UFC 274 predictions: Oliveira or Gaethje, Namajunas or Esparza in title fights?

	Oliveira vs. Gaethje	Namajunas vs. Esparza	Chandler vs. Ferguson	Rua vs. Saint Preux	Cerrone vs. Lauzon
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 76-38	Oliveira (53%)	Namajunas (85%)	Chandler (75%)	Saint Preux (65%)	Cerrone (54%)
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 75-39 2018 Champion	Gaethje	Namajunas	Chandler	Saint Preux	Cerrone
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 75-39	Gaethje	Esparza	Chandler	Saint Preux	Lauzon
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 74-40	Gaethje	Namajunas	Chandler	Saint Preux	Cerrone
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 73-41 2014 Champion	Oliveira	Namajunas	Chandler	Saint Preux	Cerrone
Simon Samano @SJSamano 72-42	Oliveira	Esparza	Ferguson	Saint Preux	Cerrone
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 71-43	Oliveira	Namajunas	Chandler	Saint Preux	Cerrone
Nolan King @mma_kings 71-43	Oliveira	Namajunas	Chandler	Saint Preux	Lauzon
Brian Garcia @thegoze 70-44 2017 Champion	Gaethje	Esparza	Chandler	Saint Preux	Cerrone
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun	Oliveira	Namajunas	Chandler	Saint Preux	Lauzon
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 66-48	Gaethje	Namajunas	Chandler	Saint Preux	Lauzon
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 56-58	Oliveira	Namajunas	Chandler	Saint Preux	Lauzon

The UFC is back on the road this week with a pair of titles atop the card in the Arizona desert.

UFC 274 takes place Saturday at Footprint Center in Phoenix. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

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

In the main event, lightweight champion Charles Oliveira (32-8 MMA, 20-8 UFC) puts his title on the line against former WSOF champ Justin Gaethje (23-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC). Oliveira is a -175 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Gaethje is +135. It’s a close call with our our 11 of our editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, who have the champ with just a 6-5 picks lead.

In the co-feature, women’s strawweight champ Rose Namajunas (11-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) takes on former titleholder Carla Esparza (18-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in a rematch. Esparza beat Namajunas to win the inaugural title in 2014. Namajunas is more than a 2-1 favorite and she has a big 8-3 lead in the picks.

Also on the main card, former Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler (22-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) takes on former UFC interim champ Tony Ferguson (25-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC). At 4-1, Chandler is the biggest favorite on the main card and he has a near-unanimous tally of 10-1 from our staff members.

The lone unanimous pick is -250 favorite Ovince Saint Preux (25-16 MMA, 13-11 UFC) against former light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua (27-12-1 MMA, 11-10-1 UFC).

And to open the main card, we have another contentious fight from a picks standpoint: Donald Cerrone (36-16 MMA, 23-13 UFC) vs. Joe Lauzon (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC). Cerrone is a 2-1 favorite, but he’s got the smallest possible margin of victory in our staff members’ picks at 6-5.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Oliveira (53 percent), Namajunas (85 percent), Chandler (75 percent), Saint Preux (65 percent) and Cerrone (54 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.