| Whittaker vs. Till |
Nogueira vs. Rua |
Gustafsson vs. Werdum |
Esparza vs. Rodriguez |
Antigulov vs. Craig |
Oliveira vs. Sobotta |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 67-44 |
Whittaker (65%) |
 Rua (87%) |
 Gustafsson (80%) |
 Rodriguez (56%) |
 Craig (63%) |
 Oliveira (86%) |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 81-30 |
Whittaker | Rua |
Gustafsson |
Rodriguez |
 Antigulov |
Oliveira |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 80-31 |
 Till |
Rua |
Gustafsson |
Rodriguez |
Antigulov |
Oliveira |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 79-32 |
Whittaker | Rua |
Gustafsson |
Rodriguez |
Craig |
Oliveira |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 76-35  2014 Champion |
Whittaker | Rua |
Gustafsson |
Rodriguez |
Craig |
Oliveira |
| Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 75-36 2019 Champion* |
Till |
Rua |
Gustafsson |
Rodriguez |
Craig |
Oliveira |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 75-36 |
Whittaker | Rua |
Gustafsson |
 Esparza |
Antigulov |
Oliveira |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 73-38 2018 Champion |
Whittaker | Rua |
Gustafsson |
Esparza |
Antigulov |
Oliveira |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 73-38 2017 Champion |
Whittaker | Rua |
Gustafsson |
Esparza |
Craig |
Oliveira |
| Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 72-39 |
Whittaker | Rua |
Gustafsson |
Esparza |
Antigulov |
Oliveira |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 72-39 |
Whittaker | Rua |
Gustafsson |
Rodriguez |
Antigulov |
Oliveira |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 68-43 |
Whittaker | Rua |
Gustafsson |
Rodriguez |
Craig |
Oliveira |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 67-44 |
Whittaker | Rua |
Gustafsson |
Esparza |
Craig |
Oliveira |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 67-44 |
Whittaker | Rua |
 Werdum |
Esparza |
Craig |
Oliveira |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 45-66 |
Whittaker |  Nogueira |
Werdum |
Esparza |
Craig |
 Sobotta |
The UFC wraps up its four-event “Fight Island” run this week with a former middleweight champion atop the bill.
UFC on ESPN 14 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) is the overwhelming favorite with from our panel of 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts. Just two of the panel have picked England’s Darren Till (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC) to spring the upset.
In the co-main event, Mauricio Rua (26-11-1 MMA, 6-6 UFC) is even more strongly favored, with all 13 of the 14 panelists siding with “Shogun”, who currently stands at 2-0 in his personal series against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (23-9 MMA, 10-9-1 UFC).
Also on the main card, former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson (18-6 MMA, 10-6 UFC) is set to move up a division to take on former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum (23-9-1 MMA, 11-6 UFC), and the panel has given its near-unanimous backing to the big Swede, with 12 of the 14 panelists picking “The Mauler” to pick up a huge win on his divisional debut.
The women’s strawweight battle between former champion Carla Esparza (16-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and Brazilian contender Marina Rodriguez (12-0-2 MMA, 2-0-2 UFC) was the tightest matchup on the card in terms of the reader vote, with Rodriguez edging it 56 percent to 44. The bout also split our panel, with seven selecting Esparza as their predicted winner and seven siding with Rodriguez.
The panel was split again for the light heavyweight fight between Gadzhimurad Antigulov (20-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Paul Craig (12-4-1 MMA, 4-4-1 UFC) with the Scot edging it 8-6 with our panel. The readers also lean towards “The Bearjew” to get the victory, with 63 percent picking him to get the win on Saturday night.
And to open the main card, Brazilian Alex Oliveira (21-8-1 MMA, 10-6-1 UFC) was a near-unanimous selection for our panel, with only one member picking his opponent, Peter Sobotta (17-6-1 MMA, 4-5 UFC). “Cowboy” was also a very popular pick with our readers and, with 86 percent of the votes, he is the second-biggest reader favorite on the main card.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Whittaker (65 percent), Rua (87 percent), Gustafsson (80 percent), Rodriguez (56 percent), Craig (63 percent) and Oliveira (86 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
UFC on ESPN 14 predictions: Who's backing Robert Whittaker to rebound on 'Fight Island?'
