| Edwards vs. Van Steenis |
Fleury vs. Kauppinen |
Penini vs. Shipman |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 104-62 |
 Edwards (57%) |
 Kauppinen (56%) |
 Shipman (77%) |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 113-53 |
 Van Steenis |
 Fleury |
Shipman |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 111-55 |
Van Steenis |
Kauppinen |
Shipman |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 110-56  2017 Champion |
Edwards |
Fleury |
Shipman |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 110-56 |
Van Steenis |
Fleury |
Shipman |
| Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 109-57 |
Van Steenis |
Fleury |
Shipman |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 108-58 |
Edwards |
Fleury |
Shipman |
| Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 108-58 2019 Champion* |
Edwards |
Fleury |
Shipman |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 106-60 2014 Champion |
Edwards |
Kauppinen |
Shipman |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 104-62 |
Edwards |
Fleury |
Shipman |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 103-63 |
Edwards |
Fleury |
 Penini |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 101-65 |
Van Steenis |
Fleury |
Shipman |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 101-65 2018 Champion |
Edwards |
Fleury |
Shipman |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 99-67 |
Edwards |
Kauppinen |
Shipman |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 69-97 |
Van Steenis |
Kauppinen |
Penini |
Bellator is back this week with its first overseas event since the start of the pandemic.
Bellator Europe 8 takes place Saturday at Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy. The card streams on MMA Junkie and Bellator’s YouTube page.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, Fabian Edwards (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) tries to keep his unbeaten record intact when he takes on fellow middleweight Costello van Steenis (12-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA). It’s a close matchup with our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts. Edwards has just a slim 8-6 lead in the picks.
In the co-main event, Pietro Penini (9-1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) meets Mike Shipman (13-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in a middleweight bout. Shipman has a big 12-2 picks lead.
And to open the main card, Will Fleury (7-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) takes on Kent Kauppinen (12-5 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) in a third bout at 185 pounds. Fleury has a big 10-4 lead in the picks.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Edwards (57 percent), Shipman (77 percent) and Kauppinen (56 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.