Bellator is back Stateside this week with the continuation of its light heavyweight tournament.
Bellator 268 takes place Saturday at Footprint Center in Phoenix. 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 champion Vadim Nemkov (14-2 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) puts his title on the line against Julius Anglickas (10-1 MMA, 3-0 BMMA). The fight also is one of two tournament semifinals. Nemkov is a -600 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Anglickas is +400. Not surprisingly, Nemkov is our only unanimous pick from our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers at 13-0.
In the co-feature, former light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader (28-6 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) takes on Corey Anderson (15-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) in the other tournament semifinal. Anderson is a -200 favorite, but it’s Bader with the smallest possible picks edge at 7-6.
Also on the main card, former UFC and WEC lightweight champ Benson Henderson (28-10 MMA, 5-5 BMMA) meets former Bellator champ Brent Primus (10-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA). Henderson is a -130 favorite, and he has a small 8-5 lead in the picks.
And to open the main card, Henry Corrales (18-6 MMA, 6-6 BMMA) fights Vladyslav Parubchenko (16-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) at featherweight. Corrales is a -150 betting favorite, but it’s Parubchenko with a big 11-2 lead in the picks from our staff members.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Nemkov (81 percent), Bader (64 percent), Primus (55 percent) and Corrales (53 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.