| Cyborg vs. Blencowe |
Freire vs. Willis |
Bandejas vs. Higo |
Awad vs. Nallo |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 120-76 |
 Cyborg (68%) |
 Freire (72%) |
 Bandejas (68%) |
 Nallo (51%) |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 130-66 |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Nallo |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 130-66 |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Nallo |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 129-67 |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
 Awad |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 128-68 |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Awad |
| Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 127-69 |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Nallo |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 126-70  2014 Champion |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Nallo |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 126-70 2017 Champion |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Nallo |
| Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 125-71 2019 Champion* |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Nallo |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 124-72 |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Nallo |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 121-75 |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Awad |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 121-75 2018 Champion |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Awad |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 118-78 |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Nallo |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 117-79 |
Cyborg |
Freire |
Bandejas |
Nallo |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 79-117 |
 Blencowe |
 Willis |
 Higo |
Awad |
Bellator is back Stateside this week for a Thursday event – which will be the promotion’s new normal – with the women’s featherweight title on the line.
Bellator 249 takes place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network following prelims on MMA Junkie.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, women’s 145-pound champion [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (22-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) puts her title on the line against Australian challenger [autotag]Arlene Blencowe[/autotag] (13-7 MMA, 6-3 BMMA). Cyborg is a heavy 9-1 favorite in the fight, and just one of our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts is picking Blencowe in an upset.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (23-9 MMA, 14-7 BMMA), brother of Bellator featherweight and lightweight dual champ Patricio Freire, takes on [autotag]Jaleel Willis[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA). Only one of our staff members is taking Willis, who is making his return to Bellator on the heels of an LFA welterweight title win in August.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Ricky Bandejas[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) meets [autotag]Leandro Higo[/autotag] (19-5 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) in a bantamweight bout. Just like the top two bouts, only one picker is taking Higo to win.
And to open the main card, we have our most contentious fight from a picking standpoint. [autotag]Saad Awad[/autotag] (23-13 MMA, 11-10 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Mandel Nallo[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) at lightweight. Awad has some picking support, but Nallo still has a sizable 9-5 lead.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Cyborg (68 percent), Freire (72 percent), Bandejas (68 percent) and Nallo (51 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
[vertical-gallery id=391998]