| Chandler vs. Henderson |
Johnson vs. Mitrione |
Jury vs. Karakhanyan |
Homasi vs. Millender |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 72-49 |
 Chandler (62%) |
 Mitrione (79%) |
 Jury (83%) |
 Millender (88%) |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 85-36 |
Chandler |
 Johnson |
Jury |
Millender |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 85-36 |
Chandler |
Mitrione |
Jury |
Millender |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 83-38 |
Chandler |
Mitrione |
Jury |
Millender |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 81-40  2014 Champion |
Chandler |
Mitrione |
Jury |
 Homasi |
| Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 80-41 2019 Champion* |
Chandler |
Mitrione |
Jury |
Millender |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 80-41 2017 Champion |
Chandler |
Mitrione |
 Karakhanyan |
Millender |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 80-41 |
Chandler |
Johnson |
Jury |
Millender |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 79-42 2018 Champion |
 Henderson |
Mitrione |
Jury |
Millender |
| Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 78-43 |
Chandler |
Mitrione |
Jury |
Millender |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 77-45 |
Chandler |
Johnson |
Jury |
Millender |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 76-45 |
Chandler |
Mitrione |
Karakhanyan |
Millender |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 73-48 |
Chandler |
Mitrione |
Jury |
Millender |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 73-48 |
Chandler |
Mitrione |
Jury |
Millender |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 52-69 |
Henderson |
Mitrione |
Karakhanyan |
Homasi |
Bellator is back in Connecticut this week with a pair of former lightweight champions atop the bill.
Bellator 243 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount following prelims on MMA Junkie.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, former Bellator lightweight champ [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 17-5 BMMA) takes on ex-UFC and WEC champ [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (28-8 MMA, 5-3 BMMA). Chandler is more than a 2-1 favorite in the fight, and he’s got the support of a whopping 12 of our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts in the picks.
In the co-main event, [autotag]Timothy Johnson[/autotag] (13-6 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) will go after his second Bellator heavyweight win on the heels of his upset of 9-1 favorite Tyrell Fortune in February. This time, he’s just a slight underdog against [autotag]Matt Mitrione[/autotag] (13-7 MMA, 4-2 BMMA), but it’s Mitrione with a big 11-3 picks lead.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Myles Jury[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) is a big favorite against [autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] (29-10-1 MMA, 7-8 BMMA) in their lightweight bout, and he’s got a 10-3 picks lead.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Sabah Homasi[/autotag] (13-8 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) will try to upset [autotag]Curtis Millender[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) at welterweight. Millender nearly is a 3-1 favorite, and hes got a heavy 11-2 lead in the picks.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Chandler (62 percent), Mitrione (79 percent), Jury (83 percent) and Millender (88 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.