Bellator 243 features a rematch of a classic fight between Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson in the main event and Cageside Press has its picks set.
| Staff Writers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Fortune (77-38) |  |  |  |  |
| Keith Shillan (74-41) | | |  | |
| Jay Anderson (69-46) | | | | |
| Joe McDonagh (67-48) | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (64-51) | | | |  |
| Dan Doherty (60-50) | |  | | |
| Justin Gibbons (42-37) | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (61-54) | | | | |
The main event of Bellator 243 pits Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson in a non-title fight. Chandler is a three-time lightweight champion who recently lost his title to Patricio Pitbull. Chandler was able to bounce back against prospect Sidney Outlaw. Henderson, a former UFC lightweight champion, has started to put things together after a 1-3 start to his Bellator run, winning four straight fights. All but two writers picked Chandler.
The co-main event is between a pair of former UFC heavyweights in Matt Mitrione and Timothy Johnson. Mitrione started his run with Bellator by winning four straight fights with three coming by knockout. Since then, though, he’s lost his last two (official) fights to Ryan Bader and Sergei Kharitonov. Johnson was knocked out twice to start his stint with the promotion, then knocked out prospect Tyrell Fortune to bounce back. Mitrione was picked by five of eight writers.
Myles Jury will look for a second win in a row when he takes on Bellator staple Georgi Karakhanyan. Jury signed with the promotion last year and has since gone 1-1, falling to Benson Henderson and defeating Brandon Girtz. Karakhanyan is 6-6 since joining the organization in 2015, winning his last fight against Paul Redmond. All but one writer picked Jury.
Opening up the main card is another pair of former UFC fighters in Sabah Homasi and Curtis Millender. Millender was 3-2 in the UFC before getting dropped last year. He picked up a win in his promotional debut in January. Homasi was 0-3 in the Octagon, but surprised many by scoring a quick 17-second knockout in his return to Bellator last August. Millender was unanimously picked by the Cageside Press staff.
