Our third and final MMASucka staff picks card of the week is locked in. UFC on ESPN 16 will take place tonight, October 3 from the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi. This will be the promotion’s sixth event since July from UFC’s “Fight Island.” The main card will begin at 10:30pm ET (7:30pm PT) live on both ESPN and ESPN+.
Make sure to check out our staff picks from Thursday’s Bellator 247 and this evening’s Bellator Euro Series 9.
The Fights
Exciting bantamweights Holly Holm and Irene Aldana will faceoff in tonight’s main event. Former divisional champion Holm sits 3-5 through her last eight fights, but she still remains one of the division’s best. She will look to back up her January victory over former title challenger Raquel Pennington. Holm’s opponent, Aldana, has only faced one defeat through her last six bouts (a controversial decision loss to the aforementioned Pennington). In her last outing, Aldana stopped the undefeated run of Ketlen Vieira with a vicious first-round knockout.
Also on the main card sees dangerous heavyweight Yorgan de Castro and former UFC champion Germaine de Randamie. See all of our MMASucka staff picks for UFC on ESPN 16 further below.
Staff Picks
Throughout the year, staff picks will be composed of five different MMA promotions. UFC and Bellator. As of September 25th, the events of ONE and RIZIN will no longer be counted for our picks (including a recent deduction of the last two RIZIN cards from our records). With the cancellation of PFL for 2020, this promotion will be excluded as well.
Main cards will makeup both UFC and Bellator picks. The WINNER of staff picks will have a choice between receiving a championship belt from ProAmBelts or a championship chain from Championship Chains. The 2019 winner was awarded to Michael DeSantis, compiling a record of 321-178. Second-place Connor Deitrich collected a close score of 319-180 with third-place Ed Gallo not far behind totaling at 312-183.
Check out our UFC on ESPN 16: Holm vs. Aldana staff picks below.
Staff Records after UFC 253:
1. Michael DeSantis: 143-63
2. Connor Deitrich: 142-64
3. Wesley Riddle: 138-69
4. Jeremy Brand: 127-75
5T. Frazer Krohn: 124-83
5T. Nate Freeman: 124-79
7T. Dan Rose: 121-86
7. Jack Buchanan: 121-63
9. Mike Lynch: 120-72
10. Ash Camyab: 119-88
11. Matt Bricker: 117-71
12. McKenzie Guardiero: 108-85
13. Andrew Benjamin: 107-94
14. Ryan Hobbs: 95-64
15. Ashwin Viswanathan: 83-51
16. Mike Skytte: 67-45
17. Mitchell Banuelos: 64-39
18. Joshua Yule: 55-28
19. Ed Gallo: 54-27
20. Jeremy Cook: 14-6
*Note: not all staff has picked for every event*
**Note: Bellator 247 & Bellator Euro Series 9 picks will be added to the above records NEXT week**
Dequan Townsend (21-11) vs. Dusko Todorovic (9-0)
Jeremy Brand: N/A
Wesley Riddle: Todorovic via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Todorovic via Round 2 TKO
Matt Bricker: Townsend via Round 1 TKO
Connor Deitrich: Todorovic via Round 3 TKO
Ash Camyab: Townsend via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Townsend via UD
Frazer Krohn: Todorovic via Round 2 TKO
McKenzie Guardiero: Todorovic via UD
Dan Rose: Todorovic via UD
Mike Lynch: Todorovic via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Todorovic via UD
Jack Buchanan: Todorovic via UD
Staff picking Townsend: 3
Staff picking Todorovic: 9
Germaine de Randamie (9-4) vs. Julianna Pena (10-3)
Jeremy Brand: N/A
Wesley Riddle: de Randamie via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: de Randamie via UD
Matt Bricker: de Randamie via Round 3 TKO
Connor Deitrich: de Randamie via Round 2 TKO
Ash Camyab: de Randamie via UD
Andrew Benjamin: de Randamie via Round 3 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Pena via SD
McKenzie Guardiero: de Randamie via UD
Dan Rose: Pena via UD
Mike Lynch: de Randamie via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: de Randamie via UD
Jack Buchanan: de Randamie via UD
Staff picking de Randamie: 10
Staff picking Pena: 2
Yorgan de Castro (5-2) vs. Carlos Felipe (8-1)
Jeremy Brand: N/A
Wesley Riddle: de Castro via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: de Castro via Round 1 TKO
Matt Bricker: de Castro via Round 1 TKO
Connor Deitrich: de Castro via Round 1 TKO
Ash Camyab: de Castro via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: de Castro via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: de Castro via Round 2 TKO
McKenzie Guardiero: de Castro via Round 2 TKO
Dan Rose: Felipe via Round 2 SUB
Mike Lynch: de Castro via UD
Nate Freeman: de Castro via SD
Jack Buchanan: de Castro via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking de Castro: 11
Staff picking Felipe: 1
Holly Holm (13-5) vs. Irene Aldana (12-5)
Jeremy Brand: N/A
Wesley Riddle: Holm via SD
Michael DeSantis: Holm via SD
Matt Bricker: Aldana via Round 4 TKO
Connor Deitrich: Aldana via Round 3 TKO
Ash Camyab: Holm via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Holm via UD
Frazer Krohn: Holm via SD
McKenzie Guardiero: Holm via UD
Dan Rose: Holm via Round 2 TKO
Mike Lynch: Holm via UD
Nate Freeman: Holm via UD
Jack Buchanan: Holm via UD
Staff picking Holm: 10
Staff picking Aldana: 2
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