Piccolotti vs Barnaoui Oct. 29 Prediction, Preview, Odds & Picks

Lightweights Head into Battle

There isn’t much between Adam Piccolotti and Mansour Barnaoui with MMA betting markets and it should be an excellent main event.

Italy hosts the lightweights on Friday and Barnaoui headlines the odds at -145 after posting seven consecutive wins.

Be sure to stay tuned as we’ll be covering the most important UFC fight card and we’ll also be sharing our UFC predictions for the upcoming tournaments.

Consistency Needed for Piccolotti

Piccolotti earned his spot in the main event with a decision win over Georgi Karakhanyan at Bellator 274 and he needs to start stringing wins together.

The 34-year-old American is 13-4, but he has traded wins and losses over his last five fights, so he’d love to win two on the bounce.

His best chance comes with his submission game, which saw him submit Jake Smith and Carrington Banks. Most of his wins have come by submission, so if he can get Barnaoui in the clinch and onto the canvas, he has a huge chance of paying off bettors.

The sportsbook has Piccolotti at +115, so he’s earning respect and his odds could shorten on UFC Fight Night.

“Oh man, I’m just excited, you know? Not only is it a main event, I’m out here in Milan, Italy,” Piccolotti told Cageside Press. “I’m just excited. It feels great. Some people — I don’t know, I like it. It shows that they have some confidence in me, that I can represent Bellator’s name proudly and show that the level of competition is high here.”

Brilliant Barnaoui on Fire

The Frenchman has been on a tear in Bellator after posting seven wins on the bounce and he is another submission artist that deserves to be favorite.

He is a rear-naked choke specialist with five of his last six wins coming via the choke. It’s an impressive record, but Piccolotti is a submission specialist himself, so it’s not easy to land the choke when the opposition knows it’s coming.

Betting online markets have Barnaoui at -145 and that’s a fair price. He is the star attraction of 287 and he has massive upside.

“Fans will be very surprised because I will win by KO or submissions every time,” Barnaoui said. “They will be very surprised. … I don’t care (where I fit in now). I just want to be a champion. I want to win at Bellator 287 and I want to win the lightweight grand prix. I’m here for that, the championship and the tournament.”