Bellator Paris: Patchy Mix vs. Magomed Magomedov continues on the main card with a fight in the middleweight division between Gregory Babene and Costello van Steenis. Babene comes into this fight winning eight straight fights with all eight coming inside the distance meanwhile, van Steenis comes into this on the heels of a unanimous decision loss. With that said, check out our Bellator Paris Series odds for our Babene-van Steenis prediction and pick.
Gregory Babene (23-11) is making age look like nothing but a number as he comes into this fight riding an eight-fight unbeaten streak while winning all five fights inside the Bellator cage most recently choking out Charlie Ward in round 1. Now, he looks to extend his winning streak when he takes on Costello van Steenis this Friday in Paris.
Costello van Steenis (14-3) came up short in this biggest fight of his career when he dropped a decision to the former Bellator Welterweight Champion Douglas Lima. With that loss, that puts him at 6-2 in his Bellator career, and will be looking to get back on track when he takes on Gregory Bebane this Friday in Paris.
Here are the Bellator Paris Odds, courtesy of BetOnline.
Bellator Paris Odds: Gregory Babene-Costello van Steenis Odds
Gregory Babene: +300
Costello van Steenis: -375
Over 1.5 rounds: +105
Under 1.5 rounds: -135
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Why Gregory Babene Will Win
Gregory Babene is looking to not only to defeat his opponent Costello van Steenis but also to defeat Father Time. At the age of 40 years old, Babene is coming into his 36th professional fight with 23 victories with 20 of those coming inside the distance. He is coming into this fight riding an eight-fight unbeaten streak with all eight of those wins coming inside the distance and not one seeing the third round. He will be looking to keep this winning streak going when he takes on Costello van Steenis this Friday night.
Babene is now 5-0 in his Bellator career with all five of those wins being finishes. He is someone that you can't take lightly just because of his age because if you do so he will catch you sleeping like he's done time and time again. In this matchup, he may be a bit outmatched in the youth, power, and cardio departments but he makes up for it in grit and his world-class grappling game. If Babene can avoid on the wrong end of one of van Steenis' power shots he can and get inside the clinch to take him he can score yet another submission victory and keep this thing going.
Why Costello van Steenis Will Win
Costello van Steenis is coming off a very close defeat to the former Bellator Welterweight Champion Douglas Lima in his last fight losing by unanimous decision. Before that loss, van Steenis had won eight out of his last nine with a win over former middleweight title challenger Fabian Edwards and his lone loss coming against former title challenger John Salter back in 2019. Costello van Steenis will be looking to get back on track when he takes on Gregory Babene in his backyard on Friday night.
Van Steenis is as well-rounded as they come with three wins by KO/TKO and seven wins by submission. While he certainly can compete with Babene on the mat, he will have a distinct advantage if this fight stays standing. He will be significantly faster and will pack more of a punch than Babene at this stage of his career. It's up to van Steenis to use his grappling to keep this fight standing where he can land some heavy shots potentially putting Babene away early.
Final Gregory Babene-Costello van Steenis Prediction & Pick
With the way Gregory Babene fights, expect the unexpected. He has time and time again defied the odds and has won fights that many believed he wouldn't like his fights against Mike Shipman, Glenn Sparv, and Emiliano Sordi. However, he may have finally met his match at age 40 when he takes on Costello van Steenis. Many believed van Steenis defeated Douglas Lima in his last fight including myself and that was a far tougher matchup than Babene. Ultimately, Babene will be looking to take this fight to the mat but will fail miserably and that is when van Steenis will take over and get the finish against Babene midway through the fight getting back on track this Friday night in Paris.
Click here for more betting news and predictions
Final Gregory Babene-Costello van Steenis Prediction & Pick: Costello van Steenis (-375), Under 1.5 Rounds (-135)
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