| Budd vs. Cyborg |
Borics vs. Caldwell |
Archuleta vs. Corrales |
Khashakyan vs. Pettis |
Daniels vs. J. King |
E. King vs. Knight |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 3-1 |
 Cyborg (57%) |
 Borics (55%) |
 Archuleta (79%) |
 Pettis (82%) |
 Daniels (62%) |
 Knight (71%) |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 4-0  2017 Champion |
Cyborg |
Borics |
Archuleta |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 4-0 |
Cyborg |
Borics |
Archuleta |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 3-1 2019 Champion* |
Cyborg |
Borics |
Archuleta |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 3-1 |
Cyborg |
 Caldwell |
Archuleta |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 3-1 |
Cyborg |
Borics |
Archuleta |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 3-1 |
Cyborg |
Borics |
Archuleta |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 3-1 |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Archuleta |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 3-1 2014 Champion |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Archuleta |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 3-1 |
Cyborg |
Borics |
Archuleta |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 3-1 |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
 Corrales |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 3-1 |
Cyborg |
Borics |
Archuleta |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 2-2 2018 Champion |
Cyborg |
Borics |
Archuleta |
 Khashakyan |
Daniels |
Knight |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 2-2 |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Corrales |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 2-2 |
 Budd |
Caldwell |
Archuleta |
Pettis |
Daniels |
Knight |
Bellator’s first event of the new year goes down Saturday, and a dominant champion puts her title on the line against a legend.
Bellator 238 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card streams on DAZN 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 featherweight champion [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) defends her belt against [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), a former UFC and Strikeforce champ who is making her Bellator debut. Cyborg, regarded by many as the greatest women’s fighter in history, is a 4-1 favorite from the oddsmakers, and she’s nearly a unanimous pick from our 14 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers. Only one picker is taking Budd to retain her title in an upset.
In the co-main event, [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag] (14-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) in a quarterfinal fight in Bellator’s ongoing featherweight tournament. The fight nearly is a pick’em from the oddsmakers, and it’s close with our pickers, as well. Borics has just an 8-6 lead.
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In another featherweight fight, [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (23-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) is more than a 2-1 favorite against [autotag]Henry Corrales[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 5-4 BMMA). Both fighters are looking to rebound from losses in the tournament’s opening round. Archuleta has a big 12-2 advantage from our staff members.
Former UFC fighter [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) makes his Bellator debut at bantamweight against [autotag]Alfred Khashakyan[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). He’s nearly a 3-1 favorite, and all but one of our pickers is taking him to get off on the right foot in the promotion.
We have two unanimous picks on the main card. [autotag]Raymond Daniels[/autotag] (1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) has the support of all 14 of our pickers in his welterweight bout against [autotag]Jason King[/autotag] (8-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
And to open the main card, boxing standout [autotag]Ava Knight[/autotag] (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is a unanimous pick against [autotag]Emilee King[/autotag] (3-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in their women’s strawweight fight, which is Knight’s second pro MMA bout.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Cyborg (57 percent), Borics (55 percent), Archuleta (79 percent), Pettis (82 percent), Daniels (62 percent) and Knight (71 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
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