Bellator 220 Predictions
Stipe Miocic breaking news and and highlights for UFC 260 fight vs. Francis Ngannou, with official Sherdog mixed martial arts stats, photos, videos, and more for the Heavyweight fighter from. The promotion was initially targeting a UFC Welterweight Championship bout between current champion Kamaru Usman (also The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians welterweight winner) and Gilbert Burns to serve as the event headliner.
Bellator MMA travels overseas to the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland for Bellator 227 on Friday night. The main event takes place in the lightweight division where Benson Henderson takes on Myles Jury. The co-main takes place at a 165-pound catchweight where Kiefer Crosbie goes up against Hugo Pereira.
The main card also includes Leah McCourt taking on Kerry Hughes, Frans Mlambo goes up against Dominique Wooding, and Norbert Novenyi vs. Will Fleury.
Bellator 227 broadcast information
The main card will air on the Paramount Network and stream on DAZN starting at 8:00 PM (CST).
Note: The predictions in this column do not necessarily mean that I will be betting them. I have changed my mind in the past and gone the other way after conducting more research. For all my official bets follow me on Twitter @MichaelGrocke.
Bellator 227 Main Card
Benson Henderson (27-8) vs. Myles Jury (17-4) – Lightweight 155 lbs.
Current Odds: Henderson -245; Jury +195
After losing back-to-back fights to Michael Chandler at Bellator 165 and Patricky Freire at Bellator 183, Ben Henderson enters Friday’s fight riding a three-fight win streak. His most recent victory occurred at Bellator 220 where he defeated Adam Piccolotti via split decision. The thirty-five-year-old UFC and Bellator veteran makes the walk for the thirty-sixth time on Friday night. Of the American born fighter’s twenty-seven career victories, five are via knockout to go along with nine by submission.
UFC veteran Myles Jury makes his Bellator debut on Friday night. Jury lost his last two fights before leaving the UFC for Bellator. His most recent loss was to Andre Fili via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 1. Of Jury’s seventeen pro victories, ten are via knockout and three by submission. The thirty-year old will make the walk for the twenty-second time when he steps into the cage opposite Henderson on Friday.
My official pick: Henderson by decision.
From a betting perspective: Pass.
Kiefer Crosbie (6-1) vs. Hugo Pereira (3-1) – Catchweight 165 lbs.
Bellator 220 Predictions 2019
Current Odds: N/A
Ireland’s Kiefer Crosbie is 2-1 under the Bellator banner. He lost his most recent fight to Mike Jackson via disqualification due to an illegal knee in the very first round. Friday’s bout will be the eighth pro fight for Crosbie. Of his six victories, five ended inside the distance.
Hugo Pereira will make his Bellator debut on Friday. He won his most recent fight by beating Adrain Borrull at Porto Fight Club 1. He is 3-1 on the regional scene and will look to make a name for himself in his promotional debut.
My official pick: Crosbie by (T)KO.
From a betting perspective: Pass.
Leah McCourt (2-1) vs. Kerry Hughes (3-4) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
Current Odds: N/A
Friday’s bout will be the second one under the Bellator banner for Leah McCourt. She won her debut by defeating Hatice Ozyurt via TKO at Bellator 217. This is only her fourth professional fight.
Thirty-four-year old Kerry Hughes has lost her last three fights in a row. She’ll be looking to turn things around in her Bellator debut on Friday. Her most recent loss was at Danish MMA Night Vol. 1 where she dropped a unanimous decision to Pannie Kianzad. The English born fighter will make the walk for the eighth time when she steps into the cage opposite McCourt.
My official pick: McCourt by decision.
From a betting perspective: Pass
Frans Mlambo (7-4) vs. Dominique Wooding (6-2) – Bantamweight 135 lbs.
Current Odds: N/A
Dominique Wooding won his Bellator debut at Bellator Birmingham by defeating David Khalsa via TKO in the first round. All six of the twenty-three-year old’s victories are via knockout. This will be the English born fighter’s ninth pro fight.
Frans Mlambo is 1-0 in Bellator and 2-0 in his last two bouts. His most recent victory occurred at Bellator 223 where he defeated Nathan Greyson via submission in the second round. All seven of the Irish born fighter’s wins ended inside the distance. Four via knockout and three by submission.
My official pick: Wooding by decision.
From a betting perspective: Pass.
Norbert Novenyi (4-0) vs. Will Fleury (6-1) – Middleweight 185 lbs.
Current Odds: N/A
Norbert Novenyi has won his last two fights under the Bellator umbrella. He beat Mehemet Yueksel at Bellator 196 and Will Lavine at Bellator 218, both wins were via submission. In fact, three of his four pro victories are via submission.
After losing his Bellator debut to Alen Amedovski at Bellator 203, Will Fleury has won his last two fights in the promotion. He defeated Shaun Taylor at Bellator 217 via second round submission and Antonio Jones via unanimous decision at Bellator 224. Four of the thirty-year-old’s six career victories ended inside the distance. Fleury will make the walk for the eight time on Friday.
My official pick: Novenyi by submission.
Bellator 243 Predictions
From a betting perspective: Pass
Enjoy the fights!
More from MMATorch:
Bellator 244 Predictions
Predictions! Bellator 235 Main Card Preview & Quick Picks
Bellator 235: “USO Presents – Salute the Troops” comes to Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii, tomorrow night (Sat., Dec. 20, 2019), streaming live online via DAZN. A legendary “Warmaster” of mixed martial arts (MMA), Josh Barnett, will make his promotional debut against a fellow former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran, Ronny Markes, in the Heavyweight main event, which is free for all military service personnel and families.
Let’s break it down!
170 lbs.: Joey Davis (6-0) vs. Chris Cisneros (17-9)
Bellator 251 Predictions
Barnett is fond of the phrase “I tell it like it is,” so out of respect to the legend I feel I should be just as honest with all of you about this fight. Joey Davis is being fed a tomato can so he can remain undefeated. I’d like to give “The Maverick” Chris Cisneros more credit than that, but I’ve looked at the numbers, I’ve looked at his fights, and I just can’t do it. He’s lost three straight bouts coming in to face Davis. He hasn’t knocked anybody out in three years. He hasn’t submitted anyone in six years. He had one other fight in Bellator eight years ago and got finished by Ben Saunders. To suggest Cisneros has even a shadow of a chance against Davis would be to disrespect the fact that Davis was a flawless 133-0 in his collegiate wrestling career and has knocked out 66 percent of his opposition as a professional fighter.
Bellator 250 Predictions
Final prediction: Joey Davis via first round technical knockout
125 lbs.: Alejandra Lara (8-3) vs. Veta Arteaga (5-3)
It’s hard to come by contenders in a division the undefeated Ilima-Lei Macfarlane has cleaned out. In fact, Macfarlane has already defeated both Alejandra Lara and Veta Arteaga in title defenses — the former at Bellator 201 and the latter earlier this year at Bellator 220. Nevertheless, with her title fight against Kate Jackson headlining the same venue on Saturday night it behooves Bellator to showcase its talent at 125 pounds. Although Lara is only 2-2 over her last four fights, one loss was a split decision and the other was the aforementioned title fight. There’s not much to learn from her win over a sub-500 opponent at Bellator 225, but the young (25) Colombian fighter still seems to have more upside. Indeed, 50 percent of her wins come by knockout and that kind of power is hard to come by in the smaller weight classes. Veta Arteaga is tough, but at 5’4” she’s not got either the size or reach of the 5’7” Lara, and unless she can press Lara to the cage and take her down it won’t go her way.
Final prediction: Alejandra Lara via third round technical knockout
135 lbs.: Toby Misech (10-6) vs. Erik Perez (19-6)
Bellator 254 Predictions
This is the Bellator MMA debut for “Goyito” Erik Perez, a former UFC fighter who was inexplicably let go off of three straight wins who has since gone on to win two more bouts in Combate Americas. He finishes almost 66 percent of his wins (four knockouts, eight submissions) and has a natural flair for showmanship that Bellator obviously couldn’t pass up on. Don’t be surprised if he wears a lucha libre mask to the cage. Misech is a durable if unspectacular fighter who tends to lose to anyone half decent (Ricky Palacios, Eduardo Dantas, et cetera). Perez is more than half decent so the result is fairly obvious.
Final predictions: Erik Perez via first round submission
145 lbs.: Tywan Claxton (5-1) vs. Braydon Akeo (3-0)
If you’re looking to add a little excitement to a card, “Air” Tywan Claxton is your man. He won four of his first five fights by knockout including some spectacular displays that are now permanently part of the Bellator MMA highlight reel. Unfortunately for Claxton his unbeaten streak came to an end when Emmanuel Sanchez submitted him in a first round bout for the Featherweight Grand Prix. Now he has a chance to return the favor and hand Braydon Akeo his first loss. The recent open invitation tryout in Hawaii put Akeo on Bellator’s radar, and in his short career he’s finished 66 percent of his fights via strikes. Will that be enough to propel him past a former collegiate wrestling standout who seems to have a natural gift for the stand-up game? Unless he can out-wrestle him the way Sanchez did, the answer is, “No.”
Final prediction: Tywan Claxton via second round technical knockout
Bellator 220 Predictions
That’s a wrap!
MMAmania.com will deliver coverage of Bellator Salute the Troops tomorrow with a main card at 10 p.m. ET on DAZN/Paramount Network. To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.
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