This Saturday, Bellator heads to Belfast, Northern Ireland for a co-promoted card with the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA). It’s a chance for many of BAMMA’s European prospects to shine on stateside television, and former light heavyweight champion - and British native - Liam McGeary will anchor the card in a main event matchup with Chris Fields.
The rest of the card is filled with Irish natives defending their home soil and up-and-coming prospects in both promotions. Let’s take a look at your betting options and preview some of the night’s more notable fights.
Bet on MMA odds at BookMaker.eu now
Main Event
Light Heavyweight
Liam McGeary -1365 vs. Brett McDermott +655
In his most recent outing, Liam McGeary was dominated by Phil Davis, suffering his first career loss and losing the 205-pound strap in the process. He should be able to bounce back with relative ease as a massive favorite against the replacement of a replacement fighter, Brett McDermott. Yup, the former champion is facing a complete unknown who had about a day’s notice to prep for a guy that’s out of his league.
Because McGeary is one of Bellator’s homegrown stars, it’s important for the promotion that he doesn’t fall too far from the elite ranks. It’s not a good look for Bellator’s light heavyweight division to get owned by former UFC fighters who weren’t quite good enough to be title contenders.
Bellator Main Card
Kirill Medvedovsky +500 vs. James Gallagher -900
Sinead Kavanagh -505 vs. Iony Razafiarison +335
Alex Lohore -190 vs. Colin Fletcher +150
James Gallagher is just 20 years old and 5-0 as pro MMA fighter. Already armed with a dangerous submission game, the Irish native is one of Bellator’s better prospects at 145 pounds.
Scott Coker is making sure not to throw him to the wolves too early, as he gets a record building opportunity against Kirill Medvedovsky. The Israeli fighter is just 1-3 in his past four and most recently lost his Bellator debut after Georgi Karakhanyan TKO’d him in the first round.
Like Gallagher, Sinead Kavanagh is another undefeated Irish prospect and gets a chance to pad her 4-0 record against Iony Razafiarison. Training out of SBG Ireland, home to Conor McGregor, Gallagher is developing as a dangerous striker, winning half of her fights by KO. Razafiarison is just 1-1 as a professional fighter.
Alex Lohore comes into his welterweight matchup with “The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes” alum Colin Fletcher with five straight wins. Fletcher lost both of his fights on the show and was cut from the UFC in early 2013. Since then, he’s gone 5-4, most recently submitting Aymard Guih.
BAMMA Prelims
Featherweight - Shay Walsh vs. James McEarlean
Lightweight - Norman Parke vs. Paul Redmond
Flyweight - Dominique Wooding vs. Andy Young
Featherweight - Damien Lapilus vs. Ronnie Mann
Welterweight - Colin Fletcher vs. Alex Lohore
Quick Hits
In a matchup between two former UFC fighters, Norman Parke and Paul Redmond will meet in a featured lightweight bout. Parke was given the pink slip from the UFC in February 2016 after a loss to Rustam Khabilov. He recently rebounded with a win over Andrew Fisher at ACB 45. Remdond lost both his fights in the Octagon, but reemerged in BAMMA to score a September 2016 win over Chris Stringer.
Bet on Bellator 173 now!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker sportsbook! Real-time spreads, totals, props and money line are all available so start betting with BookMaker today.
Bellator 173 takes place on Saturday, February 24, 2017 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Ireland. The card airs on Spike via tape delay starting 8 p.m. ET.
