| Makhachev vs. Green |
Cirkunov vs. Turman |
Cachoeira vs. Kim |
Alvarez vs. Tsarukyan |
Petrosyan vs. Rodrigues |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 22-13 |
Makhachev (69%) |
 Cirkunov (72%) |
 Kim (69%) |
 Tsarukyan (66%) |
 Rodrigues (63%) |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 24-11  2021 Champion |
Makhachev | Cirkunov |
Kim |
Tsarukyan |
Rodrigues |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 23-12 |
Makhachev | Cirkunov |
 Cachoeira |
Tsarukyan |
 Petrosyan |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 23-12 |
 Green |
Cirkunov |
Kim |
Tsarukyan |
Rodrigues |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 22-13 |
Makhachev | Cirkunov |
Kim |
Tsarukyan |
Petrosyan |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 21-14 2014 Champion |
Makhachev | Cirkunov |
Kim |
Tsarukyan |
Rodrigues |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 21-14 |
Makhachev | Cirkunov |
Kim |
Tsarukyan |
Rodrigues |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 21-14 2018 Champion |
Makhachev |  Turman |
Cachoeira |
Tsarukyan |
Rodrigues |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 20-15 |
Makhachev | Cirkunov |
Kim |
Tsarukyan |
Petrosyan |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 19-16 |
Makhachev | Cirkunov |
Kim |
 Alvarez |
Rodrigues |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 19-16 2017 Champion |
Makhachev | Cirkunov |
Cachoeira |
Tsarukyan |
Rodrigues |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 19-16 |
Makhachev | Cirkunov |
Kim |
Alvarez |
Rodrigues |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 18-17 |
Makhachev | Cirkunov |
Kim |
Tsarukyan |
Petrosyan |
The UFC stays in its Las Vegas home base this week with a pair of lightweight contenders atop the card.
UFC Fight Night 202 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, Islam Makhachev (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) takes on short-notice replacement Bobby Green (29-12-1 MMA, 10-7-1 UFC). They fight at lightweight normally, but will be at a 160-pound catchweight due to Green’s lack of time to cut. He fought just two weeks ago at UFC 271. Makhachev is a massive -1000 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Green is +550. Our 12 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, not surprisingly, have Makhachev with a big 11-1 edge.
In the co-feature, Misha Cirkunov (15-7 MMA, 6-5 UFC) takes on Wellington Turman (17-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at middleweight. Cirkunov is just a -125 favorite, but he’s got a huge 11-1 lead in the picks from our staff members.
Also on the main card, Priscila Cachoeira (10-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC) meets Ji Yeon Kim (9-4-2 MMA, 3-4 UFC) in a women’s flyweight bout. Kim is a -175 favorite at the betting window, and she’s got a sizable 9-3 lead from our pickers.
The second biggest favorite on the main card is Arman Tsarukyan (17-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who is -230 for his lightweight fight against Joel Alvarez (19-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC). Tsarukyan has a 10-2 lead in the picks.
Our most contentious fight from a picks standpoint opens the main card. Armen Petrosyan (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is a +135 underdog against Gregory Rodrigues (11-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who has an 8-4 lead in the picks as a -170 favorite.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Makhachev (69 percent), Cirkunov (72 percent), Kim (69 percent), Tsarukyan (66 percent) and Rodrigues (63 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
UFC Fight Night 202 predictions: Who’s taking short-notice Bobby Green over Islam Makhachev?
