Bellator Europe 5 Odds & Picks
- Bellator Europe 5 goes Saturday, October 12th at 4 PM ET
- Can Sakara get redemption in Italy or will Grigsby score his biggest name win?
- Will Manhoef add one more to his highlight reel or will Bahati prove too much for him?
Bellator Europe 5 marks one of several cards that Bellator has slated for the month of October. Bellator 230 emanates from Ex Palalido in Milan, Italy and will be broadcast live on the Bellator app.
Former multi-time Bellator middleweight title challenger Melvin Manhoef looks to halt European prospect Yannick Bahati’s progress. Fan-favorite Alessio Sakara also looks to get the partisan Italian crowd on his side as he clashes with Canaan Grigsby.
The odds and analysis for these two fights can be found below.
Melvin Manhoef vs Yannick Bahati Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Melvin Manhoef | -230 |
| Yannick Bahati | +180 |
*Odds taken on 10/11/2019
Manhoef and Bahati are both looking to go 2-0 in the calendar year. Manhoef notched a win in his last outing after over two years outside of MMA competition. Bahati’s last fight was his Bellator debut and he came out with a first round submission finish.
This snapped a three-fight losing streak and set up Bahati with an opportunity to claim the most noteworthy win of his career. To do that though, Bahati must step in with someone who can make a case for being the most high octane action fighter that mixed-martial-arts has ever seen.
? Melvin Manhoef is RELENTLESS!
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Can the legend muster one more show stopping performance when he faces @yannick_bahati on Sat., Oct. 12th. #BellatorMilan pic.twitter.com/WHlrpq6cDE— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) October 10, 2019
Manhoef is a veteran who has over a hundred fights across his MMA and kickboxing exploits. I’m sure Bahati will have some momentum off of winning his Bellator debut in his adopted hometown though.
This Bellator win came at a good time for Bahati who lost his EFC and BAMMA hardware in back-to-back fights followed by a loss in less than 20 seconds when debuting for KSW.
Manhoef is no stranger to heartache in title fights. He lost a supremely controversial decision followed by a devastating KO loss in back-to-back title bids against then-champion Rafael Carvalho.
Melvin Manhoef vs Yannick Bahati Tale of the Tape
| 31-14-1 | MMA Record | 9-4 |
| 28 | Knockouts | 4 |
| 0 | Submissions | 4 |
| 1 win | Current Streak | 1 win |
| Mike’s Gym | Team/ Camp Affiliation | UTC Birmingham |
| Denis Kang
Mark Hunt Kazushi Sakuraba |
Statement Win(s) | Matthew Hallam and David Buirski |
| Cage Rage light-heavyweight championship | Titles/ Distinctions | Fight UK middleweight Championship
EFC Worldwide Middleweight Championship BAMMA Middleweight Championship |
I see Manhoef wining via emphatic knockout inside of two rounds. More than likely Manhoef starches him in the first round of the fight. Either way, I see Melvin notching his 29th MMA knockout at Bellator Europe 5.
Pick: Manhoef (-230 )
Alessio Sakara vs Canaan Grigsby Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Alessio Sakara | -650 |
| Canaan Grigsby | +425 |
Sakara is a veteran of the game who has fought champions from Bellator, UFC, WEC, and more. This bout marks Grigsby’s Bellator MMA debut and he looks to rebound from losing back-to-back championship fights on the regional circuit (for Paramount MMA and CFC).
Sakara is looking to bounce back after being on the wrong end of a highlight-reel KO in his last outing.
??@KauppinenKent shocks the Italian faithful after his big KO of Alessio Sakara#Bellator211 pic.twitter.com/1qxldKpATl
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) December 1, 2018
Alessio Sakara returns to Italian soil for this fight and is looking for redemption as Bellator debuts in Milan. This is Sakara’s first bout of 2019, but Grigsby hasn’t fought in MMA since a May 2017 stoppage loss.
Sakara and Grigsby have KO rates of 74% and 88% respectively. This leads me to believe that the judges won’t play a role in this fight outcome.
Alessio Sakara vs Canaan Grigsby Tale of the Tape
| 19-13 | MMA Record | 8-7 |
| 14 | Knockouts | 7 |
| 2 | Submissions | 0 |
| 1 loss | Current Streak | 2 losses |
| American Top Team | Team/ Camp Affiliation | Ghost Dog Boxing |
| Thales Leites, Victor Valimaki, James Irvin | Statement Win(s) | Lumumba Sayers and John Bryant |
| Italian heavyweight Pro Sanshou Champion | Titles/ Distinctions | Fight to Win amateur middleweight Championship |
On paper, this reads like a fight to get Sakara back on track. He has the biggest name value for the Italian market when you scope Bellator MMA’s roster.
He has been a reliable main card draw for Bellator in that market since the promotion began their overseas efforts. I see Alessio Sakara scoring a knockout either late in the first round or before the first half of the second round elapses.
Pick: Sakara (-650)
A part-time writer and full-time broadcaster, Dylan has hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, and covered some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage.
