The final Bellator event of 2021 takes place on Friday and the promotion is set to sign off for the year with a bang as Sergio Pettis puts his bantamweight title on the line against Kyoji Horiguchi.
Bellator 272 heads to the base that it relied heavily on to stage behind closed doors events in late 2020 and early 2021, with the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut set to host this weekend.
And what a way to rubberstamp an incredible year for the company, as Pettis and Horiguchi square off in Uncasville, with the bantamweight strap up for grabs.
Emmanuel Sanchez and Jeremy Kennedy are slated to meet at featherweight in the co-main, while Josh Hill and Jared Scoggins will clash at 135lbs.
A middleweight bout between Johnny Eblen and Collin Huckbody is set to open the main card on a night that should provide plenty of drama.
Horiguchi’s Power Could Stun Pettis
At first glance there is little to pick between Pettis and Horiguchi but there is a disparity in the market and a deeper dive clears that up.
Pettis, despite being the champion, is the 29/20 underdog with Horiguchi priced at 1/2 to reclaim the title he had to vacate in 2019.
Horiguchi won the belt courtesy of a unanimous decision victory over Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 222 but a knee injury, which forced the Japanese to undergo surgery, meant he had to relinquish the belt before being able to make a defence.
He returned to action later in 2019 but clearly wasn’t up to full speed as he lost to Kai Asakura in the first round at Rizin 18, however, Horiguchi avenged that defeat in December 2020 with his own first round win over the same opponent to take the Rizin bantamweight belt.
The 31-year-old proved his power was still there, earning his 15th victory by KO/TKO and that’s what should offer the edge over Pettis on Friday.
Pettis is likely to test out the knee of Horiguchi and if he can land a series of successful kicks then that could open up a route to victory.
But Horiguchi will be fully expecting that approach and the real value lies with the challenger to win by KO/TKO/DQ at 3/1.
Featherweight Division Looking Strong
There has been plenty of focus on the featherweight division in 2021 with AJ McKee, who turned pro with Bellator in 2015, rising through the rankings before ending Patricio Pitbull’s seven-fight winning streak and subsequently landing the featherweight belt.
McKee at 18-0 is going to take some stopping in 2022 but there are plenty of potential contenders and two of them meet on Friday.
#4 Emmanuel Sanchez takes on #9 Jeremy Kennedy as they both look to bounce back from defeats to higher ranked fighters.
Sanchez, priced at 20/43 to win, is riding a two-fight losing streak after defeats to #1 Pitbull and #2 Mads Burnell, while Kennedy, available at 8/5, came out on the wrong side of a decision at Bellator 256 against Adam Borics, who is tied with Burnell for the number two ranking.
A third successive defeat for Sanchez will see him kiss goodbye to a title shot in the near future and it’s going to come down to who can exact their gameplan best.
Sanchez, who is 20-6, boasts a very impressive eight victories by submission and he can be backed at 6/1 to earn another win via that route.
Kennedy does have strong wrestling skills to try and keep his rival at bay but Sanchez looks to have to edge in this one.
Debutant Set to Test Hill
Jared Scoggins makes his Bellator debut against Josh Hill and, as the market suggests, it’s a difficult one to pick apart with both fighters priced at 20/23 to win.
Hill lost to #2 Raufeon Stots last time out but he sits at #7 in the bantamweight rankings after winning his previous four trips to the cage.
Scoggins, meanwhile, has been earning a reputation with other promotions and makes his maiden Bellator appearance off the back of five successive victories.
Gauging how his performances will transfer over to Bellator is tough, therefore, it’s probably safer to look away from the outright market.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
