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Bellator MMA was launched in 2008 and has quickly become popular in the mixed martial arts world. The promotion used to be called the Bellator Fighting Championship, but they changed the name recently and now go by the name “Bellator MMA”.

The promotion operates out of Newport Beach, California and the CEO is Bjorn Rebney. Initially Bellator hosted events in the US only, but they’ve since moved to Canada and have started to host regular events in Canada as well as the United States now.

Bellator is a tiny promotion when compared to the UFC currently, but they’ve been doing great. Bellator offers a unique product where fighters compete in tournaments to become the #1 contender and for the chance to fight for the title in their weight class.

Bellator 254 odds and favorites Juliana Velasquez vs Ilimea-Lei Macfarlane Velasquez comes in as a slight favorite at -145 odds, with underdog Macfarlane at +120. New to the world sports betting?. Buy tickets, browse fighter stats, get fight results, stream live events, and watch full fight videos and highlights.

There are also other fights on the card at each event, but the main card is often tournament or title fights only. Bellator also has a unique “Season” format unlike other promotions. Each season features a 1+ tournament with eight fighters in the bracket.

Upcoming Bellator MMA (Bellator) events. Find upcoming Bellator odds, fight cards and event information.

Not only does the winner of each Bellator tournament earn a shot at the title, but they earn a $100,000 check. Bellator doesn’t pay fighters nearly as much as the UFC, but with $100K on the line for tournament winners they get the best out of fighters.

Bellator has started to receive more attention this past year due to a new deal with Spike. Bellator became popular after they were able to sign a national broadcasting deal with MTV2 in 2011. Seasons 4-7 of Bellator were aired live on MTV2.

The new deal with Spike TV is much better for the promotion and the number of viewers should increase. This summer (2013) there is a new reality show called “Fight Master: Bellator MMA”, which is a knockoff of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).

The reality show will air on Spike TV starting this summer and will bring more attention to Bellator. Bellator has quickly gained a reputation for being a stepping stone to the UFC for fighters that aren’t picked up by the UFC right away.

Young fighters are able to get national attention with Bellator and fight many seasoned veterans. The promotion doesn’t have the talent that the UFC has, but with Viacom owning a majority stake in the company Bellator isn’t short on marketing dollars.

Bellator Weight Classes & Current Champions(*April 2013)

• Heavyweight – Alexander Volkov

• Light Heavyweight – Attila Vegh

• Middleweight – Alexander Shlemenko

• Welterweight – Ben Askren

• Lightweight – Michael Chandler

• Featherweight – Pat Curran

• Bantamweight – Eduardo Dantas

In the past year Bellator has been able to lock-up a lot of young talented fighters in the promotion. The competition in all of the weight classes is increasing and now the tournaments are very competitive where any fighter could come out as the winner.

Bellator is unlikely to ever contend with the UFC, but they do a great job offering a unique product. Many fans like the tourney format that Bellator utilizes although there are also many critics because sometimes the best fighters don’t get title shots.

Bellator Betting Sites

Bellator Events and Betting Odds

Teixeira dominated St. Preux to start his win streak.

One of the most anticipated Bellator fights in recent memory takes place Thursday night as Gegard Mousasi faces Douglas Lima for the vacant middleweight title in the main event of Bellator 250. The main Bellator 250 fight card from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., is set for 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on CBS Sports Network. It will be nearly one year to the day on which Lima defeated former UFC contender Rory MacDonald in the World Grand Prix final to win the promotion's welterweight crown. He seeks a second Bellator belt against another famed UFC alum in Mousasi, who hopes to capture the middleweight title for the second time since he joined Bellator.

Mousasi is a -155 favorite (risk $155 to win $100), while Lima is offered at +130 in the Bellator 250 odds from William Hill. In the co-main feature, Henry Corrales (-345) takes on Brandon Girtz (+260) in a featherweight matchup. Before locking in your Bellator 250 picks, make sure you see what SportsLine MMA expert Kyle Marley has to say, given his epic run on MMA picks.

Marley won the first-ever 'ToutMaster' UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and daily Fantasy shows. He watches every single fight for every professional MMA card and does extensive research before each event.

Over the past 21 months, $100 bettors who have followed Marley's picks are up more than $21,000. The accomplished MMA analyst has been on a massive run in 2020 as he has hit on 23 of his last UFC 29 main-event selections, a stretch that includes a streak of five straight underdogs.

At UFC 254 last week, Marley went 6-0 on the main card and correctly predicted a submission victory for Khabib Nurmagomedov (-320) against Justin Gaethje (+280) in the main event for the unified lightweight title. The esteemed analyst also called a unanimous-decision victory for Robert Whittaker (+100) against Jared Cannonier (-120) in a top-five matchup of middleweights in the co-main event. Anyone who has consistently followed Marley is way up.

Now, with Bellator 250 fast approaching, Marley has carefully studied the matchups on the fight card, identified the best values in the Bellator odds and released his MMA picks. He's only sharing those selections here.

Bellator Mma Tonight

Mousasi vs. Lima preview

Marley knows Thursday's main event is essentially a super fight for Bellator as it features perhaps the promotion's two most recognizable male stars. Moreover, MMA fans receive the benefit of a pay-per-view worthy matchup for free.

Mousasi (46-7-2) is fast becoming an active MMA legend whose resume is comparable to the all-time greats. The 35-year-old Dutch fighter's ledger includes victories over former UFC champions such as Vitor Belfort, Chris Weidman and Dan Henderson. He left the UFC three years ago following a contract dispute and won the Bellator middleweight title in May 2018 with a first-round knockout against Rafael Carvalho. He lost the title by majority decision against Rafael Lovato Jr. but beat fellow UFC alum Lyoto Machida, another former champion, in September of last year to run his Bellator mark to 4-1.

Mousasi likely will need to be at this best in order to recapture the title against Lima (32-7), who is perhaps the most accomplished fighter on the Bellator roster who has never represented the UFC. The 32-year-old Brazilian is in his 10th year with the promotion and has been involved in some of its most memorable bouts. Just last May, his signature performance was defined by masterful counter striking in a victory over previously unbeaten Bellator star Michael Page. Six months later, he followed it up with the welterweight title victory over MacDonald, who is perhaps best known for his bloody two-bout rivalry against Robbie Lawler in the UFC. You can see Marley's coveted Mousasi vs. Lima picks here.

Top Bellator 250 predictions

We'll share one of Marley's Bellator 250 picks here: He is siding with Desiree Yanez (-160) to get past Veta Arteaga (+130) in a women's flyweight matchup.

Yanez (5-2) is making her Bellator debut following a two-fight stint in the Combate Americas promotion. The 30-year-old Texan saw a four-fight winning streak come to an end with a split-decision loss to Melissa Martinez in December of last year.

Arteaga (5-4) has been with Bellator for all but one of her nine professional MMA fights. The 32-year-old hopes to snap a two-fight skid dating back to last December's decision loss to Alejandra Lara.

'I will lean with Yanez as the pick because she looks like the faster fighter with more behind her punches,' Marley told SportsLine.

How to make Bellator 250 picks

Marley also has strong picks for Mousasi vs. Lima and other fights on the Bellator 250 fight card. He's also backing one fighter he expects to get a knockout because he's 'the better fighter with more ways to win.' You can only see those selections here.

Who wins Mousasi vs. Lima at Bellator 250? And which fight is a huge mismatch? Visit SportsLine now to get Bellator 250 picks, all from the accomplished expert who is up more than $21,000 on his MMA picks in the past 21 months, and find out.

Bellator 250 odds (via William Hill)

Bellator 250 Fight Odds

Gegard Mousasi (-165) vs. Douglas Lima (+140)

Watch Bellator Fights Free

Henry Corrales (-310) vs. Brandon Girtz (+250)

Bellator Betting Odds

Veta Arteaga (-120) vs. Desiree Yanez (+100)