In a featherweight title bout on the main card, Pedro Carvalho and Patricio Freire meet at Bellator 252 Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card is set for 7 p.m. ET. Below we make our picks and predictions for Carvalho-Freire.
Carvalho (11-3) enters the octagon as a decisive underdog as challenger for the featherweight strap. While he has picked up victories in six straight, including 4-0 at the Bellator level, he might be a bit rusty having been out of action for the past 13 months. That last fight was a Round 2 submission win over Sam Sicilia, giving him eight wins by stoppage in his 11 career professional bouts, including three of four at Bellator. Now, he sets his sights on Freire (29-4) in a quarterfinal title bout in the featherweight world grand prix.
Freire is a two-division champ, and some argue he might be the top fighter in Bellator. Stature-wise, it might not appear so at first glance, as he stands six inches shorter than his counterpart. Freire bounced Juan Archuleta in the opening round of the grand prix on Sept. 28, 2019, winning in the second round via submission. This will be Freire’s 11th Bellator title fight, and his 23rd fight overall for Bellator. Both of those marks tie for the tops in company history. And he is in the same boat with Ryan Bader as the only two-division champ. Freire has registered seven knockouts and 11 stoppage victories in Bellator, including 10 in the featherweight division. And “Pitbull” isn’t just about the knockout, either, as he has rolled up four submission wins, too.
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Pedro Carvalho vs. Patricio Freire betting odds and prediction
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Freire (-700) is an overwhelming favorite against Carvalho in this one, but risking seven times your potential return, even on a strong fighter like Freire, is just not good for long-term wagering success. Upsets can happen in combat sports, especially if you get the judges involved. If anything, CARVALHO (+500) is worth a small-unit bet because of his recent success. Three of his four fights have been won by stoppage, and that makes him a tremendous value here, even against, arguably, the best pound-for-pound fighter in Bellator.
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