Bellator 242 predictions: Who gets the nod in bantamweight showcase?

	Bandejas vs. Pettis	Jackson vs. Mein	Claxton vs. Wilson	Hatley Jr. vs. Pico
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 67-44	Pettis (63%)	Mein (66%)	Claxton (74%)	Pico (81%)
Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 81-30	Bandejas	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 80-31	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 79-32	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 76-35 2014 Champion	Pettis	Mein	Claxton	Pico
Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 75-36 2019 Champion*	Bandejas	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 75-36	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 73-38 2018 Champion	Bandejas	Mein	Claxton	Pico
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 73-38 2017 Champion	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 72-39	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 72-39	Pettis	Mein	Claxton	Pico
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 68-43	Pettis	Jackson	Wilson	Pico
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 67-44	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 67-44	Pettis	Jackson	Claxton	Pico
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 45-66	Bandejas	Jackson	Claxton	Hatley

After a long pandemic-related layoff, Bellator returns this week to its regular home on the East Coast.

Bellator 242 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount following prelims on YouTube.

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

In the bantamweight main event between Ricky Bandejas (13-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) and Sergio Pettis (19-5 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), former UFC flyweight contender Pettis received the lion’s share of the backing from our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts. He also garnered 63 percent of the reader votes, too.

In the co-main event, Jason Jackson (11-4 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) proved a popular pick with our panel, with 11 of our 14 members selecting him to get the win over Jordan Mein (31-12 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). However, Mein was the clear choice of our readers, with 66 percent siding with the Canadian.

Also on the main card, Tywan Claxton (6-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) received almost universal backing in his featherweight clash against J.J. Wilson (5-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA), with 13 of the 14 panelists picking him to claim the victory.

And to open the main card, Aaron Pico (5-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) was equally fancied, with the talented featherweight strongly backed to defeat Solo Hatley Jr. (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA). However, Pico was even more popular with MMA Junkie’s readers, with a whopping 81 percent picking him to kick off Friday night’s main card with a win.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Pettis (63 percent), Mein (66 percent), Claxton (74 percent) and Pico (81 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above