Bellator returns to Europe today with Bellator 267, happening live from the SSE Arena in London, England. The MMA Sucka staff has picked who they think will win the five main card fights, which begin at 4pm ET/1pm PT on Showtime, preceded by the preliminary card at 12:30pm ET/9:30am PT on Bellator’s YouTube page.
Stay tuned to MMA Sucka tomorrow for the UFC Vegas 38 staff picks.
Dana White’s Contender Series 40 Fights
The top two Bellator welterweight contenders will meet once again in the night’s main event. Michael Page and Douglas Lima previously fought in the semifinals of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix, where “The Phenom” scored a highlight-reel knockout over “MVP” to hand the Brit his first loss.
Following that fight in May 2019, “Venom” Page has gotten back to his winning ways, winning five in a row and finishing four of them. The brash, flashy kickboxer faces the Brazilian Lima, who went on to capture the Bellator welterweight title in his next fight against Rory MacDonald. Lima would then move up a weight class to challenge Gegard Mousasi for the middleweight belt, but lost a decision. In his first title defense of his third reign at welterweight, he dropped a decision to undefeated Yaroslav Amosov.
The co-main event is in the women’s featherweight division, as American “The Black Widow” Jessica Borga faces “The Curse” Leah McCourt of Northern Ireland. Both fighters have six fights in their career, with Borga splitting wins and losses for a 3-3 record while McCourt has only lost once for a 5-1 record. McCourt last fought in May, when she scored a third-round submission over Janay Harding, while Borga lost a decision to Talita Nogueira back in April to snap a two-fight winning streak.
Staff Picks
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 full fight card.
The WINNER of staff picks in 2021 will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. For the third straight year, Michael DeSantis captured the 2020 victory compiling a record of 201-88.
See our Bellator 267 staff picks below.
Staff Records after Dana White’s Contender Series 41:
1. Nate Freeman: 175-99
2. Wesley Riddle: 172-102
3. Michael DeSantis: 170-104
4. Frazer Krohn: 157-117
5. Ash Camyab: 149-106
6. Jeremy Brand: 149-125
7. Mike Lynch: 148-116
8. Andrew Benjamin: 120-123
9. Mitchell Banuelos: 107-89
10. Tim Wheaton: 103-80
11. Brandon Joint: 71-36
12. Matt Bricker: 57-57
13. Chris Presnell: 54-24
14. Amanda Grace: 13-8
15T. Steven Irvine: 9-7
15T. Al Mac: 9-2
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Luke Trainer (4-0) vs. Yannick Bahati (9-5, 1 NC)
Jeremy Brand:
Wesley Riddle: Trainer via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Trainer via Round 1 TKO
Ash Camyab: Bahati via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Trainer via Unanimous Decision
Mike Lynch: Bahati via Submission
Nate Freeman: Trainer via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Trainer via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Trainer: 5
Staff picking Bahati: 2
Yves Landu (16-8) vs. Tim Wilde (13-4)
Jeremy Brand:
Wesley Riddle: Wilde via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Wilde via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Landu via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Wilde via Round 2 Submission
Mike Lynch: Wilde via TKO
Nate Freeman: Wilde via Split Decision
Tim Wheaton: Wilde via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Landu: 1
Staff picking Wilde: 6
Robert Whiteford (16-4) vs. Andrew Fisher (18-8-1)
Jeremy Brand:
Wesley Riddle: Whiteford via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Whiteford via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Fisher via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Fisher via Round 1 TKO
Mike Lynch: Whiteford via TKO
Nate Freeman: Whiteford via Round 1 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Whiteford via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Whiteford: 5
Staff picking Fisher: 2
Leah McCourt (5-1) vs. Jessica Borga (3-3)
Jeremy Brand:
Wesley Riddle: McCourt via Round 1 Submission
Michael DeSantis: McCourt via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: McCourt via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: McCourt via Round 1 Submission
Mike Lynch: McCourt via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: McCourt via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: McCourt via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking McCourt: 7
Staff picking Borga: 0
Douglas Lima (32-9) vs. Michael Page (19-1)
Jeremy Brand:
Wesley Riddle: Lima via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Page via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Page via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Lima via Split Decision
Mike Lynch: Lima via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Lima via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Page via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Lima: 4
Staff picking Page: 3
