Three fight cards for our MMASucka staff picks this week will kick off our final quarter of 2020. Up first saw Bellator 247 take place this afternoon, October 1 from the Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy. The main card began at 4:00pm ET (1:00pm PT) live on both DAZN and new broadcasting partner CBS Sports Network.
Stay tuned later this week for our picks from both Bellator Euro Series 9 and UFC on ESPN 16. Also, look in our “Staff Picks” section for a major update regarding the remainder of the 2020 staff picks season.
The Fights
A dangerous welterweight pairing between Paul Daley and Derek Anderson was scheduled for the main event. However, on the day of weigh-ins, Daley missed the 170-pound limit and was ultimately pulled due to medical complications.
With the fight between he Anderson being cancelled, flyweights Kate Jackson and Denise Kielholtz faced off in the main event slot. Jackson looked to return on a high note following her unanimous decision title shot defeat to Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in December last year. Her opponent, Bellator Kickboxing queen Kielholtz, aimed to extend upon her three-fight finishing win streak in mixed martial arts.
Due to the late change, only three fights will be counted from this event to our 2020 records. See those MMASucka staff picks for Bellator 247 further below.
Staff Picks
Throughout the year, staff picks will be composed of five different MMA promotions. UFC and Bellator. As of September 25th, the events of ONE and RIZIN will no longer be counted for our picks (including a recent deduction of the last two RIZIN cards from our records). With the cancellation of PFL for 2020, this promotion will be excluded as well.
Main cards will makeup both UFC and Bellator picks. The WINNER of staff picks will have a choice between receiving a championship belt from ProAmBelts or a championship chain from Championship Chains. The 2019 winner was awarded to Michael DeSantis, compiling a record of 321-178. Second-place Connor Deitrich collected a close score of 319-180 with third-place Ed Gallo not far behind totaling at 312-183.
Check out our Bellator 247: Jackson vs. Kielholtz staff picks below.
Staff Records after UFC 253:
1. Michael DeSantis: 143-63
2. Connor Deitrich: 142-64
3. Wesley Riddle: 138-69
4. Jeremy Brand: 127-75
5T. Frazer Krohn: 124-83
5T. Nate Freeman: 124-79
7T. Dan Rose: 121-86
7. Jack Buchanan: 121-63
9. Mike Lynch: 120-72
10. Ash Camyab: 119-88
11. Matt Bricker: 117-71
12. McKenzie Guardiero: 108-85
13. Andrew Benjamin: 107-94
14. Ryan Hobbs: 95-64
15. Ashwin Viswanathan: 83-51
16. Mike Skytte: 67-45
17. Mitchell Banuelos: 64-39
18. Joshua Yule: 55-28
19. Ed Gallo: 54-27
20. Jeremy Cook: 14-6
*Note: not all staff has picked for every event*
Brian Moore (12-7) vs. Simone D’Anna (4-2)
Jeremy Brand: Moore via UD
Wesley Riddle: Moore via SD
Michael DeSantis: Moore via UD
Matt Bricker: Moore via UD
Connor Deitrich: D’Anna via UD
Ash Camyab: Moore via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Moore via UD
Frazer Krohn: Moore via UD
McKenzie Guardiero: Moore via UD
Dan Rose: D’Anna via UD
Mike Lynch: D’Anna via UD
Nate Freeman: D’Anna via UD
Jack Buchanan: Moore via UD
Staff picking Moore: 9
Staff picking D’Anna: 4
Norbert Novenyi Jr. (4-0) vs. Laid Zerhouni (7-5)
Jeremy Brand: Novenyi Jr. via UD
Wesley Riddle: Novenyi Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Novenyi Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Matt Bricker: Novenyi Jr. via Round 2 SUB
Connor Deitrich: Novenyi Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Ash Camyab: Novenyi Jr. via Round 3 SUB
Andrew Benjamin: Novenyi Jr. via UD
Frazer Krohn: Novenyi Jr. via Round 2 TKO
McKenzie Guardiero: Zerhouni via SD
Dan Rose: Novenyi Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Mike Lynch: Novenyi Jr. via UD
Nate Freeman: Novenyi Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Jack Buchanan: Novenyi Jr. via Round 2 SUB
Staff picking Novenyi Jr.: 12
Staff picking Zerhouni: 1
Kate Jackson (11-4-1) vs. Denise Kielholtz (5-2)
Jeremy Brand: Jackson via UD
Wesley Riddle: Kielholtz via SD
Michael DeSantis: Kielholtz via SD
Matt Bricker: Jackson via UD
Connor Deitrich: Kielholtz via SD
Ash Camyab: Jackson via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Jackson via UD
Frazer Krohn: Jackson via UD
McKenzie Guardiero: Jackson via UD
Dan Rose: Jackson via UD
Mike Lynch: Jackson via Round 2 SUB
Nate Freeman: Kielholtz via UD
Jack Buchanan: Jackson via UD
Staff picking Jackson: 9
Staff picking Kielholtz: 4
FEATURED IMAGE:
Norbert Novenyi Jr. (left) and Laid Zerhouni (right) face each other at weigh-ins ahead of their Bellator 247 co-main event fight taking place Thursday, October 1st from the Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy (photo credits to Bellator MMA)
