Bellator X Rizin 2 predictions: Short-notice replacement Roberto de Souza or Patricky Freire in Japan?

Bellator is back in Japan this week for the another co-promoted event with Rizin.

Bellator x Rizin 2 takes place Saturday at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The Bellator portion of the card airs on Showtime.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

Get pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below.

Andrey Koreshkov vs. Lorenz Larkin

Lorenz Larkin vs. Andrey Koreshkov, Bellator 229

Records: Andrey Koreshkov (25-4 MMA, 15-4 BMMA), Lorenz Larkin (25-7 MMA, 7-2 BMMA)
Division: Welterweight
Betting odds: Koreshkov -135, Larkin +110
Junkie pick results: Larkin 7, Koreshkov 4
Odds and ends: Larkin and Koreshkov fought in October 2019 at Bellator 229, where Larkin won a split decision. Koreshkov has four straight wins since then, including three finishes. It’ll be his first fight in more than a year. After losses in his first two Bellator fights, Larkin has seven straight wins, including two straight first-round finishes.

Veta Arteaga vs. Kana Watanabe

Kana Watanabe

Records: Veta Arteaga (7-5 MMA, 6-5 BMMA), Kana Watanabe (11-2-1 MMA, 3-2 BMMA)
Division: Women’s flyweight
Betting odds: Watanabe -450, Arteaga +325
Junkie pick results: Watanabe 11, Arteaga 0
Odds and ends: Watanabe is looking to bounce back from a close split decision loss to Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in Honolulu in April.

Magomed Magomedov vs. Danny Sabatello

Danny Sabatello

Records: Magomed Magomedov (19-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA), Danny Sabatello (14-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA)
Division: Bantamweight
Betting odds: Sabatello -210, Magomedov +170
Junkie pick results: Sabatello 7, Magomedov 4
Odds and ends: After his split decision loss to Raufeon Stots this past December, Sabatello will try to stay in the bantamweight title mix against fellow contender Magomedov. Sabatello rebounded with a submission win in April, but thinks a win over Magomedov could get him a shot at the Sergio Pettis vs. Patchy Mix winner.

Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Makoto Shinryu

Kyoji Horiguchi

Records: Kyoji Horiguchi (30-5 MMA, 2-2 BMMA), Makoto Shinryu (16-1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA)
Division: Flyweight
Betting odds: Horiguchi -450, Shinryu +340
Junkie pick results: Horiguchi 11, Shinryu 0
Odds and ends: Horiguchi, a former Rizin and Bellator bantamweight champion, meets Shinryu for the inaugural Bellator flyweight title.

Patricky Freire vs. Roberto de Souza

Roberto de Souza vs. Patricky Freire

Records: Patricky Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA), Roberto de Souza (15-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA)
Division: Lightweight
Betting odds: de Souza -175, Freire +145
Junkie pick results: de Souza 5, Freire 4 (2 no-picks)
Odds and ends: De Souza stepped in on just a few days’ notice when former featherweight champion A.J. McKee had to pull out of the fight with a staph infection. De Souza is Rizin’s lightweight champion, and now has a quarterfinal spot against ex-Bellator champ Freire in the opening round of the lightweight grand prix.

Check out all the Bellator picks below.