If you are looking for some of Dana White Contender Series best bets this week, look no further for a breakdown of this week’s top-billing fight between light heavyweights Murtaza Talha and Rodolfo Bellato. Talha is coming from an untouched part of the world in the UFC. Bellato is getting his second chance at the Contender Series.
Read more for the official Talha vs Bellato prediction after previewing all the key aspects of this matchup.
Murtaza Talha vs. Rodolfo Bellato Information
Murtaza Talha vs Rodolfo Bellato
Location of the game: UFC APEX. Las Vegas, NV.
Date and Time: Tuesday, October 03. 8:00 PM ET
How to Watch: ESPN+
Last Fight Record
Talha is coming off a first-round submission over Kirill Khomitsky in September of 2022 at Brave CF 62.
Bellato is fresh off a unanimous decision win over Acacio dos Santos in a main event bout at LFA 159 last May.
Talha vs. Bellato Betting Analysis
Murtaza Talha
Talha is a mixed martial artist representing the country of Bahrain with a professional record of 6-0, with all six of his wins coming via knockout or submission. He was a former IMMAF world champion before turning professional.
Now, Talha has five first-round finishes in a row and has never seen the third round of an MMA bout. The most impressive part of Talha’s resume is his opponent’s total records are a combined 25-6–which is rare for anyone in this early stage of an MMA career.
Talha is listed at 6’0″, and his last weight was only 203 lbs. He might be slightly undersized as a light heavyweight, so don’t be surprised if he moves down to middleweight in the near future. He’s also only 27 years old.
#DWCS weigh-in results: Murtaza Talha 203.5 pic.twitter.com/FEDnP21QIL
— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) October 2, 2023
Rodolfo Bellato
Bellato is a Brazilian mixed martial artist with a professional MMA record of 10-2 with five KOs and four submissions under his belt. After losing his first opportunity at DWCS via second-round KO, this is a rare second opportunity for him to earn a contract. Bellato’s only two career defeats have both come at the hands of current UFC light heavyweight Vitor Petrino.
“Trator” is also only 27 years old, but he’s more of a physical specimen than his opponent this week. Bellato is listed at 6’3″ with a 75.5″ reach and clearly needs to cut serious weight to get to 205 lbs the day before the fight. He’s the reigning LFA light heavyweight champion.
#DWCS weigh-in results: Rodolfo Bellato (@Rbellato1) 205 pic.twitter.com/qnjQ1WzOKX
— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) October 2, 2023
Updates
No injuries have been reported to the UFC.
Murtaza Talha vs. Rodolfo Bellato Betting Preview
Even though Tuesdays on the MMA schedule right now are awesome, these DWCS events are arguably the toughest to bet on in all of MMA. We are getting these very talented, hungry fighters who are fighting for their lives. And we have to bet on them with limited information.
Before getting to the Talha vs Bellato prediction, let’s take a closer look at the betting lines for this bout. According to Dana White Contender Series odds, Talha is coming in as the big -300 betting favorite over the +240 Bellato.
The key betting line for this fight is the -600 odds for it to end inside the distance. That should tell you all you need to know about how this fight will probably go.
Size vs. Power
Other than the betting lines, we have to break down as much tape as possible on both of these guys. Starting off with Talha; he is one of the more impressive prospects to compete in DWCS. His strength of schedule so far this early in his career is pretty rare to see.
Talha seems maybe a little undersized for the light-heavyweight division. But his power and explosiveness translate very well against bigger men. He also seems to be able to outwrestle everybody he has gone against in a tough organization.
On the other side, Bellato is a very physically imposing athlete with a ton of size and some long limbs. He’s an aggressive BJJ fighter who can be very dangerous on the ground and has kickboxing experience as well.
Bellato’s biggest mistake last time at the UFC APEX was the lack of mixing up strikes. He only threw punches and left himself in harm’s way and out of the position, which led to a KO loss.
Talha vs. Bellato Betting Prediction
Dana White Contender Series predictions are probably the toughest to make. But there’s a good read going out on this matchup on Tuesday night.
- The official Talha vs Bellato prediction is Talha winning inside the distance and becoming one of the most interesting incoming UFC prospects coming out of this show.
What he lacks in size will be made up for in speed and explosiveness.
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