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| Sanchez vs. Karakhanyan |
Moldavsky vs. Vassell |
Harris vs. Tokov |
Lavine vs. Novenyi |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2019: 49-18 |
 Sanchez (75%) |
 Vassell (54%) |
 Tokov (78%) |
 Novenyi (88%) |
| Fernanda Prates @nandaprates_ 2019: 49-18 |
Sanchez |
 Moldavsky |
Tokov |
Novenyi |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2019: 48-19 |
Sanchez |
Vassell |
Tokov |
Novenyi |
| Trent Reinsmith @TrentReinsmith 2019: 48-19 |
Sanchez |
Moldavsky |
Tokov |
Novenyi |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2019: 46-21  2017 Champion |
 Karakhanyan |
Vassell |
 Harris |
Novenyi |
| Ben Fowlkes @BenFowlkesMMA 2019: 46-21 2016 Champion |
Sanchez |
Moldavsky |
Tokov |
Novenyi |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2019: 45-22 |
Sanchez |
Vassell |
Tokov |
Novenyi |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2019: 44-23 |
Sanchez |
Moldavsky |
Tokov |
Novenyi |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2019: 44-23 2014 Champion |
Sanchez |
Moldavsky |
Tokov |
Novenyi |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2019: 44-23 |
Sanchez |
Moldavsky |
Tokov |
Novenyi |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2019: 42-25 2018 Champion |
Sanchez |
Moldavsky |
Tokov |
Novenyi |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2019: 41-26 |
Karakhanyan |
Moldavsky |
Harris |
Novenyi |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2019: 41-26 |
Sanchez |
Vassell |
Tokov |
Novenyi |
| Steven Marrocco @MMAjunkieSteven 2019: 41-26 |
Sanchez |
Moldavsky |
Tokov |
Novenyi |
Bellator is back in Oklahoma this week, and a featherweight rematch headlines the card.
Bellator 218 takes place Friday at WinStar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, Emmanuel Sanchez (17-4 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) takes on Georgi Karakhanyan (28-8-1 MMA, 6-6 BMMA) in a rematch at 145 pounds. Sanchez is coming off a title-fight loss this past fall and looking to rebound. He beat Karakhanyan in their first meeting in early 2017 by majority decision, and he is a heavy favorite from our 13 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers. All but two of them are picking Sanchez to beat Karakhanyan a second time.
In the co-feature, England’s Linton Vassell (19-7 MMA, 7-5 BMMA) moves up to heavyweight to fight Valentin Moldavsky (7-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA). And even though our readers are siding with Vassell, it’s Moldavsky with a heavy 9-4 edge from our staff pickers.
Also on the main card, Gerald Harris (25-7-1 MMA, 0-2-1 BMMA) takes on Anatoly Tokov (27-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) at middleweight. Tokov has a massive 11-2 lead in our picks.
And to open the main card, Norbert Novenyi (3-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), the son of a 1980 Olympic gold medalist wrestler from Hungary, is a unanimous pick to beat Will Lavine (1-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in their middleweight bout.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Sanchez (75 percent), Vassell (54 percent), Tokov (76 percent) and Novenyi (88 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on Bellator 218, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
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