Bellator 225 looks to make right on a matchup that was stolen from us the first time around and Cageside Press has their picks set.
| Staff Writers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Payne (131-59) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Heath Harshman (127-63) | | | | |  |
| Keith Shillan (85-46) | | | | | |
| Ryan Fortune (85-46) | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (120-70) | |  | | | |
| Dan Doherty (119-71) | | | | | |
| Mike McClory (72-45) | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (115-75) | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (115-75) | | | | | |
Of all the events Bellator has held in Connecticut, they’ve never landed in Bridgeport. That’ll change tonight, as the Webster Bank Arena hosts the rematch between heavyweights Sergei Kharitonov and Matt Mitrione. Their first bout lasted just 15 seconds, as a kick to the groin of Kharitonov ended the fight almost immediately. All but two writers believe Mitrione will take the Bellator 225 main event.
Heavyweights populate the co-main event as well, with former champion Vitaly Minakov battling Javy Ayala. Minakov is looking to bounce back from his first career loss, which he suffered to Cheick Kongo in February. Ayala is 6-4 in Bellator with wins over Frank Mir and Sergei Kharitonov. Minakov was unanimously picked by Cageside Press.
Alejandra Lara takes on Taylor Turner in a bantamweight scrap. Lara is coming off losses to Juliana Velasquez and champion Ilima-Lei MacFarlane while Turner had a stellar promotional debut against boxer Heather Hardy, winning by TKO from full mount. Lara was unanimously picked.
Promotional mainstay David Rickels is set to fight undefeated Ukranian Yaroslav Amosov. Rickels has won five of his last six fights, including one over prospect Adam Piccolotti. Amosov is 21-0 in his career and has defeated UFC veterans Gerald Harris and Erick Silva in his first two Bellator appearances. Six of nine writers believe Amosov will stay undefeated on Saturday night.
Top prospect Tyrell Fortune takes on fellow undefeated heavyweight Rudy Schaffroth to open the main card. Fortune is a wrestling phenom who is 6-0 in MMA with four finishes. While Fortune has fought his entire career with Bellator, Schaffroth has been with them for his last two fights, also sporting a 6-0 record. Fortune was unanimously picked.
