UFC on ESPN+ 30 predictions: Can Joseph Benavidez top Deiveson Figueiredo in rematch?

	Figueiredo vs. Benavidez	Gastelum vs. Hermansson	Diakiese vs. Fiziev	Carolina vs. Lipski	Askarov vs. Pantoja
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 60-36	Figueiredo (58%)	Gastelum (57%)	Diakiese (78%)	Lipski (51%)	Pantoja (71%)
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 78-28	Benavidez	Gastelum	Diakiese	Lipski	Pantoja
Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 78-28	Figueiredo	Hermansson	Diakiese	Lipski	Pantoja
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 77-29	Figueiredo	Hermansson	Diakiese	Lipski	Pantoja
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 75-31 2014 Champion	Benavidez	Gastelum	Diakiese	Lipski	Pantoja
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 74-32	Benavidez	Gastelum	Diakiese	Carolina	Askarov
Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 73-33 2019 Champion*	Benavidez	Gastelum	Diakiese	Lipski	Askarov
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 72-34 2017 Champion	Benavidez	Gastelum	Diakiese	Carolina	Askarov
Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 70-36	Benavidez	Hermansson	Diakiese	Lipski	Pantoja
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 70-36	Figueiredo	Gastelum	Diakiese	Lipski	Pantoja
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 70-36 2018 Champion	Benavidez	Hermansson	Diakiese	Lipski	Askarov
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 67-39	Benavidez	Gastelum	Diakiese	Carolina	Pantoja
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 67-39	Benavidez	Gastelum	Diakiese	Lipski	Pantoja
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 65-41	Benavidez	Gastelum	Diakiese	Lipski	Askarov
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 41-65	Benavidez	Hermansson	Fiziev	Lipski	Askarov

The UFC’s third of four straight events on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi goes down Saturday with a vacant flyweight title fight getting a redo in the main event.

UFC on ESPN+ 30 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card streams on ESPN+.

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

In the main event, Deiveson Figueiredo (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) takes on Joseph Benavidez (28-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) in a rematch for the vacant 125-pound title. Figueiredo knocked out Benavidez in February, but was not eligible to win the title because he missed weight. But Friday, he hit the title-fight limit on the scale. He’s more than a 2-1 favorite, but it’s the underdog, Benavidez, with a big 11-3 lead in the picks from our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.

In the co-main event, Kelvin Gastelum (16-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) meets Jack Hermansson (20-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in a middleweight bout. The fight is a pick’em with the oddsmakers, but Gastelum has a sizable 9-5 lead from our pickers.

Also on the main card, Marc Diakiese (14-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) is a -160 favorite in his lightweight fight against Rafael Fiziev (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), and he’s the closest thing we have to a unanimous pick with 13 of 14 of our staff members taking him to win.

Luana Carolina (6-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) takes on Ariane Lipski (12-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a women’s flyweight fight that has Lipski as just a slight favorite. But she’s a heavy favorite in the picks at 11-3.

And to open the main card, Alexandre Pantoja (22-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) is more than a 2-1 favorite against Askar Askarov (11-0-1 MMA, 1-0-1 UFC) at flyweight. He’s hoping to get the next title shot with a win, but he’s got just an 8-6 picks lead.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Figueiredo (58 percent), Gastelum (57 percent), Diakiese (78 percent), Lipski (51 percent) and Pantoja (71 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.