Here we have the UFC betting odds for the Vitor Belfort versus Kelvin Gastelum middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 106 on Saturday at Centro de Formação Olímpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil, for fans who bet on UFC at SBG online sportsbook:
Vitor Belfort – 1½ (+145) +325
Kelvin Gastelum – 1½ (-165) -400
Belfort may or may not have retired from MMA after 20 years in the biz following back-to-back losses to Ronaldo Souza and Gegard Mousasiv in May and October of 2016. Despite being 1-3 in his last four fights, the Phenom claims that “it’s the best moment” for him. Belfort may be just a tad out of touch, though. If the Phenom could have his way with MMA, he would “get rid of elbows so there would be no blood.” Okay, but then how would you bend your arms? Belfort was all set to face Derek Brunson but ‘The Law’ decided to pass on the Phenom. This led Belfort to have a sad about the state of mixed martial arts. “I see fighters choosing fights, turning down fights,” Belfort told MMA Fighting. “The current champion, the p**** (Michael) Bisping not wanting to fight anyone, (Chris) Weidman choosing fights, (Luke) Rockhold running from fights, people saying they are injured.” Perhaps they’re hemophobic? Belfort is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and a UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Champion, and has defeated the likes of Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva, Matt Lindland, and Anthony Johnson.
Kelvin Gastelum is the UFC betting favorite to win this Saturday. The Kelvinator has won his last two straight fights, the most recent of which – where he knocked Tim Kennedy into retirement – was his second return to middleweight. Gastelum is 3-2 in his last five bouts, but people who bet on UFC might be interested to know that he is undefeated as a middleweight. Belfort must have mixed feelings about Gastelum. On the one hand, the 25 year old brawler expressly asked to fight the Phenom, and as we saw above, the Brazilian is not down with MMAers “choosing fights.” But if he turned down this fight he would have been duplicitous. Talk about a Catch 22. Or would that be a Catchweight 22? Since Belfort did take the fight, Gastelum has remained a middleweight for the time being, though he has stated his wish to return to welterweight. This has sparked concerns; it is well know that Gastelum and the scale have a relationship that could be best described as Garfield-esque. Gastelum was pulled out of UFC 205 even before the weigh in; Dana White even promised Gastelum would never go back to 170 lbs. What, is he with Weight Watchers now? Just to be on the safe side, Gastelum said that “it’s not a definite that I’m going back down. I’m going to weigh my options after this fight” (bonus pun points!). Gastelum is used to being the underdog – either against other fighters or against the scale – but according to UFC betting odds, fans who bet on UFC favor him to defeat Belfort.