Two of the world’s largest promotions will see two main event rematches on Friday and Saturday all counted towards our MMASucka staff picks.
Leading the way sees Bellator 277 set to begin in just a few hours tonight, April 15 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Four fights including two championship fights will take place on the main card beginning at 10:00pm ET (7:00PM PT) live on Showtime.
Results from the entire fight card of Bellator 277: McKee vs. Pitbull 2 can be found here at MMASucka.
Also, stay tuned tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon to MMASucka as the second half of our staff pick weekend with UFC Vegas 51: Luque vs. Muhammad 2.
The Fights
In the featured main event, fierce rivals AJ McKee and Patricio Pitbull will rematch in a potential 25 minute contest for the Bellator featherweight title.
McKee took the belt away from Pitbull in their July of 2021 meeting by guillotine less than two minutes inside the very first round. 27-year-old McKee will look to secure his first title defense as champion sitting undefeated at 18 professional victories in a career only beginning in 2015. Three-time organizational champion Pitbull (once at lightweight, twice at featherweight) has yet to lose two straight fights in 37 total matches, and the Brazilian veteran will look his 20th victory alone at 145 pounds.
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The second title fight comes in the co-main event for the light heavyweight championship between Grand Prix Tournament finalists Vadim Nemkov and Corey Anderson.
Divisional champion Nemkov advanced through the year-long tourney with his decision rematch over wrestling talent Phil Davis and his stoppage over short-notice replacement Julius Anglickas. A win tonight would be his tenth in-a-row since suffering back-to-back defeats in RIZIN early on in his career. Challenger Anderson make dominant work of Turkmenistan’s Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov and former king of the division Ryan Bader to earn his spot in the finals. The former TUF winner and UFC veteran will look to secure his first ever MMA championship.
See the remaining fights counted for staff picks from tonight’s Bellator 277 further below.
Staff Picks
Staff picks in 2022 will follow the same set of rules from the 2021 season. Throughout the calendar year, staff picks will be composed of main card fights from both UFC and Bellator events. Main card fights and selected preliminary fights will be selected for PFL MMA. Dana White’s Contender Series will be composed of the entire fight card.
PFL returns this upcoming Wednesday, April 20. Dates for the return of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022 are soon-to-be announced.
The WINNER of staff picks in 2022 will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. A winner is determined simply by the individual correctly picking the most victorious fighters at the year’s end. Nate Freeman secured his first victory with MMASucka in 2021 with a compiled record 243-136.
Find our Bellator 277: McKee vs. Pitbull 2 staff picks below.
Staff Records after UFC 273:
1. Jeremy Brand: 52-21
2T. Michael DeSantis: 48-25
2T. Frazer Krohn: 48-25
2T. Mike Lynch: 48-25
2T. Nate Freeman: 48-25
2T. Brandon Joint: 48-19
7T. Wesley Riddle: 47-26
7T. Andrew Benjamin: 47-26
9T. Tim Wheaton: 46-23
9T. William Dong: 46-27
11T. Chris Presnell: 45-28
11T. Julio Monteros Jr.: 45-28
11T. Chinyere Okafor: 45-19
14T. Ash Camyab: 44-29
14T. Coby Weinsier: 44-23
16. Jacek Okninski: 41-32
17T. Matt Bricker: 12-8
17T. Brian Knight: 12-4
19. Jack Goodwillie: 9-2
20. Joe Porter: 5-1
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Tim Johnson (15-8), +105
vs.
Linton Vassell (21-8), -125
Heavyweight Division, 265 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Vassell via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Vassell via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Vassell via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Johnson via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Johnson via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Vassell via Round 2 TKO
Mike Lynch: Vassell via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Vassell via Split Decision
Tim Wheaton: Johnson via Round 1 TKO
Chris Presnell: Johnson via Round 2 TKO
Coby Weinsier: Vassell via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Vassell via Unanimous Decision
Jacek Okninski: Johnson via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Vassell via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Vassell via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Vassell via Round 1 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Vassell via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Johnson: 5
Staff picking Vassell: 12
Aaron Pico (9-3), -1250
vs.
Adli Edwards (9-1), +750
Featherweight Division, 145 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Pico via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Pico via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Pico via Round 2 TKO
Ash Camyab: Pico via Round 3 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Pico via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Pico via Round 1 TKO
Mike Lynch: Pico via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Pico via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Pico via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Pico via Unanimous Decision
Coby Weinsier: Pico via Round 3 TKO
Brandon Joint: Pico via Round 1 TKO
Jacek Okninski: Pico via Round 1 TKO
William Dong: Pico via Round 2 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Pico via Round 2 TKO
Brian Knight: Pico via Round 2 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Pico via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Pico: 17
Staff picking Edwards: 0
Vadim Nemkov (15-2), -170
vs.
Corey Anderson (16-5), +150
Light Heavyweight Championship, Co-Main Event, 205 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Nemkov via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Nemkov via Round 3 TKO
Ash Camyab: Nemkov via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Anderson via Round 3 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Mike Lynch: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Nemkov via Round 3 TKO
Coby Weinsier: Nemkov via Round 2 TKO
Brandon Joint: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
Jacek Okninski: Nemkov via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Nemkov via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Nemkov via Round 2 TKO
Brian Knight: Anderson via Split Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Nemkov via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Nemkov: 15
Staff picking Anderson: 2
AJ McKee (18-0), -335
vs.
Patricio Pitbull (32-5), +260
Featherweight Championship, Main Event, 145 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: McKee via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: McKee via Round 3 SUB
Michael DeSantis: McKee via Round 2 TKO
Ash Camyab: Pitbull via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Pitbull via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: McKee via Unanimous Decision
Mike Lynch: McKee via Round 4 TKO
Nate Freeman: McKee via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: McKee via Round 3 TKO
Chris Presnell: McKee via Unanimous Decision
Coby Weinsier: McKee via Round 3 TKO
Brandon Joint: McKee via Unanimous Decision
Jacek Okninski: McKee via Round 3 SUB
William Dong: McKee via Round 2 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: McKee via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: McKee via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: McKee via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking McKee: 15
Staff picking Pitbull: 2
*Fight odds from DraftKings*
BELLATOR 277 FEATURED IMAGE:
Vadim Nemkov (left) and Corey Anderson (right) at weigh-ins ahead of their Bellator 277 main event championship fight taking place Friday, April 15th from the SAP Center in San Jose, California (photo credits to Bellator MMA).
