Two Saturday cards this weekend will go down for our MMASucka staff picks. The first of which will see Bellator 248 (also partially titled as Bellator Paris and Bellator Euro Series 10) take place at the Accor Arena in Paris, France. The “248” portion will be shown at 11:30am ET (8:30am PT) live on CBS Sports Network. Later into the evening, the “Paris / Euro Series 10” portion will begin at 1:45pm ET (10:45am PT) streaming live from Bellator’s YouTube channel.
Stay tuned to MMASucka this afternoon for our UFC Fight Night 179 picks.
The Fights
The “248” portion main event will feature England’s Michael Page against Scotland’s Ross Houston at a catchweight of 175 pounds. Page will look for a fourth straight victory following his lone professional defeat to Douglas Lima for the 170-pound belt last year. His opponent, undefeated Houston, is set for his promotional debut after his short run as the Cage Warriors welterweight champion.
Later in the evening, heavyweights Cheick Kongo and Tim Johnson will rematch in the main event on the ” Paris / Euro Series 10″ portion. The two first met in October of 2018 with Kongo finishing Johnson by knockout in just over a minute. 45-year-old Kongo is in search of his ninth straight victory while Johnson aims to add upon recent first-round knockouts over Tyrell Fortune and Matt Mitrione.
See the six Bellator 248 / Bellator Paris / Bellator Euro Series 10 fights counted this week for our MMASucka staff picks further below.
Staff Picks
Throughout the remainder of the year, staff picks will be composed of two 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 248 / Bellator Paris / Bellator Euro Series 10 staff picks below.
Staff Records after UFC on ESPN 16:
1. Michael DeSantis: 152-65
2. Connor Deitrich: 149-68
3. Wesley Riddle: 147-71
4. Jeremy Brand: 133-76
5T. Frazer Krohn: 131-87
5T. Nate Freeman: 131-83
7. Jack Buchanan: 129-66
8T. Dan Rose: 127-91
8T. Mike Lynch: 127-76
10. Ash Camyab: 126-92
11. Matt Bricker: 121-78
12T. Andrew Benjamin: 114-98
12T. McKenzie Guardiero: 114-90
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*
“Bellator 248” Portion
Mads Burnell (13-3) vs. Darko Banovic (15-7)
Jeremy Brand: Burnell via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Burnell via Round 2 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Burnell via Round 1 SUB
Matt Bricker: Burnell via UD
Connor Deitrich: Burnell via UD
Ash Camyab: Burnell via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Burnell via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Burnell via UD
Dan Rose: Burnell via UD
Mike Lynch: Burnell via UD
Nate Freeman: Burnell via Round 1 SUB
Jack Buchanan: Burnell via UD
Staff picking Burnell: 12
Staff picking Banovic: 0
Ryan Scope (11-3) vs. Alan Omer (23-5)
Jeremy Brand: Scope via UD
Wesley Riddle: Scope via SD
Michael DeSantis: Omer via Round 2 TKO
Matt Bricker: Scope via UD
Connor Deitrich: Omer via Round 2 TKO
Ash Camyab: Scope via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Scope via UD
Frazer Krohn: Scope via Round 2 TKO
Dan Rose: Omer via Round 1 TKO
Mike Lynch: Scope via UD
Nate Freeman: Scope via UD
Jack Buchanan: Scope via UD
Staff picking Scope: 9
Staff picking Omer: 3
Oliver Enkamp (9-2) vs. Emmanuel Dawa (9-3)
Jeremy Brand: Enkmap via UD
Wesley Riddle: Enkmap via UD
Michael DeSantis: Enkmap via Round 2 TKO
Matt Bricker: Enkmap via Round 1 TKO
Connor Deitrich: Enkamp via UD
Ash Camyab: Enkmap via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Enkmap via UD
Frazer Krohn: Enkmap via UD
Dan Rose: Enkmap via Round 1 SUB
Mike Lynch: Enkmap via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Enkmap via Round 2 TKO
Jack Buchanan: Enkmap via Round 2 SUB
Staff picking Enkamp: 12
Staff picking Dawa: 0
Michael Page (17-1) vs. Ross Houston (8-0)
Jeremy Brand: Page via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Page via SD
Michael DeSantis: Page via Round 2 TKO
Matt Bricker: Page via Round 1 TKO
Connor Deitrich: Page via Round 1 TKO
Ash Camyab: Page via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Page via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Page via UD
Dan Rose: Page via Round 3 TKO
Mike Lynch: Houston via UD
Nate Freeman: Page via Round 1 TKO
Jack Buchanan: Houston via UD
Staff picking Page: 10
Staff picking Houston: 2
“Bellator Paris / Euro Series 10” Portion
Saul Rogers (13-3) vs. Arbi Mezhidov (13-3)
Jeremy Brand: Mezhidov via UD
Wesley Riddle: Rogers via UD
Michael DeSantis: Rogers via UD
Matt Bricker: Rogers via SD
Connor Deitrich: Rogers via UD
Ash Camyab: Rogers via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Rogers via UD
Frazer Krohn: Rogers via Round 1 SUB
Dan Rose: Rogers via UD
Mike Lynch: Rogers via UD
Nate Freeman: Rogers via UD
Jack Buchanan: Rogers via UD
Staff picking Rogers: 11
Staff picking Mezhidov: 1
Cheick Kongo (30-10-2) vs. Tim Johnson (14-6)
Jeremy Brand: Kongo via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Kongo via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Kongo via Round 2 TKO
Matt Bricker: Kongo via UD
Connor Deitrich: Kongo via Round 1 TKO
Ash Camyab: Kongo via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Johnson via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Kongo via Round 3 TKO
Dan Rose: Kongo via UD
Mike Lynch: Johnson via UD
Nate Freeman: Kongo via UD
Jack Buchanan: Kongo via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Kongo: 10
Staff picking Johnson: 2
FEATURED IMAGE:
Saul Rogers (left) and Arbi Mezhidov (right) at weigh-ins ahead of their Bellator Paris fight taking place Saturday, October 9th from the Accor Arena in Paris, France (photo credits to Bellator MMA).
