BELLATOR SALUTE: BARNETT VS. MARKES PREVIEW & PREDICTIONS
Updated odds & predictions for every fight
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Bellator MMA travels to the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii for back-to-back events on Friday and Saturday. The first of the two is Bellator Salute on Friday night. The main event takes place in the heavyweight division where Josh Barnett goes up against Ronny Markes.
The co-main takes place in the bantamweight division where Toby Misech takes on Erik Perez. The main card also includes a women’s flyweight bout between Veta Arteaga and Alejandra Lara, Tywan Claxton vs. Braydon Akeo in a battle of featherweights and in the welterweight division Joey Davis vs. Chris Cisneros.
The prelims will stream on the Bellator mobile app at 7:45 PM (CST). The main card will air on the Paramount Network starting at 9:00 PM (CST).
Note: The predictions in this column do not necessarily mean that I will be betting them. I have changed my mind in the past and gone the other way after conducting more research. For all my official bets follow me on Twitter @MichaelGrocke.
Main Card
Josh Barnett (35-8) vs. Ronny Markes (19-7) – Heavyweight 265 lbs.
Current Odds: Barnett -330; Markes +265
At forty-two-years-old, Josh Barnett makes the walk for the forty-fourth time on Friday. The last time we saw Barnett in the cage was back in September of 2016 at UFC Fight Night 93 when he defeated Andrei Arlovski via submission. Three months later USADA notified Barnett of a potential doping violation from an out of competition test. In March of 2018 Barnett was cleared to fight after it was determined the test failure was due to a contaminated supplement. Unfortunately for Barnett he lost over a year due to no fault of his own.
The “Warmaster” has fought the true legends of the sport including Dan Severn, Randy Couture and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. Twenty-nine of his thirty-five career victories ended inside the distance. Ten via knockout to go along with nineteen by way of submission. Barnett was finished in five of his eight career losses.
Brazilian born fighter, Ronny Markes will be making his Bellator debut on Friday. He enters the fight 1-2 over his previous three fights. His most recent fight occurred during the regular season of PFL 3 where he finished Sigi Pesaleli in the second round. Markes fought five times in the UFC between 2011-2014 and went 3-2. He’s also the current King of the Cage Super Heavyweight Champion.
At thirty-one-years-old, Markes will make the walk for the twenty-seventh time when he steps into the cage opposite Barnett on Friday. He’s finished twelve of his nineteen career wins. Seven by knockout and five via submission.
My official pick: Barnett by submission.
From a betting perspective: Pass.
Toby Misech (10-6) vs. Erik Perez (19-6) – Bantamweight 135 lbs.
Current Odds: Perez -300; Misech +240
Toby Misech was on a four-fight win streak until he lost to Ricky Palacios via unanimous decision during season two of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Since that loss, Misech is 1-1. His recent fight was at Bellator 215 where he dropped a unanimous decision to Eduardo Dantas. This will be the thirty-one-year-old’s third fight under the Bellator banner. His record currently stands at 1-1with the promotion. Seven of Hawaiian native’s ten career victories ended inside the distance. All seven via knockout. He was stopped three times in six career losses, all via submission.
Erik Perez enters the fight on a modest five-fight win streak. His most recent win occurred at Combate Americas – Combate Monterrey where he submitted Andres Ayala. Perez had success in the UFC going 7-2, so I was surprised to see them let Perez go after his contract was up. After fighting under the Combate Americas promotion his previous two fights, Perez makes his Bellator debut against Misech. The Mexican born fighter has thirteen finishes in his nineteen career victories. Five by knockout to go along with eight via submission. At thirty-years-old, Perez will make the walk for the twenty-sixth time.
My official pick: Perez by submission.
From a betting perspective: Pass.
Alejandra Lara (8-3) vs. Veta Arteaga (5-3) – Flyweight 125 lbs.
Current Odds: Lara -125; Arteaga -105
After losing two fights in a row, first to Ilima-Lei MacFarlane for the women’s flyweight championship at Bellator 201 and then to Juliana Velasquez via split decision at Bellator 212, Alejandra Lara bounced back with a win her most recent fight when she defeated Taylor Turner via TKO at Bellator 225. The Colombian born fighter has seven finishes in her eight career victories. Four by knockout and three via submission. The twenty-five-year-old will make the walk for the twelfth time on Friday.
Veta Arteaga is 1-2 over previous three. After beating Emily Ducote via unanimous decision at Bellator 202 and then Denise Kielholtz via submission at Bellator 205, Arteaga got her shot at Bellator gold in her most recent fight. She was stopped in the third round by current Bellator Flyweight Champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane due to doctor’s stoppage. This will be the thirty-two-year-old’s ninth professional fight. Of her five career victories, three went to the judge’s scorecards.
My official pick: Lara by decision.
From a betting perspective: Pass.
Tywan Claxton (5-1) vs. Braydon Akeo (1-0) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
Current Odds: Claxton -450; Akeo +350
Tywan Claxton won his first five pro bouts in a row until finally suffering his first loss in his most recent fight. He got subbed by Emmanuel Sanchez in the second round at Bellator 226. Four of his five wins ended inside the distance, all by knockout. At twenty-seven-years-of-age, Claxton will make the walk for the seventh time.
Braydon Akeo will make his Bellator debut on Friday. His lone pro fight was a victory over Austin Bloch via unanimous decision at X-1 World Events 52.
My official pick: Claxton by (T)KO.
From a betting perspective: Pass.
Joey Davis (6-0) vs. Chris Cisneros (17-9) – Welterweight 170 lbs.
Current Odds: Davis -1500; Cisneros +900
Joey Davis undefeated as a pro with four of his six victories ending inside the distance. All four via (T)KO. His most recent win occurred at Bellator 229 where defeated Jeff Peterson via first round knockout. The twenty-five-year-old will make the walk for the seventh time.
Chris Cisneros enters the fight on a three-fight losing streak. His most recent loss was at Bellator 213 where he was subbed by Maki Pitolo. It was also his Bellator debut. Cisneros has finished thirteen of his seventeen career wins. This will be the thirty-nine-year-old’s twenty-seventh pro bout.
My official pick: Davis by decision.
From a betting perspective: Pass.
From a betting perspective: Just for fun I bet the following parlay:
.5* Barnett -330/Perez -300/Claxton -450/Davis -1490
Prelims Quick Picks
Cass Bell (4-0) defeats Pierre Daguzan (5-2) – Bantamweight 135 lbs.
Brysen Bolohao (0-1) defeats Hunter Ewald (0-0) – Welterweight 170 lbs.
Joseph Greer (6-1-1) defeats Ty Gwerder (4-0) – Middleweight 185 lbs.
Enjoy the fights!