Bellator 205 Betting Preview & Picks

Bellator 205 is set for Friday night in Boise, Idaho, at CenturyLink Arena, and the main event will feature A.J. McKee in a featherweight bout against John Macapá. The card begins at 9:00pm Eastern time, and you can catch the action on the Paramount Network or on the DAZN streaming service. There are four bouts on the card, and we have a MMA betting preview for the main event as well as some suggestions for the remainder of the card.

Bellator 205 Betting Preview & Picks

Fight Card

• A.J. McKee vs John Teixeria, featherweight
• John Salter vs Rafael Lovato Jr, middleweight
• Veta Arteaga vs Denise Kielholtz, women’s flyweight
• Patricky Freire vs Roger Huerta, lightweight

A.J. McKee (11-0) vs John Macapá (21-3-2)

The main event pits the 23-year-old unbeaten featherweight against a UFC veteran. McKee has only fought in Bellator, since his debut in April 2015 at Bellator 136. Seven of his 11 wins have come via stoppage, with four KO/TKO endings and three submissions. This fight was originally supposed to pit McKee against former featherweight champ Patt Curran, but Curran had to withdraw in August due to an injury. Macapá was sent away from UFC after losing to Hugo Viana at UFC 147 and then missing weight by just four pounds. He signed with Bellator and made his debut in October 2014, taking down Scott Cleve at Bellator 128 via split decision. He won his first five fights in the promotion but then lost two. Since then, he has not fought for the last 11 months. If McKee can dominate this fight, that would make him a legitimate Bellator contender in the featherweight ranks. Given the rust that Macapá is likely to show, it’s hard to argue against taking McKee. Bellator 205 Prediction: McKee wins via stoppage

John Salter (15-3) vs Rafael Lovato Jr (8-0)

This match marks Salter’s chance to gain redemption after being scratched from an April fight against Lovato, due to an eye issue that raised red flags with the State of Illinois Athletic Board. Lovato would go on to take down Gerald Harris, who had come out of retirement to replace Salter on the card, via submission. Salter is more of a traditional striker, while Lovato is a jiu-jitsu specialist who gets his wins by taking opponents down to the ground. Salter will be one of the toughest strikers that Lovato has faced, but Lovato represents a challenge for Salter in that he is more skilled at takedowns than Salter is. Bellator 205 Prediction: Salter wins via decision

Veta Arteaga (4-2) vs Denise “Miss Dynamite” Kielholtz (2-1)

This fight features a pair of unanimous decision winners in their last bouts. Arteaga took down Emily Ducote at Bellator 202 earlier this month, and she has not lost since Bellator 182 last August, when she lost to Bruna Ellen via split decision. One of her four wins has come via TKO (medical stoppage), while the other three have come from the cards. Kielholtz last fought in April, where she beat Petra Castkova via unanimous decision at Bellator 196. She has only lost once, back at TSF 1, where an armbar from Juliete de Souza Silva brought their fight to an end in the first round. She also has one stoppage win, via submission. Bellator 205 Prediction: Arteaga wins via decision

Patricky “The Pitbull” Freire (19-8) vs Roger Huerta (21-6-1)

This one puts up a potential lightweight contender, in Freire, who has won five of his last six bouts, including victories over Derek Campos, Benson Henderson and Josh Thompson. Freire is looking for a chance at redemption against champion Mike Chandler, who took him down with a knockout in the first round the first time we met, and a win over Huerta would get him closer to that opportunity. Huerta has fought in UFC and the ONE Championship in his past and has a considerable MMA resume. He last fought against Benson Henderson, also a UFC veteran, but went down via submission in the second round. Bellator 205 Prediction: Freire wins via decision