| Nemkov vs. Anderson |
Freire vs. Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev vs. Weichel |
Fortune vs. James |
Chokheli vs. Faraldo |
|
|
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 180-106 |
 Anderson (57%) |
 Nurmagomedov (87%) |
 Khizriev (75%) |
 Fortune (91%) |
 Faraldo (90%) |
|
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 190-101  |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
|
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 182-109 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
 Weichel |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
|
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 182-109 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
|
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 179-112 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Weichel |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
|
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 178-113 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
|
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 176-115 |
Anderson |
 Freire |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
|
Simon Samano @SJSamano 175-116 |
Anderson |
Freire |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
|
Nolan King @mma_kings 170-121 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Weichel |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
|
Brian Garcia @thegoze 169-122 |
Anderson |
Freire |
Weichel |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
|
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 157-134 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
|
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 142-149 |
Anderson |
Nurmagomedov |
Khizriev |
Fortune |
Faraldo |
Bellator makes its return to Chicago this week with a pair of title fights leading the card in the “Windy City.”
Bellator 288 takes place Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. 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 (15-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) puts his title on the line against Corey Anderson (16-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA). The fight is a rematch from an April title fight that ended in a no contest after an accidental clash of heads left Nemkov with too deep of a cut to continue. The fight also is the $1 million final of Bellator’s light heavyweight tournament. Anderson was the underdog in the first fight, but now is a -230 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Nemkov is +175. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Anderson as one of three unanimous picks at 11-0.
In the co-feature, lightweight champion Patricky Freire (24-10 MMA, 15-8 BMMA) puts his belt up for the first time when he takes on the unbeaten Usman Nurmagomedov (15-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA). Usman is the biggest favorite on the main card at a whopping -750, but he’s not a unanimous pick. Three of our staff members are taking “Pitbull” Freire in what would be a major upset.
Also on the main card, Timur Khizriev (11-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) meets Daniel Weichel (42-13 MMA, 11-5 BMMA) in a featherweight bout. Khizriev is a big -320 favorite at the betting window, but he has just a 7-4 picks lead.
Tyrell Fortune (12-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) is one of our three unanimous picks in his heavyweight bout against Chicago native Daniel James (13-6-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA). Fortune is a 3-1 favorite in the fight.
And to open the main card, Roman Faraldo (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is our third unanimous pick at 11-0 in his welterweight bout against Levan Chokheli (10-2 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) – even though he’s the smallest main card favorite at about 2-1.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Anderson (57 percent), Nurmagomedov (87 percent), Khizriev (75 percent), Fortune (91 percent) and Faraldo (90 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 288.
