Bellator 280: Bader vs Kondo betting picks & odds – May 6, 2022

Ryan Bader will defend his Bellator Heavyweight World Championship against Cheick Kondo in the main event of Bellator 280 this Friday night in Paris, France. Here’s a betting preview and predictions for the Bader vs Kondo main event and the rest of the fights on the main card leading up to the championship bout.

Heavyweight: Ryan Bader (-350) vs Cheick Kongo (+285)

Ryan Bader (29-7-0) defeated interim heavyweight champion Valentin Moldavsky by decision at Bellator 273 to unify the belts and defend his championship. Bader is 9-2-0 over his last 11 fights including a perfect 5-0-0 record as a heavyweight. This will be his second title defense against Cheick Kongo after the first title fight between these two men ended as a no contest in the first round due to an accidental eye poke.

Kongo (31-11-2) is 9-1-0 over his last 10 fights. He suffered a split decision loss to Timothy Johnson at Bellator 248 following the no contest against Bader, but has since bounced back with a submission win over Sergei Kharitonov. While Kongo has put together an impressive career in Bellator, he has not fought the level of opponents that Bader has, and this is a very clear step up in difficulty for him. Bader still seems to have plenty in the tank after his impressive win over Moldavsky, so there isn’t any clear reason to go against the champion in this spot.

Light Heavyweight: Yoel Romero (-155) vs Alex Polizzi (+125)

Yoel Romero (13-6-0) was originally scheduled to fight Melvin Manhoef in this co-main event, but Alex Polizzi (10-1-0) has stepped in after Manhoef was forced to withdraw from the bout with a hand injury. Romero is a big name that started his career off with an impressive 13-2 run that included a 9-1 run in the UFC, but the 45-year-old has lost each of his last four fights since then.

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With that said, Romero fought to a respectable split decision against Phil Davis in his Bellator debut in September, and his last three losses in the UFC all came by decision to elite opponents in Israel Adesanya, Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker. Going up against a far less established opponent in Polizzi in this bout, the value on Romero is too good to pass up on.

Lightweight: Davy Gallon (N/A) vs Benjamin Brander (N/A)

Davy Gallon (20-7-2) is 4-0-0 over his last four fights including a 2-0-0 start in Bellator. Benjamin Brander (13-8-0) meanwhile is 2-3 over his last five fights including a loss to Chris Bungard in his only Bellator fight to date. This figures to be a pretty easy victory for Gallon, who stands to extend his current winning streak to five straight fights.

Middleweight: Lorenz Larkin (-310) vs Kyle Stewart (+260)

Lorenz Larkin (23-7-0) got off to a disappointing start in Bellator with an 0-2-0 record back in 2017, but he’s found his groove with the promotion since then with a perfect 5-0-0 record in his last five bouts. Kyle Stewart (15-5-0) will be making his promotional debut on Friday night and doesn’t have a whole lot of momentum with a 2-2 record over his last four fights. Given Larkin’s consistency at this level over the last four and a half years, the favorite looks like a pretty safe bet in this one.

Middleweight: Mike Shipman (-175) vs Gregory Babene (+150)

Mike Shipman (14-3-0) makes his return to the ring for the first time since September of 2020, when he snapped a two-fight losing streak with a decision win over Pietro Penini. Gregory Babene (21-11-0) is a perfect 6-0-0 over his last six fights with six straight submission wins, five of which came in the first round. Babene is way too dangerous, especially against a fighter that could be dealing with some ring rust after a long layoff, to pass up on as an underdog in this main card opener.

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