Our MMASucka staff picks have reached its concluding event for the 2020 calendar year. Later this evening, December 19 will see UFC on ESPN+ 41 (also referred to as UFC Fight Night 183 and UFC Vegas 17) take place from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card will begin at 7:00pm ET (4:00pm PT) live for subscribers on ESPN+.
The Fights
Exciting welterweights Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal will meet in the main event slot. Former divisional title challenger Thompson is looking to close the year on a win streak, lastly defeating Vicente Luque in November of 2019. The dynamic striker has finished nearly half of his opponents by knockout, in search of his first since stopping former title holder Johny Hendricks in 2016. Thompson’s opposite, Neal, has finished all but three of his opponents through 13 professional fights. The well-rounded Texan is targeting his eighth straight victory in his first promotional main event.
Top-ranked bantamweights Jose Aldo and Marlon Vera share the octagon for our co-main event. All-time great and former featherweight king Aldo aims to snap a three-fight skid dating back to May of last year, the longest stretch of defeats in his career. Former TUF: Latin America competitor Vera looks for his biggest win to date having secured six victories through his last seven outings.
See our remaining main card staff picks for the stacked UFC on ESPN+ 41 event further below.
Staff Picks
Throughout the remainder of the year, staff picks will be composed of two 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 all of our staff picks for UFC on ESPN+ 41: Thompson vs. Neal below.
Staff Records after UFC 256:
1. Michael DeSantis: 198-86
2. Connor Deitrich: 196-88
3. Wesley Riddle: 183-93
4. Nate Freeman: 175-106
5. Dan Rose: 173-112
6. Frazer Krohn: 172-113
7. Jeremy Brand: 169-107
8. Mike Lynch: 168-102
9. Jack Buchanan: 167-81
10. Ash Camyab: 166-119
11. Andrew Benjamin: 152-123
12. Matt Bricker: 143-96
13. McKenzie Guardiero: 134-105
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 pick for every event*
Marcin Tybura (20-6) vs. Greg Hardy (7-2, 1 NC)
Jeremy Brand: Tybura via UD
Wesley Riddle: Hardy via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Tybura via UD
Matt Bricker: Tybura via UD
Connor Deitrich: Hardy via Round 1 TKO
Ash Camyab: Tybura via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Tybura via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Tybura via UD
Dan Rose: Hardy via Round 1 TKO
Mike Lynch: Tybura via Round 2 SUB
Nate Freeman: Tybura via UD
Staff picking Tybura: 8
Staff picking Hardy: 3
Marlon Moraes (23-7-1) vs. Rob Font (17-4)
Jeremy Brand: Moraes via UD
Wesley Riddle: Moraes via SD
Michael DeSantis: Moraes via UD
Matt Bricker: Moraes via Round 1 TKO
Connor Deitrich: Font via UD
Ash Camyab: Moraes via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Moraes via Round 3 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Moraes via UD
Dan Rose: Moraes via Round 1 TKO
Mike Lynch: Moraes via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Moraes via SD
Staff picking Moraes: 10
Staff picking Font: 1
Michel Pereira (24-11, 2 NC) vs. Khaos Williams (10-1)
Jeremy Brand: Pereira via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Williams via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Williams via Round 1 TKO
Matt Bricker: Williams via UD
Connor Deitrich: Williams via Round 2 TKO
Ash Camyab: Pereira via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Pereira via Round 2 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Williams via Round 2 TKO
Dan Rose: Williams via Round 1 TKO
Mike Lynch: Pereira via UD
Nate Freeman: Williams via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Pereira: 4
Staff picking Williams: 7
Jose Aldo (28-7) vs. Marlon Vera (16-6-1)
Jeremy Brand: Vera via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Aldo via SD
Michael DeSantis: Aldo via UD
Matt Bricker: Aldo via SD
Connor Deitrich: Aldo via Round 3 TKO
Ash Camyab: Aldo via Round 3 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Aldo via UD
Frazer Krohn: Aldo via UD
Dan Rose: Aldo via Round 2 TKO
Mike Lynch: Aldo via UD
Nate Freeman: Aldo via SD
Staff picking Aldo: 10
Staff picking Vera: 1
Stephen Thompson (15-4-1) vs. Geoff Neal (13-2)
Jeremy Brand: Thompson via UD
Wesley Riddle: Neal via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Thompson via UD
Matt Bricker: Neal via Round 3 TKO
Connor Deitrich: Thompson via UD
Ash Camyab: Thompson via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Thompson via SD
Frazer Krohn: Thompson via SD
Dan Rose: Neal via Round 1 TKO
Mike Lynch: Thompson via UD
Nate Freeman: Thompson via UD
Staff picking Thompson: 8
Staff picking Neal: 3
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