| Emelianenko vs. Johnson |
Minakov vs. Sowma |
Nurmagomedov vs. Pietila |
Davlatmurodov vs. Tokov |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 167-97 |
 Emelianenko (66%) |
 Minakov (91%) |
 Nurmagomedov (92%) |
 Tokov (83%) |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 172-92 |
 Johnson |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 166-98 |
Emelianenko |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 164-100 |
Johnson |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 161-103  2020 Champion |
Johnson |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 160-104 2018 Champion |
Emelianenko |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 160-104 |
Emelianenko |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 159-105 2014 Champion |
Emelianenko |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 155-109 2017 Champion |
Johnson |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 154-110 |
Johnson |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 153-111 |
Emelianenko |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 151-113 |
Johnson |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 150-115 |
Emelianenko |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 90-58 |
Emelianenko |
Minakov |
Nurmagomedov |
Tokov |
Bellator makes its debut in Russia this week with arguably the most famous Russian fighter of all time at the top of the bill.
Bellator 269 takes place Saturday at VTB Arena in Moscow. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) fights in his home country for the first time in more than five years when he takes on [autotag]Tim Johnson[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) at heavyweight. Johnson, fighting in hostile territory, is a -160 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Emelianenko is +125. But it’s Emelianenko who has a 7-6 lead in the picks from our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers at 13-0.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Vitaly Minakov[/autotag] (22-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) is a big -320 favorite at heavyweight against [autotag]Said Sowma[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA). He’s one of three unanimous picks from our staff members on the main card.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (13-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) will try to keep his unbeaten record intact against [autotag]Patrik Pietila[/autotag] (11-8 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in a 160-pound contract weight fight. Nurmagomedov is a massive -3000 favorite, and not surprisingly he’s a unanimous pick.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (29-3 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is a huge -750 favorite at middleweight against [autotag]Sharaf Davlatmurodov[/autotag] (18-3-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and is our third unanimous choice.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Emelianenko (66 percent), Minakov (91 percent), Nurmagomedov (92 percent) and Tokov (83 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.