Bellator 254 Main Card Preview & Quick Picks. By stevejuon MMAmania.com Dec 9, 2020, 10:00pm EST Complete Bellator 254 predictions, full CBS Sports Network-streamed main card preview for. Feb 15, 2021 Towering UFC heavyweight contender, Stefan ‘Skyscraper’ Struve has today officially announced his retirement from professional mixed martial arts with immediate effect — citing health issues. Bellator Fights » One Championship. Awaited Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in October, when he needed just 18 seconds to punch out Jacob Malkoun at UFC 254. The 32-year-old New Jersey. Feb 19, 2021 UFC Predictions; UFC Ring Girls. With his last outing coming at UFC 254 in October where he unified the 155-pound. Check us out for the latest MMA News, UFC News, Bellator News, Rizin News.

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane left San Diego for Connecticut on Saturday. She arrived at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, where she was tested for COVID-19 and sent to her hotel room to quarantine. Bellator fight week had officially begun.

Yet Macfarlane, the women's flyweight champion, still had doubts whether her bout would take place. She is scheduled to defend her title against Juliana Velasquez in the main event of Bellator 254 on Thursday night. With a global coronavirus pandemic, though, and fights in all organizations falling off regularly, Macfarlane wasn't confident.

'I feel like it's not real,' the undefeated champ told ESPN on Friday. 'I feel like the fight is not going to be real until the cage door is closed and we punch each other in the face.'

By all accounts, the bout will indeed go on. And Macfarlane will need to be at her best despite circumstances that have not been ideal. Velasquez, who is undefeated, is Macfarlane's toughest test to date. In fact, some sportsbooks have Velasquez as a slight favorite. Macfarlane acknowledges that this is the fight with the 'highest possibility of me actually losing the belt.'

'I think she is physically very strong and intimidating and she just smells blood,' Macfarlane said. 'She's a killer. I think she hits really hard, from what I've watched on tape.'

Macfarlane (11-0) has been with Bellator for five years and she's the only women's 125-pound champion the promotion has ever known, capturing the belt in November 2017. The Hawai'i native has seven finishes in 10 Bellator wins. ESPN has Macfarlane ranked No. 2 in the world among female flyweights.

This, though, has been a difficult camp. Macfarlane trains out of San Diego Combat Academy, and California has had some of the strictest COVID-19 regulations in the country. Luckily for Macfarlane, her new home -- which she has dubbed the Pineapple Plantation -- has a workout area with mats, cardio equipment and weights. The only worry was her gym -- whose team dubs itself Team Hurricane Awesome -- getting shut down by local authorities.

'My gym does not give a f---,' Macfarlane said. 'We stayed open, especially for the fighters. We had some fighters that were booked for fights, so we had to train. We didn't have a choice.'

A win over Velasquez could lead to a big fight for Macfarlane in 2021 -- against her teammate Liz Carmouche, a former UFC women's flyweight and bantamweight title challenger. The two are close friends -- Carmouche is watching Macfarlane's dog while she's in Connecticut -- but want to fight each other, a rarity for teammates in MMA.

'The Liz fight would be the biggest fight for me, I think, in terms of promotion,' Macfarlane said. 'Just the whole story.'

To get there, though, Macfarlane has to get by the stiff competition of Velasquez on Thursday.

Here's a look at three things to watch for at Bellator 254:

Is Velasquez as good as the betting lines would suggest?

Macfarlane has not been an underdog in a fight as champion until now. Velasquez, a Brazilian with a background in judo and jiu-jitsu, is highly regarded. She is 10-0 overall and 5-0 in Bellator with three finishes.

A win here for the upstart out of Team Nogueira would turn the Bellator women's flyweight division on its head. There has been talk that Bellator's 2021 grand prix tournament could feature this division. If so, this could be the last title fight until that kicks off.

This is a big one. Not just for Bellator, either. If Velasquez dethrones Macfarlane, she has a chance to ascend up the rankings that also feature the best women's flyweight fighters in the UFC.

Which highly touted new signee will show out?

No fight other than the main event is more intriguing than a bantamweight scrap between a pair of debuting fighters: Magomed Magomedov and Matheus Mattos. That's a lot of M's in one fight. But having both on the roster is a big W for Bellator. Each man has only one career loss, and it came against the same opponent: current UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan.

Magomedov, nicknamed 'Tiger,' is a Dagestan native with a knack for finishing. He actually owns a split-decision win over Yan in 2016. Mattos, a 28-year-old Brazilian, is an Ultimate Fighter Brazil veteran. Both men represent a new philosophy for Bellator, which has begun signing prospects who are close to being ready for prime time. There are no developmental projects here. Either Magomedov and Mattos will be a legit bantamweight contender with a win Thursday.

Will an All-American wrestling star have a breakout performance?

Unlike Magomedov and Mattos, Romero Cotton and Cody Law are a little further away from title contention. But it sure looks like both have bright futures.

Cotton is former three-time Division II national champion out of the University of Nebraska-Kearney. That school has a bit of an MMA pedigree -- it's the alma mater of UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Cotton, a middleweight, is 30 years old but has only four pro fights. He has been a long-term investment for Bellator. Cotton faces Justin Sumter at Bellator 254.

Then there's Law (1-0), who was a Division II national wrestling champion at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. He is just 25 years old and trains out of American Top Team. There are high hopes for him. Kenny Champion, a 2-0 prospect, will be his opponent.

In a heavyweight fight on the main card Thursday, Anthony Garrett and Davion Franklin meet at Bellator 254 at the Mohegan Sun Area in Uncasville, Conn. The main card begins at 10 p.m. ET.

Tune in to Bellator 254 this Thursday, Dec. 10th, prelims at 6 PM on CBS Sports Network

Garrett vs. Franklin: Tale of the tape

Garrett (4-2) and Franklin (2-0) have been bumped up to the main card with Goiti Yamauchi vs. Nate Andrews off after Yamauchi missed weight for the second consecutive time. Andrews checked in at 155.8 pounds, while Yamauchi ballooned to 162.8 pounds. Andrews declined to take the fight, and his manager added there is too much risk with such a big weight difference.

As such, we get an intriguing battle of heavyweights on the main card.

Garrett is back with the Bellator promotion for the first time in 14 months after booting Jake Hager in the man region. He ended up fighting over in the Fighting Alliance Championship two months ago, winning in a first-round submission, a tune-up for this return. Win or lose, Garrett’s fights are always interesting, with all five of his victories coming by way of stoppage, including three via KO/TKO. He has also been knocked out twice.

Bellator 254 Predictions

Franklin has just two bouts under his belt, both with the Bellator company. In Feb. 2020 he made his pro debut with a first-round knockout, and he won via technical decision in September. Now, he hopes a third time is also a charm.

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Macfarlane Vs Velasquez

Garrett vs. Franklin: Betting odds, predictions and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:55 a.m. ET.

FRANKLIN (-358) is a rather heavy favorite against Garrett. While he doesn’t have a huge history, he has yet to taste defeat in his two professional fights, and there is no reason to believe it ends here. Garrett (+275) is a brawler, but he is still rather raw. While Franklin has fewer fights, he has appeared to be a little more polished. As such, he is worth a roll of the dice despite the rather high juice.

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Bellator 254 Predictions Today

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