Bellator 209 staff picks are in as we reach the final few weeks of MMASucka’s 2018 competition. The event will take place from the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel, the card taking place tomorrow night (Thursday, November 15th). A tape delay for the event will be shown on Paramount Network Friday, November 16th beginning at 9:00pm ET. The event can also be streamed on DAZN.
In the night’s main event, current Bellator featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire looks to defend his strap for the second time against Milwaukee’s Emmanuel “El Matador” Sanchez. Pitbull lost the featherweight championship back in November of 2015 in a trilogy fight with Daniel Straus. However, in a fourth pairing between the two back in April of 2017, Pitbull regained the belt from Straus with a second-round guillotine choke to put him back on top. His opponent, Sanchez, currently rides a four-fight win streak with two recent submission victories over both Straus and Sam Sicilia.
The co-main event will feature a rematch between Israel’s Haim Gozali and Ryan Couture, son of Randy Couture. In their June 2017 fight, Couture scored a dominate unanimous decision victory over Gozali at Madison Square Garden in New York. Son of Haim, Aviv, will be fighting on the preliminary card. Phil Davis vs. Vadim Nemkov will also take place on the main card.
The WINNER of staff picks will have a chance to receive a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts following completion of the 2018 calendar year! The 2017 winner was awarded to Wesley Riddle, compiling a record of 118-74 for main card fights. Staff picks compose of both Bellator and UFC fights taken place on the main card.
Check out our MMASucka staff picks for Bellator 209, as well as our current records throughout the 2018 year.
Staff Records after UFC Fight Night 139: TKZ vs. Rodriguez
1. Michael DeSantis: 167-76
2. Ryan Wagner: 161-82
3. Wesley Riddle: 157-86
4. Mitchell Banuelos: 155-88
5. Omar Villagrana: 149-94
6T. Mike Skytte: 141-102
6T. Jeremy Brand: 141-93
8. Ed Gallo: 137-106
9. Justin Pierrot: 119-100
10. Matt Bricker: 86-51
11. Brian Gerson: 80-69
12. Suraj Sukumar: 45-28
13. Connor Deitrich: 41-20
14. Patrick Auger: 10-7
15. Sasha Moksyakov: 2-4
Kirill Sidelnikov (11-5) vs. Adam Keresh (2-0)
Jeremy Brand: Sidelnikov via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Sidelnikov via Round 2 TKO
Mike Skytte: Sidelnikov via Round 1 TKO
Justin Pierrot: Sidelnikov via UD
Michael DeSantis: Sidelnikov via Round 1 TKO
Ryan Wagner: N/A
Mitchell Banuelos: Sidelnikov via UD
Ed Gallo: Sidelnikov via UD
Omar Villagrana: Sidelnikov via UD
Brian Gerson: Sidelnikov via UD
Matt Bricker: Sidelnikov via UD
Connor Deitrich: Sidelnikov via UD
Suraj Sukumar: N/A
Patrick Auger: Sidelnikov via UD
Sasha Moksyakov: Sidelnikov via UD
Staff picking Sidelnikov: 13
Staff picking Keresh: 0
Olga Rubin (4-0) vs. Cindy Dandois (12-3)
Jeremy Brand: Dandois via UD
Wesley Riddle: Dandois via UD
Mike Skytte: Dandois via UD
Justin Pierrot: Rubin via SD
Michael DeSantis: Dandois via Round 2 SUB
Ryan Wagner: N/A
Mitchell Banuelos: Dandois via UD
Ed Gallo: Dandois via UD
Omar Villagrana: Dandois via UD
Brian Gerson: Dandois via UD
Matt Bricker: Dandois via UD
Connor Deitrich: Dandois via UD
Suraj Sukumar:N/A
Patrick Auger: Dandois via UD
Sasha Moksyakov: Dandois via UD
Staff picking Rubin: 1
Staff picking Dandois: 12
Phil Davis (19-4) vs. Vadim Nemkov (9-2)
Jeremy Brand: Davis via UD
Wesley Riddle: Davis via UD
Mike Skytte: Nemkov via Round 2 TKO
Justin Pierrot: Davis via UD
Michael DeSantis: Davis via UD
Ryan Wagner: N/A
Mitchell Banuelos: Davis via UD
Ed Gallo: Nemkov via UD
Omar Villagrana: Davis via UD
Brian Gerson: Nemkov via UD
Matt Bricker: Davis via UD
Connor Deitrich: Davis via UD
Suraj Sukumar: N/A
Patrick Auger: Davis via UD
Sasha Moksyakov: Davis via UD
Staff picking Davis: 10
Staff picking Nemkov: 3
Haim Gozali (8-5) vs. Ryan Couture (11-6)
Jeremy Brand: Gozali via UD
Wesley Riddle: Not-So-Randy Couture via UD
Mike Skytte: Couture via SD
Justin Pierrot: Couture via UD
Michael DeSantis: Couture via UD
Ryan Wagner: N/A
Mitchell Banuelos: Couture via UD
Ed Gallo: Couture via UD
Omar Villagrana: Couture via UD
Brian Gerson: Couture via UD
Matt Bricker: Couture via UD
Connor Deitrich: Couture via UD
Suraj Sukumar: N/A
Patrick Auger: Gozali via UD
Sasha Moksyakov: Couture via UD
Staff picking Gozali: 2
Staff picking Couture: 11
Patricio Pitbull (27-4) vs. Emmanuel Sanchez (17-3)
Jeremy Brand: Pitbull via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Pitbull via Round 2 TKO
Mike Skytte: Pitbull via Round 2 TKO
Justin Pierrot: Pitbull via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Pitbull via UD
Ryan Wagner: N/A
Mitchell Banuelos: Pitbull via Round 2 TKO
Ed Gallo: Sanchez Wit Da Upset
Omar Villagrana: Pitbull via UD
Brian Gerson: Pitbull via Round 2 TKO
Matt Bricker: Pitbull via Round 3 TKO
Connor Deitrich: Pitbull via UD
Suraj Sukumar: N/A
Patrick Auger: Pitbull via Round 2 TKO
Sasha Moksyakov: Pitbull via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Pitbull: 12
Staff picking Sanchez: 1
FEATURED IMAGE:
Poster for Bellator 209: Pitbull vs. Sanchez, taking place on November 15th in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo credits: Bellator MMA | http://www.bellator.com/articles/dbpzpp/featherweight-title-fight-between-patricio-pitbull-emmanuel-sanchez-headlines-bellator-s-return-to-tel-aviv-israel-on-nov-15)
