| Sterling vs. Cejudo |
Burns vs. Muhammad |
Andrade vs. Xiaonan |
Evloev vs. Lopes |
Gracie vs. Jourdain |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 65-45 |
Cejudo (61%) |
 Burns (66%) |
 Andrade (70%) |
 Evloev (91%) |
 Gracie (54%) |
| Matt Erickson @MattE 71-39 |
 Sterling |
 Muhammad |
Andrade |
Evloev |
 Jourdain |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 70-40 |
Cejudo | Burns |
Andrade |
Evloev |
Gracie |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 70-40 |
Sterling |
Muhammad |
Andrade |
Evloev |
Gracie |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 68-42 |
Cejudo | Burns |
Andrade |
Evloev |
Jourdain |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 67-43 |
Sterling |
Muhammad |
Andrade |
Evloev |
Gracie |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 65-45  2014 Champion |
Cejudo | Muhammad |
Andrade |
Evloev |
Jourdain |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 63-47 |
Cejudo | Burns |
Andrade |
Evloev |
Jourdain |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway -62-48 2018, 2022 Champion |
Cejudo | Burns |
 Xiaonan |
Evloev |
Jourdain |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 61-49 |
Cejudo | Burns |
Andrade |
Evloev |
Jourdain |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 60-50 |
Cejudo | Muhammad |
Andrade |
Evloev |
Gracie |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 60-50 2017 Champion |
Cejudo | Burns |
Andrade |
Evloev |
Jourdain |
The UFC is back on the East Coast this week with the bantamweight title up for grabs for an ex-champ coming out of retirement.
UFC 288 takes place Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (22-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) puts his title on the line against former two-division champ and Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who is ending his retirement of nearly three years.
The fight essentially is a pick’em at the betting window. If books don’t have the fight even, there are about as many who have Sterling a slight favorite as there are those that have Cejudo a slight favorite. But our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have it as a blowout for the former champ, Cejudo, at 8-3.
In the co-feature, Gilbert Burns (22-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) meets Belal Muhammad (22-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in a bout that Dana White has said will determine the next welterweight title challenger – after Colby Covington. Burns, who retired Jorge Masvidal just a month ago, returns for a fight that was booked on a little more than two weeks’ notice. Burns is a slight betting favorite and he has the smallest possible edge in the picks at 6-5.
Also on the main card, former women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (24-10 MMA, 15-8 UFC) is a 2-1 favorite in her fight against Yan Xiaonan (16-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC), but she’s not a unanimous pick. One of our staff members has Xiaonan in an upset.
Movsar Evloev (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is as much as a 10-1 favorite from the oddsmakers in his featherweight fight against Diego Lopes (21-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who took the bout on just a few days’ notice when Bryce Mitchell pulled out. Not surprisingly, Evloev is our only unanimous pick.
And to open the main card, Kron Gracie (5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on Charles Jourdain (13-6-1 MMA, 4-5-1 UFC) at featherweight. Jourdain is around a -175 favorite, and he’s got a 7-4 lead from our pickers.
In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Cejudo (61 percent), Burns (66 percent), Andrade (70 percent), Evloev (91 percent) and Gracie (54 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.
UFC 288 predictions: Who’s picking Henry Cejudo to recapture title from Aljamain Sterling?