Bellator 249 Odds, Picks & Betting Preview – Cyborg vs Blencowe

• Cris Cyborg looks for the first title defense of her featherweight strap
• Arlene Blencowe looks to shock the world and pull off the massive upset
• See the odds, picks, and betting preview for the Bellator 249 main card

Bellator MMA is back in their ‘Fightsphere’ in Uncasville, Connecticut at the Mohegan Sun for Bellator 249 that goes down on Thursday, October 15, 2020.

In the main event, Cris Cyborg is looking to defend her featherweight title for the first time when she battles Australian contender, Arlene Blencowe.

Bellator 249 airs live on CBS Sports Network in the United States and on DAZN in Canada at 10 PM EST. The table below shows odds for the main card followed by best bets.

Bellator 249 Main Card Odds

All odds taken Oct. 14

Can Blencowe Pull Off The Upset?

Cris Cyborg is one of the greatest female MMA fighters of all-time. She has pulled off what she calls the ‘Grand Slam’ of MMA winning titles in four major MMA promotions in UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, and Invicta. For Arlene Blencowe, this is another shot at Bellator gold and fighting one of the best ever.

Cyborg & Blencowe Recent Fights

Arlene Blencowe is no doubt the No. 1 contender at featherweight and has a skill set that could cause Cyborg some problems. The Australian has legit knockout power and we saw the Brazilian get caught against Amanda Nunes in the UFC to lose her belt. Blencowe also can slow things down and use point fighting to try and win some fights as she nearly did against Julia Budd in her other Bellator title fight.

Early on, Cyborg will be patient, using her two-inch reach advantage to use her jab and piece up Blencowe early. However, I do believe Blencowe will make some adjustments, and land some solid punches of her own. Yet, that won’t be enough as this fight should be a standup fight with Cyborg being the better and more powerful striker. She will eventually land something big that drops Blencowe and finishes her via ground and pound in the third round to defend her belt.

At -950, however, there is no value to bet Cyborg and it’s dog-or-pass at this point.

Pick: Cris Cyborg (-950)

Cyborg vs Blencowe Stats

Will Freire Spoil The Return Of Willis?

Former LFA welterweight champion, Jaleel Willis will be dropping down to lightweight to make his Bellator return against Patricky Freire after signing an exclusive contract with the promotion just a few weeks back.

Freire & Willis Recent Fights

After Jaleel Willis won the LFA title, many expected him to sign in the UFC, yet he went back to Bellator after having a one-fight deal back in 2016 where he beat Omar Johnson by decision. In this fight, it is interesting to see Willis drop down in weight as he had a ton of success at 170-pounds on the regional scenes. He has also primarily fought at 170 besides some catchweight fights.

I don’t understand this matchmaking from Bellator as I think they should’ve looked to build Willis up instead of throwing him to Freire. I expect Freire to land something big in the first round and knock Willis out to potentially become the No. 1 contender at lightweight.

Pick: Patricky Freire (-400)

Other Bellator 249 Picks:

• Ricky Bandejas (-225): Bandejas is better everywhere than Higo and I expect him to either get a late TKO win or win a clear decision. -225 is also not a bad price for Bandejas who should win this fight.
• Mandel Nallo (-145): Awad is on a four-fight losing streak and has been finished in the past two. He looks like it is past his time so I like the younger fighter in Nallo to get a submission win and pick up the biggest win of his career.