| Nemkov vs. Davis |
Anderson vs. Yagshimuradov |
Arteaga vs. Yanez |
Daley vs. Homasi |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 40-27 |
Nemkov (74%) |
 Anderson (73%) |
 Yanez (66%) |
 Daley (74%) |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 43-24 |
Nemkov | Anderson |
Yanez |
Daley |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 42-25 |
 Davis |
Anderson |
Yanez |
Daley |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 42-25  2018 Champion |
Nemkov | Anderson |
 Arteaga |
Daley |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 41-26 |
Nemkov | Anderson |
Yanez |
Daley |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 41-26 |
Nemkov | Anderson |
Yanez |
Daley |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 41-26 2020 Champion |
Davis |
 Yagshimuradov |
Yanez |
Daley |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 40-27 |
Nemkov | Anderson |
Yanez |
Daley |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 40-27 2017 Champion |
Nemkov | Anderson |
Yanez |
Daley |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 38-29 |
Nemkov | Anderson |
Arteaga |
Daley |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 38-29 |
Nemkov | Yagshimuradov |
Yanez |
Daley |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 36-31 2014 Champion |
Nemkov | Anderson |
Yanez |
Daley |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 35-32 |
Nemkov | Anderson |
Yanez |
Daley |
| BetMGM Betting Favorites |
Nemkov -200 | Anderson -175 |
Yanez -120 |
Daley -185 |
Bellator’s light heavyweight tournament continues Friday, and the champion has his belt on the line for the first time.
Bellator 257 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, light heavyweight champ Vadim Nemkov (13-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) takes on challenger Phil Davis (22-5 MMA, 9-2 BMMA). Nemkov’s belt is on the line, and the bout also is a quarterfinal in the tournament. Nemkov is a -200 favorite at BetMGM, and our 12 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts are taking him at a 10-2 clip.
In the co-feature, Corey Anderson (14-5 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) meets promotional newcomer Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (18-5-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in another opening-round light heavyweight tournament fight. Anderson is the favorite at nearly 2-1, and he has a big 10-2 lead in our picks.
Also on the main card, Desiree Yanez (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is in a virtual pick’em fight at women’s flyweight against Veta Arteaga (5-4 MMA, 4-4 BMMA), but our pickers have Yanez up big at 10-2.
And to open the main card, Paul Daley (42-17-2 MMA, 8-4 BMMA) and Sabah Homasi (15-8 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) meet in a 175-pound contract weight fight that has been building for more than a year. Daley nearly is a 2-1 favorite and he is a near-unanimous pick at 11-1.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Nemkov (74 percent), Anderson (73 percent), Yanez (66 percent) and Daley (74 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
Bellator 257 predictions: Who’s picking Phil Davis to upset Vadim Nemkov?