Three fight cards down, one to go for our MMASucka staff picks this weekend.
Bellator 279 will take place tonight, April 23 beginning in a few short hours from the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. This is the promotion’s second straight fight card from the island after Friday night’s Bellator 278 card seeing Liz Carmouche take the flyweight championship over Juliana Velasquez. The main card begins at 10:30pm ET (7:30pm PT) live on Showtime.
Results from the entire Bellator 279: Cyborg vs. Blencowe 2 fight card will be available here at MMASucka.
Be sure to check out our staff picks for tonight’s UFC Vegas 52 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Also, recap our staff picks from Wednesday night’s PFL 1 2022 event in Arlington, Texas and last night’s Bellator 278 event in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Fights
In tonight’s featured main event, Cris Cyborg will look to defend her featherweight championship against Arlene Blencowe. The fight comes as a rematch, the two having previously fought in October of 2020 with Cyborg earning her first-ever professional submission victory and her first promotional title defense over Blencowe at Bellator 249.
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Bellator’s bantamweight Grand Prix will see its first two quarterfinal fights take place on tonight’s main card. Former divisional champion Juan Archuleta will take on the nine-fight win streak of Raufeon Stots for the interim 135-pound championship. Another former title holder in the weight class, Kyoji Horiguchi, will take on former title challenger Patchy Mix.
The winner of Archuleta and Stots will face the June 24 winner of Leandro Higo and Danny Sabatello, while the winner of Horiguchi and Mix will take on the same date’s winner of Magomed Magomedov and Enrique Barzola.
See who the MMASucka staff have winning on the main card of Bellator 279 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 included for PFL MMA. Dana White’s Contender Series will be composed of the entire fight card; dates for this promotion’s return 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 out below who the MMASucka staff are picking to win at Bellator 279: Cyborg vs. Blencowe 2.
Staff Records after UFC Vegas 51:
1. Jeremy Brand: 57-25
2T. Michael DeSantis: 54-28
2T. Nate Freeman: 54-28
4. Brandon Joint: 53-23
5T. Wesley Riddle: 52-30
5T. Frazer Krohn: 52-30
5T. Mike Lynch: 52-30
8. William Dong: 51-31
9T. Andrew Benjamin: 50-32
9T. Julio Monteros Jr.: 50-32
9T. Tim Wheaton: 50-28
9T. Coby Weinsier: 50-26
13T. Ash Camyab: 48-34
13T. Chris Presnell: 48-34
13T. Chinyere Okafor: 48-22
16. Jacek Okninski: 46-36
17T. Matt Bricker: 18-11
17T. Brian Knight: 18-7
19. Jack Goodwillie: 14-6
20. Joe Porter: 8-4
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
*Note – PFL 1 2022, Bellator 278, & UFC Vegas 52 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-1), -350
vs.
Justine Kish (7-5), +270
Flyweight Division, 125 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Macfarlane via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Macfarlane via Round 3 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Macfarlane via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Macfarlane via Round 1 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Macfarlane via Unanimous Decision
Mike Lynch: Macfarlane via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Macfarlane via Round 2 SUB
Tim Wheaton: Macfarlane via Round 1 SUB
Chris Presnell: Macfarlane via Round 3 SUB
Coby Weinsier: Macfarlane via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Macfarlane via Unanimous Decision
Jacek Okninski: Macfarlane via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Macfarlane via Round 2 SUB
Julio Monteros Jr.: Macfarlane via Unanimous Decision
Matt Bricker: Macfarlane via Round 1 SUB
Brian Knight: Macfarlane via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Macfarlane via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Macfarlane: 17
Staff picking Kish: 0
Kyoji Horiguchi (29-4), -225
vs.
Patchy Mix (15-1), +185
Bantamweight Division, 135 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Horiguchi via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Horiguchi via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Horiguchi via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Horiguchi via Round 2 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Horiguchi via Round 1 TKO
Mike Lynch: Horiguchi via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Horiguchi via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Horiguchi via Round 1 TKO
Chris Presnell: Horiguchi via Round 2 TKO
Coby Weinsier: Horiguchi via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Horiguchi via Unanimous Decision
Jacek Okninski: Horiguchi via Round 2 TKO
William Dong: Horiguchi via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Horiguchi via Round 2 TKO
Matt Bricker: Horiguchi via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Horiguchi via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Mix via Split Decision
Staff picking Horiguchi: 16
Staff picking Mix: 1
Juan Archuleta (25-3), +215
vs.
Raufeon Stots (17-1), -265
Bantamweight Divisional Championship, 135 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Stots via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Stots via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Stots via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Archuleta via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Archuleta via Unanimous Decision
Mike Lynch: Stots via Round 4 TKO
Nate Freeman: Stots via Split Decision
Tim Wheaton: Archuleta via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Archuleta via Unanimous Decision
Coby Weinsier: Stots via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Stots via Unanimous Decision
Jacek Okninski: Archuleta via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Stots via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Stots via Unanimous Decision
Matt Bricker: Stots via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Stots via Split Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Stots via Round 4 SUB
Staff picking Archuleta: 5
Staff picking Stots: 12
Cris Cyborg (25-2, 1 NC), -1375
vs.
Arlene Blencowe (15-8), +800
Featherweight Divisional Championship, 145 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Cyborg via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Cyborg via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Cyborg via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Cyborg via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Cyborg via Round 2 TKO
Mike Lynch: Cyborg via Round 5 TKO
Nate Freeman: Cyborg via Round 1 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Cyborg via Round 2 TKO
Chris Presnell: Cyborg via Round 2 TKO
Coby Weinsier: Cyborg via Round 2 TKO
Brandon Joint: Cyborg via Round 1 TKO
Jacek Okninski: Cyborg via Round 1 TKO
William Dong: Cyborg via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Cyborg via Round 2 TKO
Matt Bricker: Cyborg via Round 1 TKO
Brian Knight: Cyborg via Round 4 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Cyborg via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Cyborg: 17
Staff picking Blencowe: 0
*Fight odds from DraftKings*
BELLATOR 279 FEATURED IMAGE:
Juan Archuleta (left) and Raufeon Stots (right) at weigh-ins ahead of their bantamweight championship fight taking place Saturday, April 23rd from the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii (photo credits to Bellator MMA).
