Bellator 258 predictions — Juan Archuleta vs. Sergio Pettis: Fight card, odds, expert picks

The latest edition of Bellator MMA is ready to commence. The promotion is set to return to Uncasville, Connecticut on Friday night with Bellator 258 and a pair of intriguing bouts on the main card. Bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta will put his 135-pound strap on the line against top contender Sergio Pettis in the main event. Plus, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will make his first MMA appearance in four years when he takes on late-replacement Jose Augusto in the co-main event.

Archuleta won the vacant title against Patchy Mix in September 2020. This will be the first defense of the title as the “Spaniard” has just one loss since October 2015. Pettis, meanwhile, enters on a three-fight win streak including a pair of victories in his first two Bellator MMA appearances.

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With a big card on tap, our experts took a crack at picking each of the main card fights. Here are your pick makers: Brian Campbell (host of “Morning Kombat”) and Brent Brookhouse (staff writer). 

Bellator 258 predictions

Campbell on why Pettis will win: For as impressive as Archuleta has looked and how formidable his pace and aggression can be, Pettis might be the quicker and more experienced fighter despite being just a small betting underdog. At 27, this feels like Pettis’ time from the standpoint of figuring out how great he can be after learning from previous ups and downs. Expect a track meet but one Pettis can outwork and win. 

Brookhouse on why Archuleta will win: Archuleta is one of the sport’s most overlooked talents. Since the sixth fight in his career, Archuleta has gone on a 20-1 run. Pettis has faced the better level of competition over his career, but where Pettis’ issues will come against Archuleta is in his inability to score finishes. Pettis has a single stoppage win in his 10 most recent victories, compared to four for Archuleta in his last 10. This is a decision waiting to happen based on the respective finishing rates of the two men and Archuleta is at his best when he can pressure, and not having to worry about Pettis finishing him opens up the whole range of Archuleta’s skills.

Campbell on why Johnson will win: Augusto has described this last-minute opportunity as life changing and went as far as predicting a knockout of Johnson, who returns following a four-year retirement. There’s no question Johnson has some legitimate questions to answer, including whether he can go five rounds if necessary. But Johnson’s power remains both scary and enough to pull him out of any potentially difficult situations. Augusto might be better than people realize but that doesn’t mean Johnson can’t still end things early with one shot.

Brookhouse on why Pitbull will win: The red flag here is that Queally has only scored two finishes in 18 career fights. Those two finishes have come in his past three fights, but it’s hard to like Queally’s inconsistency and inability to score finishes against Pitbull, who has proven himself plenty in the Bellator cage.

Brookhouse on why Page will win: This is a dangerous fight for Page, which is something we’ve rarely been able to say in his Bellator career. As Page’s level of opposition slowly started to creep toward acceptable, he was crushed by Douglas Lima and Bellator hit the reset button on the challenge curve. After four more fights where Page could shine without much resistance, he now is set to face Anderson in a sneakily dangerous fight. Anderson is a very live underdog in this fight. That said, Page is explosive enough with his striking that it’s hard to pick against him. The upset is possible, but Page should be able to get through a few rocky moments to score a stoppage.