Bellator 223 Odds, Predictions & Picks

Bellator 223 Odds, Predictions & Picks

SSE Arena in London, England, will be the site of Bellator 223 on June 22, 2019. This is the third installment of Bellator’s European Series, and the part of the card associated with Bellator London will appear on Channel 5 in Great Britain, including a five-round fight for the middleweight title between current champion Gegard Mousasi and challenger Rafael Lovato Jr. The Bellator 223 part of the card will appear on Paramount Network and DAZN, with the main event pitting Paul Daley and Erick Silva in welterweight bout. We have your full fight card for both segments of the evening as well as our MMA betting thoughts on several of the fights.

Bellator 223 Odds, Predictions & Picks

  • When: Saturday, 9 p.m. ET
  • Where: SSE Arena, London
  • Live Stream: DAZN

Bellator London (UK Channel 5)

  • Gegard Mousasi vs Rafael Lovato Jr (Bellator Middleweight Championship)
  • Melvin Manhoef vs Kent Kauppinen (Middleweight)
  • Aaron Chalmers vs Fred Freeman (Catchweight — 160 lbs)

Bellator 223 (DAZN / Paramount Network)

  • Paul Daley vs Erick Silva (Welterweight)
  • James Gallagher vs Jeremiah Labiano (Catchweight — 140 lbs)
  • Fabian Edwards vs Jonathan Bosuku (Middleweight)
  • Mike Shipman vs Costello van Steenis (Middleweight)
  • Charlie Ward vs Justin Moore (Middleweight)

Preliminary Card (Bellator.com)

  • Chris Bungard vs Charlie Leary (Lightweight)
  • Nathan Greyson vs Frans Mlambo (Bantamweight)
  • Kevin Fryer vs John Redmond (Middleweight)
  • Nathan Rose vs Luke Ord (Featherweight)
  • Kate Jackson vs Lena Ovchynnikova (Women’s Flyweight)
  • Terry Brazier vs Alessandro Botti (Catchweight — 161 lbs)
  • Walter Gahadza vs Oliver Enkamp (Welterweight)
  • Galore Bofando vs Keith McCabe (Welterweight)
  • Justin Burlinson vs Wendle Lewis (Welterweight)
  • Alfie Davis vs Jorge Kanella (Lightweight)
  • Denise Kielholtz vs Bryony Tyrell (Women’s Flyweight)

Gegard Mousasi vs Rafael Lovato Jr

This fight features a champ on an eight-bout winning streak in Mousasi, going all the way back to the end of his tenure in UFC. He beat Rory MacDonald, the Bellator Welterweight Champion, at Bellator 206, advancing with a TKO in the second round. Lovato fought most recently against John Salter, beating him with a rear-naked choke in the third round. Both of these are solid fighters. Lovato has never taken a defeat, but he has never taken on another fighter of Mousasi’s caliber, and he only has nine pro MMA fights, against 53 fro Mousasi. Can Lovato get the fight to the ground? If so, he could win. But Mousasi has taken down other fighters who can wrestle before. Mousasi has three belts in his career in three different promotions. He has won six of the eight fights in his current streak via the knockout, and he should use his striking to dominate this fight. Bellator 223 Prediction: Mousasi wins via knockout

Paul Daley vs Erick Silva

looks to be Daley’s shot at redemption on his home soil. He has taken two straight losses, and three losses in his last five. Silva has the same record over his last five bouts, losing most recently to Yaroslav Amosov on the cards at Bellator 216. Silva got taken to the ground and could not develop any offense. Daley will be taking the stage for his 60th fight in a career that has lasted 16 years. His last fight was a loss to Michael “Venom” Page in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix quarterfinals. This is more of an opportunity for Silva, who is getting a shot at one of the top names in Bellator. With Daley getting to fight on his native soil, it is hard to argue against him, particularly given his depth of experience. Neither fighter comes in with a lot of momentum, and both are looking to reestablish themselves in the division as potential contenders. This will be a close bout, but I see Daley winning this fight on the cards, riding the momentum of the crowd support. Bellator 223 Prediction: Daley wins via decision