| Cyborg vs. Smith |
Caldwell vs. Higo |
Edwards vs. Vanderford |
Mandonca vs. Willis |
Edwards vs. Parrish |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 66-45 |
 Cyborg (86%) |
 Caldwell (77%) |
 Vanderford (70%) |
 Willis (85%) |
 C. Edwards (83%) |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 68-43 |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Vanderford |
Willis |
C. Edwards |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 68-43 |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Vanderford |
Willis |
C. Edwards |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 66-45 |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Vanderford |
 Mendonca |
C. Edwards |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 66-45  2018 Champion |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
 F. Edwards |
Willis |
C. Edwards |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 65-46 2014 Champion |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Vanderford |
Willis |
C. Edwards |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 65-46 2017 Champion |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Vanderford |
Willis |
C. Edwards |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 65-46 |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Vanderford |
Willis |
C. Edwards |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 65-46 |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Vanderford |
Willis |
C. Edwards |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 63-48 2020 Champion |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Vanderford |
Willis |
C. Edwards |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 62-49 |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Vanderford |
Willis |
C. Edwards |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 61-50 |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
F. Edwards |
Willis |
C. Edwards |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 60-51 |
Cyborg |
Caldwell |
Vanderford |
Mendonca |
C. Edwards |
| BetMGM Betting Favorites |
Cyborg -1400 |
Caldwell -350 |
Vanderford -225 |
Mendonca -125 |
C. Edwards -650 |
Bellator is back this week with a title fight at the top of the card.
Bellator 259 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. 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, women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (23-2 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) puts her title on the line in a rematch with challenger [autotag]Leslie Smith[/autotag] (12-8-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA). Cyborg is a huge favorite at -1400 at BetMGM, so it’s no surprise she’s one of three unanimous picks on the main card from our editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers.
In the co-feature, former bantamweight champ [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Leandro Higo[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 3-3 BMMA). Caldwell is a -350 favorite, and he’s a 12-0 unanimous pick from our staff members.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) in a middleweight bout. Vanderford is a -225 favorite, but two of our pickers are taking Edwards in an upset.
[autotag]Maycon Mendonca[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is a slight favorite at -125 in his welterweight bout against [autotag]Jaleel Willis[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 2-0 BMMA). But it’s Willis with a big 10-2 picks lead.
Unfortunately, the bout expected to open the main card, which saw [autotag]Christian Edwards[/autotag] (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) as a big -650 favorite at light heavyweight against [autotag]Ben Parrish[/autotag] (4-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), was called off following the day’s official weigh-ins. Edwards was our third unanimous pick.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Cyborg (86 percent), Caldwell (77 percent), Vanderford (70 percent), Willis (85 percent) and Christian Edwards (83 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
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