UFC Fight Night 209 predictions: Gane or Tuivasa, Whittaker or Vettori at historic Paris event?

	Gane vs. Tuivasa	Vettori vs. Whittaker	Di Chirico vs. Kopylov	Haqparast vs. Makdessi	Errens vs. Gomis	Jourdain vs. Wood
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 140-89	Gane (52%)	Whittaker (82%)	Kopylov (58%)	Haqparast (70%)	Gomis (79%)	Jourdain (58%)
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 156-78 2018 Champion	Gane	Whittaker	Di Chirico	Haqparast	Errens	Jourdain
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 150-84	Gane	Whittaker	Di Chirico	Haqparast	Errens	Wood
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 148-86 2014 Champion	Gane	Whittaker	Di Chirico	Haqparast	Gomis	Jourdain
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 145-89	Gane	Whittaker	Di Chirico	Haqparast	Gomis	Jourdain
Simon Samano @SJSamano 143-91	Gane	Whittaker	Di Chirico	Haqparast	Errens	Wood
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 141-93	Gane	Whittaker	Kopylov	Haqparast	Gomis	Wood
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 141-93	Gane	Whittaker	Kopylov	Haqparast	Gomis	Wood
Nolan King @mma_kings 138-96	Gane	Whittaker	Di Chirico	Haqparast	Gomis	Jourdain
Brian Garcia @thegoze 137-97 2017 Champion	Gane	Vettori	Di Chirico	Makdessi	Gomis	Wood
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 127-107	Tuivasa	Vettori	Di Chirico	Makdessi	Gomis	Wood
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 113-121	Gane	Whittaker	Di Chirico	Makdessi	Errens	Wood

The UFC has touched down in France this week for the first time, and heavyweight and middleweight title contenders are atop the card.

UFC Fight Night 209 takes place Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris. The card streams on ESPN+.

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

In the heavyweight main event, Paris’ own Ciryl Gane (10-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC), a former interim champion, takes on the streaking Tai Tuivasa (15-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), who has won five straight by knockout. Despite Tuivasa’s great run of late, Gane is a huge -650 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Tuivasa is +420. All but one of our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are taking Gane to get back on track after his loss to champ Francis Ngannou in January. (Despite that, our readers’ picks have the fight as the most contentious.)

The co-main event features the return of former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker (23-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) after a loss to champ Israel Adesanya. He’ll take on recent title challenger Marvin Vettori (18-4-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC). Whittaker is a -230 favorite at the betting window and has a big 9-2 picks lead.

Also on the main card, Alessio Di Chirico (13-6 MMA, 4-6 UFC) meets Roman Kopylov (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in a middleweight bout. The fight nearly is a pick’em at Tipico, but our staff members have Di Chirico with a hefty 9-2 lead in the picks.

Nasrat Haqparast (13-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) takes on John Makdessi (18-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) in a lightweight bout that is one of those pre-ordained Fight of the Night-type matchups. Haqparast is a -240 favorite and has a big 8-3 edge from our pickers.

UFC newcomers Jarno Errens (13-3-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and William Gomis (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) meet in a featherweight bout that has Gomis as a -230 favorite. He doesn’t have a blowout in the picks, but still has a 7-4 nod from our staff members.

And to open the main card, Charles Jourdain (13-5-1 MMA, 4-4-1 UFC) takes on Nathaniel Wood (18-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at featherweight in Wood’s second fight in the weight class. Jourdain is a -155 favorite, but our staff pickers have Wood bucking the odds with a 7-4 lead.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Gane (52 percent), Whittaker (82 percent), Kopylov (58 percent), Haqparast (70 percent), Gomis (79 percent) and Jourdain (58 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.