| Font vs. Garbrandt |
Esparza vs. Xiaonan |
Tafa vs. Vanderaa |
Dumont vs. Spencer |
Dvorak vs. Paiva |
Hermansson vs. Shahbazyan |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 66-45 |
Garbrandt (53%) |
 Xiaonan (70%) |
 Tafa (69%) |
 Spencer (83%) |
 Dvorak (79%) |
 Hermansson (66%) |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 68-43 |
Garbrandt | Xiaonan |
Tafa |
Spencer |
Dvorak |
 Shahbazyan |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 68-43 |
 Font |
Xiaonan |
Tafa |
Spencer |
 Paiva |
Hermansson |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 66-45 |
Font |
Xiaonan |
Tafa |
Spencer |
Dvorak |
Hermansson |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 66-45  2018 Champion |
Garbrandt | Xiaonan |
Tafa |
Spencer |
Dvorak |
Hermansson |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 65-46 2014 Champion |
Font |
 Esparza |
Tafa |
Spencer |
Dvorak |
Shahbazyan |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 65-46 2017 Champion |
Font |
Xiaonan |
Tafa |
 Dumont |
Paiva |
Hermansson |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 65-46 |
Font |
Esparza |
Tafa |
Spencer |
Dvorak |
Hermansson |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 65-46 |
Font |
Esparza |
Tafa |
Spencer |
Paiva |
Shahbazyan |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 63-48 2020 Champion |
Font |
Xiaonan |
Tafa |
Spencer |
Paiva |
Hermansson |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 62-49 |
Font |
Xiaonan |
Tafa |
Spencer |
Dvorak |
Shahbazyan |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 61-50 |
Font |
Esparza |
Tafa |
Spencer |
Dvorak |
Hermansson |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 60-51 |
Font |
Xiaonan |
Tafa |
Spencer |
Dvorak |
Hermansson |
| BetMGM Betting Favorites |
Font |
Xiaonan |
Tafa |
Spencer |
Dvorak |
Hermansson |
The UFC is back this week with a bantamweight showdown at the top of the lineup.
UFC Fight Night 188 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) takes on Rob Font (18-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) in a close matchup. Font is just a slight favorite at -120 at BetMGM, but he’s got a big 10-2 lead in the picks from our editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers.
In the co-feature, former women’s strawweight champ Carla Esparza (17-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) meets Yan Xiaonan (13-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC). Xiaonan is a mild favorite at -135 and has a sizable picks lead at 8-4.
Also on the main card, Justin Tafa (4-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC), nearly a 2-1 favorite, is our lone unanimous pick in his heavyweight matchup against Jared Vanderaa (11-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC).
Norma Dumont (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on recent women’s featherweight title challenger Felicia Spencer (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC). Spencer is a -165 favorite and has a near-unanimous run in the picks at 11-1.
David Dvorak (19-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was a -150 favorite at flyweight against Raulian Paiva (20-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and had an 8-4 lead in the picks. However, Paiva was forced to withdraw from the contest.
And to open the main card, Jack Hermansson (21-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has an 8-4 picks edge over Edmen Shahbazyan (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in their middleweight bout.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Garbrandt (53 percent), Xiaonan (70 percent), Tafa (69 percent), Spencer (83 percent), Dvorak (79 percent) and Hermansson (66 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
UFC Fight Night 188 predictions: Who’s picking Cody Garbrandt over Rob Font?