Bellator 120 staff picks: Two unanimous nods, crew split on 'Rampage' vs. 'King Mo'

Tonight Bellator MMA makes its leap into the pay-per-view world with Bellator 120. Our eight writers and radio hosts have their picks in, and a pair of them are unanimous.

All eight of our staff members believe former lightweight champion Michael Chandler (12-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) will get a belt around his waist again when he fights Will Brooks (13-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) for the interim title in the co-main event. Chandler was supposed to challenge champ Eddie Alvarez for the title in the main event before Alvarez fell off the card thanks to a concussion, and an interim belt was put on the line between Chandler and recent tournament winner Brooks.

In addition, all eight of our staffers are picking British prospect Michael Page (5-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) to beat Ricky Rainey (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) on the main card.

In a near-unanimous vote, seven of eight believe former Bellator heavyweight champ Alexander Volkov (21-4 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) will stay on track against Bulgaria’s Blagoi Ivanov (11-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA).

In the main event, five of our eight pickers believe Muhammed Lawal (12-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) will upset former UFC champion Quinton Jackson (34-11 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) in their light heavyweight tournament final, which has turned into a heated grudge match between the two. “King Mo” is a 2-to-1 underdog against “Rampage,” who is fighting near his home city of Memphis in the event, which takes place at the nearby Landers Center in Southaven, Miss.

And in what would be a big upset, two of our staff members believe Tito Ortiz (16-11-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will make a big splash in his long-awaited Bellator debut. Ortiz is a heavy underdog against middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko (50-7 MMA, 11-1 BMMA), who moves up a weight class to fight Ortiz at light heavyweight.

Check out the full picks above.

And for the latest on Bellator 120, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.