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#4) No.4-ranked Bellator featherweight Aaron Pico vs. No.3-ranked Mads Burnell
Aaron Pico had yet another impressive outing inside the Bellator cage. He defeated Adli Edwards via third-round TKO in a 150lb catchweight bout. The 25-year-old mixed up his striking and wrestling very well and overwhelmed Edwards with powerful body shots.
Pico is poised to make a run at the featherweight championship and could be one-step closer to earning a title shot. He is currently the No.4 ranked featherweight, so his next bout should be against a fighter in the top-three. And so, Pico could realistically be challenging for the title by the end of the year.
By process of elimination, Mads Burnell would be the most logical opponent for Pico. No.2-ranked Adam Borics is viewed as the next title challenger after defeating Burnell last month. With that in mind, matching up the No.3 and No.4-ranked featherweights in the title eliminator provides clarity in the division.
#3) Former Bellator featherweight champion A.J. McKee vs. Islam Mamedov
Following his title loss at Bellator 277, A.J. McKee mentioned that he plans on moving up to lightweight. It’s no secret that his time competing at featherweight was winding down. Prior to last year’s Featherweight Grand Prix final, he even spoke about his aspirations of becoming a two-division champion.
‘Mercenary’ talked about the weight cut to 145lbs becoming more difficult as he gets older and enters his physical prime. With that in mind, he should get matched up with a top-10 opponent in his first lightweight bout. Based on the current rankings, No.6-ranked lightweight Islam Mamedov would be a logical opponent.
Like McKee, Mamedov recently saw his unbeaten streak come to an end. The 32-year-old is coming off a loss to former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, which saw ‘Smooth’ earn a split-decision win. The loss ended Mamedov's 20-fight unbeaten streak, which dated back to 2010. It would be interesting to see how he and McKee would fare coming off similar losses.
