UFC on ESPN 30 predictions: Who are our three unanimous picks?

	Barboza vs. Chikadze	Battle vs. Urbina	Hiestand vs. Turcios	Lee vs. Rodriguez	Gillmore vs. Petroski	Meerschaert vs. Muradov
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 131-80	Barboza (53%)	Battle (64%)	Turcios (62%)	Rodriguez (58%)	Petroski (87%)	Muradov (82%)
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 135-76	Chikadze	Battle	Turcios	Lee	Petroski	Muradov
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 133-78	Chikadze	Battle	Turcios	Lee	Petroski	Muradov
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 130-81 2018 Champion	Chikadze	Battle	Turcios	Rodriguez	Petroski	Muradov
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 128-83 2020 Champion	Barboza	Battle	Turcios	Lee	Petroski	Muradov
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 127-84	Barboza	Battle	Turcios	Lee	Petroski	Muradov
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 126-85	Chikadze	Battle	Hiestand	Rodriguez	Petroski	Muradov
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 125-86 2014 Champion	Barboza	Battle	Turcios	Lee	Petroski	Muradov
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 123-88	Barboza	Battle	Turcios	Lee	Petroski	Muradov
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 122-89	Barboza	Battle	Turcios	Lee	Petroski	Muradov
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 121-90	Barboza	Battle	Turcios	Lee	Petroski	Muradov
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 120-91	Barboza	Battle	Turcios	Lee	Petroski	Muradov
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 119-92 2017 Champion	Chikadze	Battle	Hiestand	Lee	Petroski	Muradov
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 53-42	Chikadze	Battle	Turcios	Lee	Petroski	Muradov

The UFC is back in Las Vegas this week with a featherweight clash and a pair of “Ultimate Fighter” finals.

UFC on ESPN 30 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.

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

In the main event, Edson Barboza (22-9 MMA, 16-9 UFC) takes on Giga Chikadze (13-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in a battle of elite-level strikers. Barboza is a slight -125 favorite at Tipico, and he has the slimmest of leads in the picks from our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers at 7-6.

In the co-feature, Bryan Battle (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) meets Gilbert Urbina (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in the Season 29 “Ultimate Fighter” middleweight final. Battle is a -180 favorite at the betting window and one of three unanimous picks for our staff members on the main card.

In the second “TUF 29” final, Brady Hiestand (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) takes on Ricky Turcios (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at bantamweight. Turcios is a -160 favorite and has a big 11-2 edge in the picks.

Also on the main card, Kevin Lee (18-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) returns for a welterweight fight against Daniel Rodriguez (15-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC). Lee is the favorite at -150 and has a commanding 11-2 picks lead – though it’s intriguing that Rodriguez won our fan poll handily at 58 percent.

“TUF 29” cast members Michael Gillmore (6-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Andre Petroski (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) meet in a middleweight bout to officially open their UFC careers. Petroski is the second biggest favorite on the card at -550 and the second of our three unanimous picks.

And to open the main card, we have our third unanimous pick in Makhmud Muradov (25-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who has pitched a 13-0 picks shutout for his middleweight fight against Gerald Meerschaert (32-14 MMA, 7-6 UFC). Muradov is the biggest favorite on the card at -650.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Barboza (53 percent), Battle (64 percent), Turcios (62 percent), Rodriguez (58 percent), Petroski (87percent) and Muradov (82 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.