Andrew Fisher – Syndication Server

Bellator 287 predictions: Three unanimous nods and one blowout in Milan

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 287 main card in Milan, Italy.

	Piccolotti vs. Barnaoui	Edwards vs. Ward	Rogers vs. Wilde	Fisher vs. Gonzales
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 167-100	Barnaoui (58%)	Edwards (73%)	Rogers (76%)	Gonzales (84%)
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 179-93 2018 Champion	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 172-100	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 170-102	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 169-103	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 169-103 2014 Champion	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 166-106	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Simon Samano @SJSamano 165-107	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Brian Garcia @thegoze 159-113 2017 Champion	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Nolan King @mma_kings 159-113	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 152-120	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 133-138	Barnaoui	Edwards	Rogers	Gonzales

Bellator is back in Italy this week with a lightweight matchup at the top of the lineup.

Bellator 287 takes place Saturday at Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan, Italy. 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]Adam Piccolotti[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 9-4 BMMA) takes on promotional newcomer [autotag]Mansour Barnaoui[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at lightweight. Barnaoui is a slight betting favorite around -150, and our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have him as a near-unanimous pick at 10-1.

In the co-main event [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) is one of our three unanimous picks on the main card in his middleweight fight against [autotag]Charlie Ward[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 7-1 BMMA). Edwards is the brother of new UFC welterweight champ Leon Edwards; Ward is a teammate of Conor McGregor. Edwards is as much as a 6-1 favorite and an 11-0 pick from our staff members.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Saul Rogers[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) is a 4-1 favorite in his lightweight bout against [autotag]Tim Wilde[/autotag] (14-4-1 MMA, 2-1-1 BMMA). Rogers is our second unanimous pick on the main card.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Justin Gonzales[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) is nearly a 3-1 favorite in his featherweight bout against [autotag]Andrew Fisher[/autotag] (19-8-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA). Gonzales is our third 11-0 pick

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Barnaoui (58 percent), Edwards (73 percent), Rogers (76 percent) and Gonzales (84 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 287.

[vertical-gallery id=2592011]

Bellator 281: Best photos from London

Check out these photos from Bellator 281 which took place at SSE Arena in London.

Check out these photos from Bellator 281 which took place at SEE Arena in London. (Photos courtesy of Bellator MMA)

Oct 9, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; New England Patriots defensive back Nate Ebner (43) during warmups before the game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Patriots won 33-13. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Nov 23, 2019; Tucson, AZ, USA; Utah Utes running back Zack Moss (2) is stopped by Arizona Wildcats defenders during the first half at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Oct 13, 2018; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins running back Anthony McFarland (5) runs the ball against Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Avery Young (20) at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

Jan 1, 2020; Pasadena, California, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Jonathan Taylor (23) makes a catch against the Oregon Ducks in the third quarter during the 106th Rose Bowl game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Jan 18, 2020; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Team East running back Rico Dowdle (35) runs the ball as Team West safety Jordan Glasgow (29) defends during the second quarter at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

Bellator 267 predictions: Who’s picking Michael Page over Douglas Lima in rematch?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator 267 main card in London, featuring a rematch between Douglas Lima and Michael Page.

	Lima vs. Page	Borga vs. McCourt	Fisher vs. Whiteford	Bahati vs. Trainer	Landu vs. Wilde
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 151-91	Page (52%)	McCourt (69%)	Whiteford (84%)	Trainer (82%)	Wilde (56%)
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 157-85	Lima	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Wilde
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 152-90	Page	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Wilde
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 148-94	Lima	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Landu
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 147-95	Page	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Wilde
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 147-95 2018 Champion	Lima	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Landu
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 146-96 2014 Champion	Page	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Landu
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 145-97 2020 Champion	Lima	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Landu
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 141-101	Lima	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Landu
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 140-102 2017 Champion	Page	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Landu
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 138-104	Page	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Landu
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 137-105	Page	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Wilde
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 136-106	Page	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Landu
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 75-51	Lima	McCourt	Whiteford	Trainer	Landu

Bellator returns to London this week with a key welterweight rematch at the top of the bill.

Bellator 267 takes place Friday at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London. 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, former welterweight champion [autotag]Douglas Lima[/autotag] (32-9 MMA, 14-5 BMMA) meets [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 15-1 BMMA) in a rematch. Lima won their first meeting in 2019 in the grand prix semifinals and went on to reclaim the title. The fight nearly is a pick’em at Tipico, where Page has a slight -115 edge to -110 for Lima. And Page has the slightest possible edge in the picks from our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well, at 7-6.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Leah McCourt[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Jessica Borga[/autotag] (3-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) in a women’s featherweight bout. McCourt is the biggest favorite on the entire card at -650 and is one of three unanimous picks at 13-0 from our staff members.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Robert Whiteford[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Andrew Fisher[/autotag] (18-8-1 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) in a featherweight bout. Whiteford is a -270 favorite and our second unanimous pick.

Our third unanimous pick is at light heavyweight. [autotag]Luke Trainer[/autotag] (4-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is the card’s second biggest favorite at -475 and has a 13-0 shutout in the picks against [autotag]Yannick Bahati[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 1-1 BMMA).

And to open the main card, [autotag]Yves Landu[/autotag] (16-8 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Tim Wilde[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) at lightweight. Wilde is at -220 favorite, but our pickers are going with Landu at a 9-4 clip.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Page (52 percent), McCourt (69 percent), Whiteford (84 percent), Trainer (82 percent) and Wilde (56 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

[pickup_prop id=”12813″]

[vertical-gallery id=1188184]

Douglas Lima to rematch Michael Page in Bellator 267 headliner in London

Michael Page will finally get the opportunity to avenge the lone loss of his MMA career, when he rematches Douglas Lima on Oct. 1.

[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] will finally get the opportunity to avenge the lone loss of his MMA career.

Page (19-1 MMA, 15-1 BMMA) rematches former three-time welterweight champion [autotag]Douglas Lima[/autotag] (32-9 MMA, 14-5 BMMA) in the main event of Bellator 267, which takes place at London’s The SSE Arena, Wembley on Oct. 1, Bellator officials announced Tuesday morning.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bellator MMA (@bellatormma)

Since losing to Lima in the welterweight grand prix semi-finals in May 2019, “MVP” has won five straight bouts, most recently smashing Derek Anderson’s nose in with a left kick in the first round of Bellator 258. He’s been eager to run things back with Lima ever since getting knocked out by him and he will get his wish, this time, in front of his home crowd.

After recapturing his welterweight title from Rory MacDonald in the grand prix finals in October 2019, Lima attempted to go up in weight and become a dual-champion by challenging Gegard Mousasi for the vacant light heavyweight title at Bellator 250. Lima would fall short in his pursuit and would go on to lose his 170-pound belt in his first title defense against Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 260 in June.

The full Bellator 267 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 4 p.m. ET)

Douglas Lima vs. Michael Page
[autotag]Andrew Fisher[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Robert Whiteford[/autotag]
[autotag]Yves Landu[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tim Wilde[/autotag]
[autotag]Yannick Bahati[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Luke Trainer[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 12:30 p.m. ET)

[autotag]Uros Jurisic[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Lewis Long[/autotag]
[autotag]Davy Gallon[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Kane Mousah[/autotag]
[autotag]Lucie Bertaud[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Elina Kallionidou[/autotag]
[autotag]Gavin Hughes[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Charlie Leary[/autotag]
[autotag]Fabacary Diatta[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nathan Rose[/autotag]
[autotag]Mike Ekundayo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khurshed Kakhorov[/autotag]

[vertical-gallery id=407518]

Bellator signs English duo Luke Trainer and Andrew Fisher to bolster European Series roster

Bellator has bolstered its European roster with the addition of two English athletes, light heavyweight prospect Luke Trainer and featherweight veteran Andrew Fisher.

Bellator’s continued expansion in Europe has seen the promotion add two more fighters to their growing roster of European athletes, with one rising prospect and one seasoned campaigner joining the organization for 2020.

Light heavyweight prospect [autotag]Luke Trainer[/autotag] (3-0) recently won the one-night tournament at Euro Fight Night: Manchester, where he defeated three fellow 205-pound prospects in one night to win the tournament and earn himself a contract with a “major MMA promotion”. That promotion is Bellator, and Trainer has put pen to paper on a new deal that will see him compete in the Bellator cage.

The undefeated 23-year-old, known as “The Gent”, stands at six feet six inches and trains under Mickey Papas and Brad “One Punch” Pickett at Titan Fighter in London, and former WEC and UFC star Pickett said he has high hopes for his young light heavyweight protege as he gets set for action as a Bellator athlete.

“This kid is full of potential. He’s very technical, very skilful, and for me the main thing he has the right mindset and work ethic to not just achieve great things in Europe, but I believe this guy can push worldwide and become a household name,” he said. “Obviously there’s still a lot of work to do – he knows he’s got a lot of work to do – and he’s up for the challenge. So I honestly see exciting things for this guy.”

Joining Trainer on the Bellator Europe roster is fellow countryman [autotag]Andrew Fisher[/autotag] (17-8-1 MMA, 0-2 BMMA), who returns to Bellator almost six years since his last appearance for the promotion. The Sunderland featherweight hasn’t fought since picking up back-to-back wins for Russian promotion ACB in late November back in 2017, but is now ready to return to the fray once again.

Fisher, who has six KOs and nine submissions to his name, is riding a three-fight win streak and has won five out of his last six, and will dive straight into a talent-stacked Bellator featherweight division looking to make an impact in 2020.