| Freire vs. Sanchez |
Gracie vs. Jackson |
Fortune vs. May |
Hamel vs. Nurmagomedov |
Lara vs. Watanabe |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 27-25 |
 Freire (74%) |
 Gracie (76%) |
 Fortune (89%) |
 Nurmagomedov (97%) |
 Watanabe (52%) |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 32-20  2020 Champion |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
 Lara |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 32-20 |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Lara |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 31-21 |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Lara |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 30-22 |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Watanabe |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 30-22 2017 Champion |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Lara |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 30-22 |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Watanabe |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 30-22 2018 Champion |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Watanabe |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 29-23 |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Lara |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 28-24 |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Watanabe |
| Simon Head @simonhead 2021: 28-24 2019 Champion* |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Watanabe |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 26-26 |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Lara |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 26-26 2014 Champion |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Lara |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 24-28 |
Freire |
Gracie |
Fortune |
Nurmagomedov |
Lara |
| BetMGM Betting Favorites |
Freire -250 |
 Jackson -120 |
Fortune -700 |
Nurmagomedov -800 |
Lara -185 |
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Bellator is back for the first time in 2021, and the featherweight title is on the line at the top of the card.
Bellator 255 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime and MMA Junkie following prelims on MMA Junkie.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, lightweight and featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (31-4 MMA, 19-4 BMMA) puts his 145-pound title on the line against [autotag]Emmanuel Sanchez[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 12-3 BMMA) in a rematch. Freire won the first fight by unanimous decision and is a -250 favorite at BetMGM in the rematch, which also is a semifinal fight in the featherweight tournament. Our 13 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts are taking Freire unanimously – one of four 13-0 nods on the main card.
In the co-feature, the welterweight fight between [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) nearly is a pick’em – Jackson is just a slight favorite. But our pickers are going with Gracie unanimously.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Tyrell Fortune[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) runs things back with [autotag]Jack May[/autotag] (11-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) after their first heavyweight meeting ended in a no contest. Fortune is a massive favorite at 7-1, and not surprisingly he’s a unanimous pick at 13-0.
Our fourth unanimous nod is [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), a cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. The -800 favorite is a 13-0 pick from our staff members in his lightweight fight against [autotag]Mike Hamel[/autotag] (7-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).
And to open the main card, we have our only contentious fight from a picking standpoint. [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Kana Watanabe[/autotag] (9-0-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) in a women’s flyweight bout. Lara nearly is a 2-1 favorite, and she has an 8-5 lead in the picks.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Freire (74 percent), Gracie (76 percent), Fortune (89 percent), Nurmagomedov (97 percent) and Watanabe (52 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
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