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.