Bellator 235/Salute the Troops 2019 predictions: Barnett or Markes in their debuts?

	Barnett vs. Markes	Misech vs. Perez	Arteaga vs. Lara	Akeo vs. Claxton	Cisneros vs. Davis
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2019: 210-125 (63%)	Barnett (83%)	Perez (90%)	Lara (56%)	Claxton (83%)	Davis (85%)
Simon Head @simonhead 2019: 127-66 (66%)	Barnett	Perez	Lara	Claxton	Davis
Nolan King @mma_kings 2019: 121-67 (64%)	Barnett	Perez	Lara	Claxton	Davis
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2019: 215-120 (64%)	Barnett	Perez	Arteaga	Claxton	Davis
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2019: 214-121 (64%)	Markes	Perez	Arteaga	Claxton	Davis
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2019: 214-121 (64%) 2017 Champion	Barnett	Perez	Lara	Claxton	Davis
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2019: 212-123 (63%)	Barnett	Perez	Lara	Claxton	Davis
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2019: 210-125 (63%)	Barnett	Perez	Arteaga	Claxton	Davis
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2019: 207-128 (62%) 2014 Champion	Barnett	Perez	Lara	Claxton	Davis
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2019: 206-129 (61%)	Barnett	Perez	Lara	Claxton	Davis
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2019: 110-72 (60%)	Barnett	Perez	Lara	Claxton	Davis
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2019: 201-134 (60%)	Barnett	Perez	Lara	Claxton	Davis
Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2019: 137-106 (56%)	Markes	Perez	Lara	Claxton	Davis
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2019: 175-160 (52%)	Markes	Perez	Lara	Claxton	Davis

Bellator is back in Hawaii for a doubleheader weekend for the second straight December.

Bellator 235 (“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019”) takes place Friday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie. Saturday, Bellator 236 takes place at the same venue.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

The main event features a pair of promotional debuts from veteran fighters. Josh Barnett (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) takes on Ronny Markes (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in the headliner. Barnett most recently fought in the UFC; Markes makes the move over from the PFL. Barnett is more than a 2-1 favorite at the sports books, and our 13 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers seem to concur. They have Barnett with a big 10-3 lead in our picks.

The co-main event is one of three unanimous picks from our staff members on the main card. Erik Perez (19-6 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) makes his Bellator debut after nine fights in the UFC and a pair for Combate Americas. He’s more than a 2-1 favorite and is the pick from all 13 of our staff members in his bantamweight fight against Toby Misech (11-7 MMA, 2-2 BMMA).

Tywan Claxton (5-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) is a unanimous pick, as well, in his featherweight fight against local product Braydon Akeo (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). Claxton is more than a 4-1 favorite from the oddsmakers.

The biggest favorite on the card is Joey Davis (6-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) at upwards of 10-1 in his welterweight bout with Chris Cisneros (19-10 MMA, 0-2 BMMA). Davis, like Perez and Claxton, is a 13-0 pick from our staff members.

The women’s flyweight bout in the middle of the main card is fairly lopsided in our picks, as well. Although Alejandra Lara (8-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) is just a slight favorite at -125 against Veta Arteaga (5-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA), she has a 10-3 lead in the picks.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Barnett (83%), Perez (90 percent), Lara (56 percent), Claxton (83 percent) and Davis (85 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.