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

Bellator X Rizin 2 predictions: Short-notice replacement Roberto de Souza or Patricky Freire in Japan?

Bellator is back in Japan this week for the another co-promoted event with Rizin.

Bellator x Rizin 2 takes place Saturday at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The Bellator portion of the card airs on Showtime.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

Get pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below.

Andrey Koreshkov vs. Lorenz Larkin

Lorenz Larkin vs. Andrey Koreshkov, Bellator 229

Records: Andrey Koreshkov (25-4 MMA, 15-4 BMMA), Lorenz Larkin (25-7 MMA, 7-2 BMMA)
Division: Welterweight
Betting odds: Koreshkov -135, Larkin +110
Junkie pick results: Larkin 7, Koreshkov 4
Odds and ends: Larkin and Koreshkov fought in October 2019 at Bellator 229, where Larkin won a split decision. Koreshkov has four straight wins since then, including three finishes. It’ll be his first fight in more than a year. After losses in his first two Bellator fights, Larkin has seven straight wins, including two straight first-round finishes.

Veta Arteaga vs. Kana Watanabe

Kana Watanabe

Records: Veta Arteaga (7-5 MMA, 6-5 BMMA), Kana Watanabe (11-2-1 MMA, 3-2 BMMA)
Division: Women’s flyweight
Betting odds: Watanabe -450, Arteaga +325
Junkie pick results: Watanabe 11, Arteaga 0
Odds and ends: Watanabe is looking to bounce back from a close split decision loss to Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in Honolulu in April.

Magomed Magomedov vs. Danny Sabatello

Danny Sabatello

Records: Magomed Magomedov (19-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA), Danny Sabatello (14-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA)
Division: Bantamweight
Betting odds: Sabatello -210, Magomedov +170
Junkie pick results: Sabatello 7, Magomedov 4
Odds and ends: After his split decision loss to Raufeon Stots this past December, Sabatello will try to stay in the bantamweight title mix against fellow contender Magomedov. Sabatello rebounded with a submission win in April, but thinks a win over Magomedov could get him a shot at the Sergio Pettis vs. Patchy Mix winner.

Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Makoto Shinryu

Kyoji Horiguchi

Records: Kyoji Horiguchi (30-5 MMA, 2-2 BMMA), Makoto Shinryu (16-1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA)
Division: Flyweight
Betting odds: Horiguchi -450, Shinryu +340
Junkie pick results: Horiguchi 11, Shinryu 0
Odds and ends: Horiguchi, a former Rizin and Bellator bantamweight champion, meets Shinryu for the inaugural Bellator flyweight title.

Patricky Freire vs. Roberto de Souza

Roberto de Souza vs. Patricky Freire

Records: Patricky Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA), Roberto de Souza (15-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA)
Division: Lightweight
Betting odds: de Souza -175, Freire +145
Junkie pick results: de Souza 5, Freire 4 (2 no-picks)
Odds and ends: De Souza stepped in on just a few days’ notice when former featherweight champion A.J. McKee had to pull out of the fight with a staph infection. De Souza is Rizin’s lightweight champion, and now has a quarterfinal spot against ex-Bellator champ Freire in the opening round of the lightweight grand prix.

Check out all the Bellator picks below.

Bellator X Rizin 2 picks

Freire
vs.
De Souza
Horiguchi
vs.
Shinryu
Magomedov
vs.
Sabatello
Arteaga
vs.
Watanabe
Koreshkov
vs.
Larkin
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
114-73

De Souza
(60%)

Horiguchi
(84%)

Magomedov
(57%)

Watanabe
(84%)

Larkin
(54%)
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
116-71

De Souza

Horiguchi

Magomedov

Watanabe

Larkin
Nolan King
@mma_kings
116-71

De Souza

Horiguchi

Magomedov

Watanabe

Larkin
Matt Erickson
@MattE
116-71

De Souza

Horiguchi

Sabatello

Watanabe

Koreshkov
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
113-74

De Souza

Horiguchi

Sabatello

Watanabe

Larkin
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
112-75
2018, 2022 Champion

N/A

Horiguchi

Sabatello

Watanabe

Koreshkov
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
111-76
2014 Champion

Freire

Horiguchi

Sabatello

Watanabe

Koreshkov
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
111-76

Freire

Horiguchi

Sabatello

Watanabe

Larkin
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
108-79

De Souza

Horiguchi

Magomedov

Watanabe

Larkin
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
107-80
2017 Champion

Freire

Horiguchi

Sabatello

Watanabe

Larkin
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
105-82

Freire

Horiguchi

Sabatello

Watanabe

Koreshkov
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
101-86

N/A

Horiguchi

Magomedov

Watanabe

Larkin

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator x Rizin 2.

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