Bellator 213 Betting Preview & Predictions

Bellator 213 heads to the tropics this Saturday as the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu prepares to host this MMA extravaganza. The main event is a women’s flyweight title defense by Honolulu native Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, who looks to keep the belt away from UFC veteran Valerie Letourneau. The co-main event is a middleweight bout between former champ Rafael Carvalho and former UFC light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida. We have your MMA betting preview for the main event and the co-main event as well as the entire fight card, which you can watch on DAZN.

Bellator 213 Betting Preview & Predictions

#Bellator213 pre-event facts: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane seeks rare 8-0 Bellator start (via @MikeBohnMMA) https://t.co/FIAOFSD8LU

— MMAjunkie (@MMAjunkie) December 12, 2018

Main Card (DAZN)

• Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs Valerie Letourneau (women’s flyweight title bout)
• Lyoto Machida vs Rafael Carvalho (middleweight)
• Neiman Grace vs Ed Ruth (Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinal)
• Muhammad Lawal vs Liam McGeary (light heavyweight)
• Kona Oliveira vs Nainoa Dung (lightweight)

Preliminary Card (Bellator.com / Bellator App)

• Maki Pitolo vs Chris Cisneros (catchweight)
• Timothy Teves vs Canaan Kawaihae (featherweight)
• Kai Kamaka III vs Shojin Miki (bantamweight)
• Ryan Dela Cruz vs Spencer Higa (lightweight)
• Dustin Barca vs Isaac Hopps (lightweight)
• Kala Hose vs Marcus Gamble (light heavyweight)
• Russell Mizuguchi vs Michael Nakagawa (flyweight)

Ilima-Le Macfarlane (8-0) vs Valerie Letourneau (10-6) represents Macfarlane’s second title defense. Her first came against Alejandra Lara in June, whom Macfarlane finished via submission in the third round. However, Letourneau is a major upgrade over Lara, as she has a reputation for having been one of the top women in the UFC ranks. She has won both of her first two Bellator fights, including a win over Kristina Williams back in June. Macfarlane has not tangled with a fighter who has the overall skills that Letourneau brings, but I like the hometown atmosphere to motivate Macfarlane to a win. Bellator 213 Prediction: Macfarlane wins via decision Lyoto Machida (24-8) vs Rafael Carvalho (15-2) also brings a UFC veteran into a featured Bellator event, when former UFC light heavyweight champ Machida fights Carvalho in a middleweight bout. This is Machida’s Bellator debut; in his last UFC fight, in May at UFC 224, he delivered a front-kick knockout of Vitor Belfort. Carvalho was once the Bellator middleweight champ and is looking to gain contender status once again after taking a loss against Gegard Mousasi, who has a UFC pedigree of his own. Mousasi won via knockout in the first round, taking the title from Carvalho. Bellator 213 Prediction: Machida wins via knockout Ed Ruth (6-0) vs Neiman Gracie (8-0) is the latest installment in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix, this time the quarterfinal round. Seven of Gracie’s first eight wins have come via submission, including an arm-triangle choke of Javier Torres in the second round at Bellator 198. Ruth is more of a striker, as five of his six wins have come via the knockout. His last win came over Andy Murad at Bellator 201, when he delivered a TKO near the end of the second round. In a battle of the striker and the wrestler, you look at the striker’s record against wrestlers as far as defense goes, and Ruth has the pedigree to win this. Bellator 213 Prediction: Ruth wins via knockout Muhammed Lawal (21-7) vs Liam McGeary (12-3) gives us a pounder in Lawal, as “King Mo” has delivered knockouts or TKOs in 13 of his 21 wins, with the other seven coming via decision. He has lost three of his last five fights, including a TKO loss just 15 seconds into the first round against Ryan Bader at Bellator 199 back in May. He also took a TKO loss at Rizin 3 in December 2016 against Mirko Filipovic, near the midpoint of the second round. McGeary will tower over Lawal at 6’6” and has six finishes via knockout and five submissions among his 12 wins, with the other one coming via decision. He comes in, though, having dropped two straight fights, losing via TKO to Vadim Nemkov in the third round at Bellator 194 and via submission to Linton Vassell in the third round at Bellator 179. His last win came at Bellator 173, when he forced a TKO (doctor stoppage) against Brett McDermott in the main event. Bellator 213 Prediction: Lawal wins via knockout