Bellator 261 predictions: Who leaves with a belt – Tim Johnson or Valentin Moldavsky?

	Johnson vs. Moldavsky	Carmouche vs. Watanabe	Diggs vs. Weichel	Jury vs. Outlaw	Biyong vs. Edwards
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 86-57	Moldavsky (66%)	Carmouche (61%)	Weichel (65%)	Jury (66%)	Edwards (73%)
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 87-56 2018 Champion	Moldavsky	Watanabe	Diggs	Outlaw	Edwards
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 87-56	Moldavsky	Watanabe	Diggs	Jury	Biyong
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 86-57	Johnson	Watanabe	Diggs	Jury	Edwards
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 85-58	Moldavsky	Watanabe	Diggs	Outlaw	Edwards
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 85-58 2014 Champion	Moldavsky	Carmouche	Diggs	Jury	Edwards
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 84-59	Moldavsky	Carmouche	Diggs	Outlaw	Edwards
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 82-61	Moldavsky	Watanabe	Diggs	Jury	Edwards
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 82-61	Johnson	Carmouche	Weichel	Outlaw	Biyong
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 82-61 2017 Champion	Moldavsky	Carmouche	Diggs	Outlaw	Edwards
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 82-61 2020 Champion	Moldavsky	Carmouche	Diggs	Outlaw	Edwards
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 82-61	Moldavsky	Carmouche	Diggs	Jury	Edwards
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 81-62	Moldavsky	Watanabe	Diggs	Outlaw	Edwards
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 15-12	Moldavsky	Watanabe	Diggs	Jury	Edwards
BetMGM Betting Favorites	Moldavsky -300	Carmouche -225	Diggs -150	Outlaw -145	Edwards -185

Bellator is back this week with the interim heavyweight title atop the bill.

Bellator 261 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, Tim Johnson (15-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) takes on Valentin Moldavsky (10-1 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) for the interim heavyweight title. The winner is expected to eventually fight champ Ryan Bader, who currently is in the light heavyweight grand prix. Moldavsky is a sizable 3-1 betting favorite at BetMGM, and he’s got a big lead in the picks from our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers at 11-2.

In the co-feature, Liz Carmouche (15-7 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) and Kana Watanabe (10-0-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) could be fighting to see who’s next in line for the women’s flyweight title. Carmouche is a -225 favorite, but it’s Watanabe with a 7-6 lead from our pickers.

Also on the main card, Keoni Diggs (9-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) takes on Daniel Weichel (40-12 MMA, 9-4 BMMA) at featherweight. And though Diggs is just a -150 favorite, he’s got a whopping 12-1 near-unanimous lead in the picks. Interestingly, two-thirds of our readers picked Weichel.

Myles Jury (19-5 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) meets Sidney Outlaw (15-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) in a lightweight fight. Outlaw is a slight favorite at -145, and he has the narrowest of edges from our pickers at 7-6.

And to open the main card, Simon Biyong (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) fights Christian Edwards (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) at light heavyweight. Both started the week with different opponents, but remain on the card against each other. Edwards is a -185 favorite, and he’s got a big 11-2 lead from our staff members.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Moldavsky (66 percent), Carmouche (61 percent), Weichel (65 percent), Jury (66 percent) and Edwards (73 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.