| Freire vs. McKee |
Burnell vs. Sanchez |
Muro vs. Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov vs. Primus |
Gonzalez vs. Yamauchi |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 111-66 |
McKee (64%) |
 Burnell (52%) |
 Nurmagomedov (96%) |
 Mamedov (65%) |
 Yamauchi (74%) |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 112-65  2018 Champion |
McKee |  Sanchez |
Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov |
 Gonzalez |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 109-68 |
McKee | Burnell |
Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov |
Gonzalez |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 109-68 |
 Freire |
Burnell |
Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov |
Gonzalez |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 108-69 2020 Champion |
Freire |
Burnell |
Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov |
Gonzalez |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 107-70 2014 Champion |
McKee | Sanchez |
Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov |
Gonzalez |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 106-71 |
McKee | Sanchez |
Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov |
Gonzalez |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 106-71 |
Freire |
Burnell |
Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov |
Gonzalez |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 105-72 |
McKee | Sanchez |
Nurmagomedov |
 Primus |
Yamauchi |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 105-72 2017 Champion |
Freire |
Sanchez |
Nurmagomedov |
Primus |
Gonzalez |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 104-73 |
Freire |
Sanchez |
Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov |
Yamauchi |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 103-74 |
Freire |
Burnell |
Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov |
Gonzalez |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 100-77 |
Freire |
Burnell |
Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov |
Gonzalez |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 36-25 |
McKee | Burnell |
Nurmagomedov |
Mamedov |
Gonzalez |
| BetMGM Betting Favorites |
Freire -115 |
Burnell -125 |
Nurmagomedov -1100 |
Mamedov -200 |
Yamauchi -165 |
Bellator makes its long-awaited return to the road this week with the featherweight title on the line at the top of the bill.
Bellator 263 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. 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, lightweight and featherweight champion Patricio Freire (32-4 MMA, 20-4 BMMA) puts his 145-pound title on the line against A.J. McKee (17-0 MMA, 17-0 BMMA) in a fight that doubles as the featherweight grand prix final. It’s nearly a pick’em fight at the betting window, where Freire is at -115 at BetMGM with the comeback on McKee at -105. Not surprisingly, our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are torn in their picks, too – Freire has the smallest possible edge at 7-6.
In the co-feature, Mads Burnell (15-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) is a slight favorite at -125 against two-time featherweight title challenger Emmanuel Sanchez (20-5 MMA, 12-4 BMMA). And like the close picks in the main event, it’s tight here, too. Burnell has a 7-6 lead from our pickers.
Our lone unanimous pick should come as little surprise. Usman Nurmagomedov (12-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is a massive 11-1 favorite against Manny Muro (12-6 MMA, 3-0 BMMA), and he’s got a 13-0 shutout in the picks.
Islam Mamedov (19-1-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is a 2-1 favorite against former lightweight champion Brent Primus (10-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA), and he’s got a big 11-2 picks lead.
And to open the main card, Chris Gonzalez (6-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) takes on Goiti Yamauchi (25-5 MMA, 11-4 BMMA) at lightweight. Yamauchi is the betting favorite at -165, but Gonzalez bucked the trend with our pickers at 11-2.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, McKee (64 percent), Burnell (52 percent), Nurmagomedov (96 percent), Mamedov (65 percent) and Yamauchi (62 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
Bellator 263 predictions: Who’s picking A.J. McKee to take Patricio Freire’s title?
