Part two of our June-end triple header is ready to go.
Bellator 282 takes place tonight, June 24 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The promotion returns to the New England venue for the second time of 2022, lastly seeing Logan Storley defeat Neiman Gracie at Bellator 274 in February. Tonight’s main card begins at 9:00pm ET (6:00pm PT) on Showtime.
Results from all of Bellator 282: Mousasi vs. Eblen will be available here at MMASucka.
Be sure to view our staff picks for tonight’s PFL 5 2022 event from Atlanta, and stay tuned tomorrow afternoon for our UFC Vegas 57 picks from Las Vegas.
The Fights
Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will aim to defend his title in the featured main event of the night against challenger Johnny Eblen.
Two-time reigning king Mousasi has won twelve of his last 13 professional fights having the loss come by majority decision to the now-retired Rafael Lovato Jr. in June of 2019. A win tonight would be the 50th of his illustrious near 60-fight career dating back to 2003. Mousasi’s opponent, Eblen, looks to remain undefeated in his twelfth mixed martial arts fight. The former University of Missouri NCAA wrestler has won eight fights with Bellator in search of his fifth win sine May of last year.
Also on the main card sees Bellator’s bantamweight Grand Prix continue forward with two quarterfinal matchups. Leandro Higo and Danny Sabatello will fight for a semi-final spot against divisional champion Raufeon Stots as the winner of Magomed Magomedov and Enrique Barzola will be next in line for a shot at Patchy Mix. Dates for these potential semi-final pairings are to-be-determined.
Find further below our staff picks for Bellator 282.
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.
See our Bellator 282: Mousasi vs. Eblen staff picks below.
Staff Records after UFC on ESPN 37:
1. Wesley Riddle: 110-55
2. Nate Freeman: 109-56
3. Michael DeSantis: 108-57
4. Frazer Krohn: 107-58
5T. Mike Lynch: 103-62
5T. Jeremy Brand: 103-56
5T. Julio Monteros Jr.: 103-51
8. William Dong: 102-63
9. Chris Presnell: 101-64
10. Brandon Joint: 96-57
11. Andrew Benjamin: 95-70
12. Tim Wheaton: 93-51
13. Coby Weinsier: 87-47
14. Ash Camyab: 85-55
15. Jacek Okninski: 69-54
16. Brian Knight: 67-41
17. Chinyere Okafor: 63-30
18. Jack Goodwillie: 62-29
19. Matt Bricker: 24-22
20. Joe Porter: 11-5
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
*Note – PFL 5 2022 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Brennan Ward (15-6), -295
vs.
Kassius Kayne (12-7), +245
Welterweight Division
~ 170 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Ward via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Ward via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Ward via Round 2 TKO
Ash Camyab: Ward via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Ward via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Ward via Unanimous Decision
Mike Lynch: Ward via Round 3 TKO
Nate Freeman: Ward via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Ward via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Ward via Round 2 TKO
William Dong: Ward via Unanimous Decision
Chinyere Okafor: Ward via Round 2 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Ward via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Ward via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Kayne via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Ward: 14
Staff picking Kayne: 1
Magomed Magomedov (18-2), -170
vs.
Enrique Barzola (18-5-2), +145
Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal
~ 135 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Magomedov via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Mike Lynch: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Chinyere Okafor: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Magomedov via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Magomedov via Split Decision
Staff picking Magomedov: 15
Staff picking Barzola: 0
Leandro Higo (21-5), +430
vs.
Danny Sabatello (12-1), -560
Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal
~ 135 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Sabatello via Round 2 SUB
Wesley Riddle: Sabatello via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Sabatello via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Sabatello via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Sabatello via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Sabatello via Round 3 TKO
Mike Lynch: Sabatello via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Sabatello via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Sabatello via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Sabatello via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Sabatello via Unanimous Decision
Chinyere Okafor: Sabatello via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Sabatello via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Sabatello via Round 2 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Sabatello via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Higo: 0
Staff picking Sabatello: 15
Gegard Mousasi (49-7-2), -225
vs.
Johnny Eblen (11-0), +190
Middleweight Divisional Championship
~ 185 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Mousasi via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Mousasi via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Mousasi via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Mousasi via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Mousasi via Round 1 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Mousasi via Round 2 TKO
Mike Lynch: Mousasi via Round 5 TKO
Nate Freeman: Mousasi via Round 2 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Mousasi via Round 2 TKO
Chris Presnell: Mousasi via Round 2 TKO
William Dong: Mousasi via Round 2 TKO
Chinyere Okafor: Mousasi via Round 4 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Mousasi via Round 3 TKO
Brian Knight: Mousasi via Round 4 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Mousasi via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Mousasi: 15
Staff picking Eblen: 0
*Fight odds from DraftKings*
BELLATOR 282 FEATURED IMAGE:
Magomed Magomedov (left) and Enrique Barzola (right) ahead of the Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix quarterfinal fight taking place Friday, June 24th from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut (photo credits to Bellator MMA).
