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| Souza vs. Hermansson |
Hardy vs. Smoliakov |
Oliveira vs. Perry |
Cutelaba vs. Teixeira |
Lineker vs. Sandhagen |
Gifford vs. Roberts |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2019: 69-32 |
 Souza (70%) |
 Hardy (62%) |
 Oliveira (63%) |
 Teixeira (54%) |
 Lineker (69%) |
 Roberts (74%) |
| Fernanda Prates @nandaprates_ 2019: 71-30 (70%) |
Souza |
 Smoliakov |
Oliveira |
 Cutelaba |
Lineker |
Roberts |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2019: 70-31 (69%) |
Souza |
Smoliakov |
Oliveira |
Teixeira |
Lineker |
Roberts |
| Ben Fowlkes @BenFowlkesMMA 2019: 70-31 (69%)  2016 Champion |
Souza |
Smoliakov |
 Perry |
Teixeira |
Lineker |
Roberts |
| Trent Reinsmith @TrentReinsmith 2019: 70-31 (69%) |
Souza |
Smoliakov |
Oliveira |
Teixeira |
Lineker |
Roberts |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2019: 69-32 (68%) |
 Hermansson |
Hardy |
Oliveira |
Cutelaba |
Lineker |
Roberts |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2019: 68-33 (67%) 2018 Champion |
Hermansson |
Hardy |
Oliveira |
Cutelaba |
Lineker |
Roberts |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2019: 67-34 (66%) 2014 Champion |
Souza |
Hardy |
Oliveira |
Teixeira |
Lineker |
Roberts |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2019: 66-35 (65%) |
Hermansson |
Hardy |
Oliveira |
Cutelaba |
Lineker |
Roberts |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2019: 65-36 (64%) |
Souza |
Smoliakov |
Oliveira |
Cutelaba |
 Sandhagen |
 Gifford |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2019: 63-38 (62%) |
Souza |
Hardy |
Oliveira |
Teixeira |
Sandhagen |
Roberts |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2019: 61-40 (60%) |
Hermansson |
Hardy |
Perry |
Cutelaba |
Lineker |
Roberts |
| Steven Marrocco @MMAjunkieSteven 2019: 61-40 (60%) |
Hermansson |
Smoliakov |
Perry |
Teixeira |
Lineker |
Roberts |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2019: 58-43 (57%) |
Souza |
Smoliakov |
Perry |
Teixeira |
Sandhagen |
Roberts |
| Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2019: 5-5 (50%) |
Souza |
Smoliakov |
Oliveira |
Cutelaba |
Lineker |
Gifford |
The UFC is back in Florida this week for the first time in 14 months, and a middleweight clash tops the card.
UFC on ESPN+ 8 takes place Saturday at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., near Fort Lauderdale. The main card streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN2.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza (26-6 MMA, 9-3 UFC) takes on ex-Cage Warriors champ Jack Hermansson (19-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who took the fight on short notice when Yoel Romero pulled out with an injury. “Jacare” Souza is about a 2-1 favorite in the fight, and he gets the nod from nine of our 14 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers.
In the co-main event, former NFL standout Greg Hardy (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will try to rebound from his first MMA loss, which came by disqualification in January. He takes on fellow heavyweight Dmitrii Smoliakov (9-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC). Hardy is one of the event’s biggest favorites, but eight of our 14 pickers are taking Smoliakov in an upset.
Also on the main card, Alex Oliveira (19-6-1 MMA, 9-4 UFC) takes on Florida’s own Mike Perry (12-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) at welterweight. Oliveira is a 2-1 favorite and has a big 11-3 lead in the picks.
Former light heavyewight title challenger Glover Teixeira (28-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) meets Ion Cutelaba (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC), who is a mild favorite in their bout. In our closest set of picks on the main card, it’s split down the middle with seven tallies for each man.
John Lineker (31-8 MMA, 12-3 UFC) meets Cory Sandhagen (10-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in a bantamweight bout. Lineker is a slight favorite, but he’s our second biggest favorite among the staff with a 11-3 lead in the picks.
And to open the main card, Thomas Gifford (17-7 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut against Roosevelt Roberts (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at lightweight. Roberts is a big favorite, and like Lineker, he has a huge 12-2 lead in the picks.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Souza (70 percent), Hardy (62 percent), Oliveira (63 percent), Teixeira (54 percent), Lineker (69 percent) and Roberts (74 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on UFC on ESPN+ 8, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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