We want your predictions for Thursday’s Bellator 251 event in Connecticut.
We want your predictions for Thursday’s Bellator 251 event in Connecticut.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Wednesday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 251 event staff predictions we release Wednesday ahead of the event. Bellator 251 takes place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Make your picks for all four main card fights below.
Chris Curtis discusses why he decided to return to competition and his decision to sign with ARES FC.
After an emotional rollercoaster with the PFL, [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] is excited for his new chapter with ARES FC.
This past October, Curtis (22-8) fell short in the PFL’s first playoff event – on a night when he twice retired from competition. After losing to Magomed Magomekerimov, Curtis announced his retirement on Instagram.
But shortly after, Magomekerimov fell ill and Curtis got the call to replace him. Just 11 seconds into their fight, Ray Cooper III clipped Curtis with a perfectly placed right hook that knocked him out cold for the first time in his career. That prompted him to retire for the second time.
But Curtis decided to return from retirement in January, a decision his head coach helped talk him into.
“It’s a combination of things,” Curtis told MMA Junkie. “John Wood, my head coach – we’ve had a lot of conversations about it, and he’s like, you’ve got to remember, in this last year, I’ve changed my entire life, I moved across the country, I’ve changed gyms. This was a very hard year for me. I went through a lot last year. So he’s like, ‘You went out there and you didn’t get what you wanted.’ But he’s like, ‘You’ve been fighting an uphill battle all year – give yourself a solid chance.’
“And for me, I had never been knocked out. So like, that was probably the biggest blow to my pride ever, and that one hurt.”
Curtis rebounded with a win over Darren Smith Jr. for Canadian promotion Fight Night, a win that helped him seek validation after the knockout.
“It was a much-needed step,” Curtis said. “I had to do some rebuilding, mentally get there. And so for me, it was just nice to get in there to see: OK, I got caught, it was a good shot, it was a very lucky shot – I got caught. It’s OK. I can go out there. I can get hit. I’m fine. I’m thinking, so it was just one of those things – you have to shake the nerves off.”
He recently signed with new Afro-French MMA promotion ARES FC and was scheduled to face Nassourdine Imavov at ARES FC 2 before the coronavirus outbreak postponed the event.
Curtis said signing with ARES FC was an easy decision.
“They offered me really good money, and I was like, ‘I am down.’ I am a mercenary, first and foremost. They offered me a good contract, so I was down. They’re fighting everywhere. So I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not going to chase the UFC anymore, and I’m going to be 33 in a few months, so I might as well have the fun that I can.
“ARES is really serious about expanding, and they’re making a big presence, so I think it’ll be fun to be a part of that because as soon as I get the belt, they’ll have all these new opportunities and I plan on being the first (ARES) welterweight champion, anyway.”
In October at the PFL’s first playoff event, [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] fought twice, but came up empty-handed in the win column.
In his first fight, Curtis dropped a unanimous decision to Magomed Magomedkerimov. Shortly thereafter, Curtis announced his retirement on Instagram. However, Magomedkerimov was disqualified from the playoff bracket when he fell ill backstage. Curtis was tapped as the replacement.
His next bout was a three-rounder against eventual welterweight winner Ray Cooper III. Eleven seconds into the second round, Cooper connected with a massive right hook. The shot knocked Curtis out cold for the first time in his professional career.
After the second leg of the back-to-back fights in one night, Curtis posted a Facebook status that included the line, “I really am done this time.”
However, Curtis (21-8 MMA) has apparently changed his mind since then. According to a fight announcement on Instagram by MMA promotion Z Promotions, Curtis has un-retired. He’s set to make his return Jan. 25 at Fight Night 12 at Enmax Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
[lawrence-related id=441418,421405]
Curtis, 32, is the promotion’s welterweight tournament. He’ll look to snap a three-fight skid when he takes on fellow Californian Darren Smith Jr. (20-10) in the evening’s main event.
The two retirements in October haven’t been the only times Curtis signaled walking away from MMA. After he was passed on being signed by the UFC following a heel kick knockout victory on Dana White’s Contender Series in June 2018, Curtis retired.
On Thursday, Curtis addressed his multiple retirements on Twitter.
I've always had incredibly high expectations of myself. I am not used to failing. Originally I didn't get signed after winning contender's I was crushed. My entire life had been dedicated to getting that shot. Didn't know where else to go. After PFL honestly
