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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matt Erickson

Bellator 284 predictions: Who are our two unanimous picks in Sioux Falls?

Gracie
vs.
Yamauchi
Moldavsky
vs.
Mowry
Ellen
vs.
Macfarlane
Saricam
vs.
Sowma
Jeffery
vs.
Vanderford
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
131-79

Yamauchi
(58%)

Mowry
(61%)

Macfarlane
(79%)

Saricam
(62%)

Vanderford
(68%)
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
143-72
2018 Champion

Gracie

Mowry

Macfarlane

Saricam

Vanderford
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
139-76

Gracie

Moldavsky

Macfarlane

Saricam

Vanderford
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
137-78
2014 Champion

Gracie

Moldavsky

Macfarlane

Saricam

Vanderford
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
135-80

Gracie

Mowry

Macfarlane

Saricam

Vanderford
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
132-83

Gracie

Mowry

Macfarlane

Saricam

Vanderford
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
131-84

Gracie

Mowry

Macfarlane

Saricam

Vanderford
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
130-85

Gracie

Moldavsky

Macfarlane

Sowma

Vanderford
Nolan King
@mma_kings
127-88

Gracie

Moldavsky

Ellen

Sowma

Vanderford
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
126-89
2017 Champion

Gracie

Moldavsky

Macfarlane

Saricam

Vanderford
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
117-98

Gracie

Mowry

Macfarlane

Saricam

Vanderford
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
104-111

Gracie

Moldavsky

Macfarlane

Saricam

Vanderford

Bellator returns to South Dakota this week with a welterweight bout atop the card, plus two former champions and a recent title challenger on the bill.

Bellator 284 takes place Friday at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. 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, Neiman Gracie (11-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) takes on first-time Bellator headliner Goiti Yamauchi (27-5 MMA, 13-4 BMMA) at welterweight. Gracie is a -200 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Yamauchi is +150. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Gracie as one of two unanimous picks on the main card – but in a rarity, our readers disagree and are backing Yamauchi at a big 58 percent clip.

In the co-feature, former interim heavyweight champion Valentin Moldavsky (11-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) takes on unbeaten up-and-comer Steve Mowry (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA). Moldavsky is more than a 2-1 favorite at the betting window, but he has the narrowest possible edge over Mowry in the picks at 6-5.

Also on the main card, Bruna Ellen (6-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) takes on former women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-2 MMA, 10-2 BMMA), who is fighting outside her native Hawaii or homebase of California for just the second time in nearly five years. Macfarlane is a slight favorite at -135, but is a near-unanimous pick with our staff members at 10-1. (It should be noted Macfarlane missed weight for for the first time in her MMA career. She came in at 129 pounds at Thursday’s weigh-ins.)

Gokhan Saricam (7-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) is a 2-1 favorite in his heavyweight bout against Said Sowma (8-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA), and he’s got a blowout from our pickers at 9-2.

And to open the main card, our second unanimous pick is recent middleweight title challenger Austin Vanderford (11-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA), who is a -200 favorite against late replacement opponent Aaron Jeffery (12-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA). Vanderford has an 11-0 shutout from our staff members.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Yamauchi (58 percent), Mowry (61 percent), Macfarlane (79 percent), Saricam (62 percent) and Vanderford (68 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 284.

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