Bellator 241 predictions: Is anyone picking Pedro Carvalho against 10-1 favorite Patricio Freire?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 241 main card, which features a Patricio Freire vs. Pedro Carvalho title fight.

Freire
vs.
Carvalho
Sanchez
vs.
Weichel
Markes
vs.
Mitrione
Daley
vs.
Homasi
Newell
vs.
Zane
Aguiar
vs.
Tokov
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2020: 36-18
freire2020
Freire
(69%)
sanchez2020
Sanchez
(61%)
mitrione2020
Mitrione
(77%)
daley2020
Daley
(92%)
newell2020
Newell
(70%)
tokov2020
Tokov
(84%)
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2020: 41-13
freire2020
Freire
weichel2020
Weichel
mitrione2020
Mitrione
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
Simon Head
@simonhead
2020: 40-14
trophy copy 2019 Champion*
freire2020
Freire
sanchez2020
Sanchez
mitrione2020
Mitrione
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
Dave Doyle
@davedoylemma
2020: 40-14
freire2020
Freire
sanchez2020
Sanchez
markes2020new
Markes
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
Nolan King
@mma_kings
2020: 40-14
freire2020
Freire
weichel2020
Weichel
mitrione2020
Mitrione
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2020: 40-14
freire2020
Freire
weichel2020
Weichel
mitrione2020
Mitrione
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2020: 40-14
freire2020
Freire
sanchez2020
Sanchez
markes2020new
Markes
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2020: 40-14
freire2020
Freire
weichel2020
Weichel
markes2020new
Markes
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2020: 40-14
trophy copy 2017 Champion
freire2020
Freire
sanchez2020
Sanchez
markes2020new
Markes
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
2020: 39-15
freire2020
Freire
sanchez2020
Sanchez
markes2020new
Markes
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2020: 38-16
freire2020
Freire
sanchez2020
Sanchez
markes2020new
Markes
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2020: 38-16
trophy copy 2014 Champion
freire2020
Freire
sanchez2020
Sanchez
mitrione2020
Mitrione
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2020: 38-16
trophy copy 2018 Champion
freire2020
Freire
sanchez2020
Sanchez
mitrione2020
Mitrione
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2020: 33-21
freire2020
Freire
sanchez2020
Sanchez
markes2020new
Markes
daley2020
Daley
newell2020
Newell
tokov2020
Tokov
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2020: 25-29
freire2020
Freire
sanchez2020
Sanchez
mitrione2020
Mitrione
homasi2020
Homasi
newell2020
Newell
aguiar2020
Aguiar

Bellator is back in Connecticut this week for the continuation of its ongoing featherweight tournament.

Bellator 241 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. 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, featherweight and lightweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (30-4 MMA, 18-4 BMMA) puts his 145-pound title on the line against challenger [autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) in the quarterfinals of the grand prix. “Pitbull” Freire is a big 10-1 favorite from the oddsmakers, and he pitched a shutout from our 14 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers.

The co-main event is another quarterfinal fight in the tournament, and the winner will move on to face the Freire-Carvalho winner in what will be a semifinal bout that doubles as a title fight. [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) is a slight favorite against [autotag]Daniel Weichel[/autotag] (40-11 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) in a rematch of a fight Weichel won in 2016. But this time, it’s Sanchez with a 10-4 lead in the picks.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Ronny Markes[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) takes on late replacement [autotag]Matt Mitrione[/autotag] (13-7 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in a heavyweight bout. Markes was supposed to fight Josh Barnett in a fight rescheduled from December, but Barnett was pulled from the event. Mitrione is the favorite at around -170, but our pickers have it split right down the middle at 7-7.

[autotag]Paul Daley[/autotag] (42-17-2 MMA, 8-4 BMMA) is a 4-1 favorite in his welterweight fight against [autotag]Sabah Homasi[/autotag] (13-8 MMA, 2-2 BMMA), and the picks reflect that. Only one picker is taking Homasi in an upset, giving Daley a whopping 13-1 edge.

[autotag]Nick Newell[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) will try to rebound from his first Bellator loss with another fight in his home state when he takes on [autotag]Zach Zane[/autotag] (14-9 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at lightweight. Newell is more than a 2-1 favorite, and he’s our second unanimous pick.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (29-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is a massive 12-1 favorite against [autotag]Fabio Aguiar[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who is making his Bellator debut at middleweight. Only one picker is taking Aguiar in what would be a big upset.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Freire (69 percent), Sanchez (61 percent), Mitrione (77 percent), Daley (92 percent), Newell (70 percent) and Tokov (84 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.