The final night of the month goes out with a bang for MMASucka staff picks.
Bellator 293 will take place later tonight, March 31st from the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. This will mark the promotion’s return to the venue for the first time since Bellator 229 in October of 2019. An event had been planned at the resort and casino in mid-2020 but was cancelled due to the events of COVID-19. Preliminary bouts from tonight’s fight card will begin at 7:00pm ET (4:00pm PT) on Bellator’s YouTube channel with the main card at 10:00pm ET (7:00pm PT) on Showtime.
Live results from Bellator 293: Golm vs. James will be available here at MMASucka.
Also, stay tuned for MMASucka staff picks tomorrow, April 1st as the Professional Fighters League returns with PFL 1 2023 and ten featured fights counted towards our yearly records.
The Fights
Heavyweights on-the-rise Marcelo Golm and Daniel James are set to fight in the night’s main event. Unlike most featured headliners, the two will only fight across three, five-minute rounds.
Things looked rough for Golm after dropping three straight fights under the UFC banner before suffering his ultimate release. However, after time training with American Top Team, the Brazilian has evolved into a true contender securing four straight wins and two in Bellator including his first-round knockout of Billy Swanson in August of 2021 and his third-round, rear-naked choke in the third round over Davion Franklin last July. Golm’s opponent, James, made his promotional debut in November and found success as the underdog with his upset knockout in the second round over Tyrell Fortune. The 41-year-old and former LFA title challenger rides an identical streak of four in-a-row since losing a decision in April of 2021 to veteran fighter Daniel Omielanczuk.
In the co-main event, Cat Zingano will take on Leah McCourt in the featherweight division. Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Zingano looks to extend upon her three-fight win streak since joining the promotion with her latest victory coming over Pam Sorenson in June of last year. Eight-fight Bellator notable McCourt returns looking for two cage wins since dropping a decision defeat to Sinead Kavanagh last February in only her second career defeat.
A main card fight in the welterweight division was scrapped in the hours leading up to Thursday’s weigh-ins after Rustam Khabilov was forced out due to undisclosed reasons. His opponent, Jaleel Willis, was not given a short-notice replacement and pulled from the event.
Who are the MMASucka staff predicting to win at Bellator 293? Find out further below.
🔥 @MarceloGolm vs. @djames1981.
Who you picking? #Bellator293 pic.twitter.com/XYWVjXR0MH
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) March 30, 2023
2023 Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of five promotions: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature picks from only main cards. PFL will feature select fights from the main and preliminary card while DWCS sees all fights counted from the event. ONE Championship returns to picks for the first time since 2020 and will feature only mixed martial arts (MMA) fights selected from cards with a minimum three matchups.
The WINNER of staff picks at the end of 2023, who picked the most victorious fighters, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2022 was won by Wesley Riddle with a record of 264-135.
See below for our Bellator 293: Golm vs. James picks.
Staff Records after UFC on ESPN 43:
1. Ben Jamieson: 48-21
2. Nate Freeman: 47-22
3. Tim Wheaton: 45-24
4T. Jeremy Brand: 44-25
4T. Frazer Krohn: 44-25
6T. Wesley Riddle: 43-26
6T. Michael DeSantis: 43-26
8. Roemello Reyes: 42-24
9T. Julio Monteros Jr.: 39-22
9T. Jack Goodwillie: 39-22
11. Brian Knight: 36-24
12. Andrew Benjamin: 34-30
13. Brandon Joint: 12-9
14. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
15. Joshua Yule: 7-6
16. Jonathan Andrade: 4-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Sullivan Cauley (5-0), -210
vs.
Luke Trainer (6-1), +180
– Light Heavyweight Division –
– 205 LBS. ~ 93.0 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Cauley via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Cauley via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Cauley via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Cauley via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Cauley via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Cauley via Round 1 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Cauley via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Cauley via Round 2 TKO
Brian Knight: Cauley via Round 1 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Cauley via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Cauley via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Cauley: 11
Staff picking Trainer: 0
John Salter (18-6), +330
vs.
Aaron Jeffery (13-3), -410
– Middleweight Division –
– 185 LBS. ~ 83.9 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Jeffery via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Jeffery via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Jeffery via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Salter via Round 3 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Jeffery via Split Decision
Nate Freeman: Jeffery via Split Decision
Tim Wheaton: Jeffery via Round 2 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Jeffery via Round 2 TKO
Brian Knight: Jeffery via Round 2 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Jeffery via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Jeffery via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Salter: 1
Staff picking Jeffery: 10
Cat Zingano (13-4), -255
vs.
Leah McCourt (7-2), +215
– Women’s Featherweight Division –
– Co-Main Event –
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Zingano via Round 2 Submission
Wesley Riddle: Zingano via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Zingano via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Zingano via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Zingano via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Zingano via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Zingano via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Zingano via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Zingano via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Zingano via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Zingano via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Zingano: 11
Staff picking McCourt: 0
Marcelo Golm (10-3), -130
vs.
Daniel James (14-6-1), +110
– Heavyweight Division –
– Main Event –
– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Golm via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Golm via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: James via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Golm via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Golm via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Golm via Round 1 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Golm via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Golm via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Golm via Round 1 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Golm via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Golm via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Golm: 10
Staff picking James: 1
BELLATOR 293 FEATURED IMAGE:
Cat Zingano (left) and Leah McCourt (right) ahead of their co-main fight at Bellator 293 taking place Friday, March 31st from the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California (photo credits to Bellator MMA).
