Bellator 255 main card betting picks & odds – Friday, April 2

Bellator makes its Showtime debut this Friday night with Bellator 255 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. The main card has some exciting matchups leading into the Pitbull vs Sanchez main event, with big names like Tyrell Fortune and Usman Nurmagomedov going off as heavy favorites in their respective fights. Here’s a look at the main card.

Lightweight: Usman Nurmagomedov (-900) vs Mike Hamel (+550)

Usman Nurmagomedov (11-0-0), cousin of former UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, makes his Bellator debut on Friday after accumulating 11 wins with seven knockouts during his time with other promotions. Each of Nurmagomedov’s last four wins have come via technical knockout. Mike Hamel (7-4-0) is 2-4 over his last six professional fights, including a split decision loss to Adam Borics in his Bellator debut in August. This matchup seems clearly designed as a showcase for Nurmagomedov to make his promotional debut with a bang.

Welterweight: Jason Jackson (-120) vs Neiman Gracie (+100)

Jason Jackson (13-4-0) has picked up three straight decision wins since losing his Bellator debut to Ed Ruth back in October of 2019. Submission specialist Neiman Gracie (10-1-0) bounced back from his first professional loss at Bellator 222 with a win over Jon Fitch in September. Nine of Gracie’s 10 career wins have come via submission.

This will be an intriguing clash of styles that could go either way. Jackson has the talent to keep this fight off of the mat and win it on points, but we like Gracie’s chances of finding a submission win to take the victory.

Women’s Flyweight: Alejandra Lara (-175) vs Kana Watanabe (+145)

Alejandra Lara (9-3-0) won both of her last two fights in 2019 after losing her previous two fights in 2018. Kana Watanabe (9-0-1) has won seven straight fights, including her Bellator debut against Ilara Joanne with a technical knockout. Lara will undoubtedly be the toughest opponent that Watanabe has faced to this point in her professional career, but to this point she has certainly passed the eye test. We like Watanabe’s chances to make a statement with an upset win here.

Heavyweight: Tyrell Fortune (-700) vs Jack May (+450)

Tyrell Fortune (9-1-0) and Jack May (11-7-0) had their last fight in September ruled as a no contest after Fortune landed an accidental groin shot that ended the match early. Since then, Fortune has improved to 9-1 in Bellator action with a win over Said Sowma, while May fell to 1-4 over his last five professional fights with a loss to Kyle Noblitt in the XMMA. May is outclassed here; this fight is on the card to start off the Showtime action with an exciting knockout win.