A wild Thursday and Friday of fights has neared its end with our third and final fight card for our MMASucka staff picks this weekend. UFC Vegas 34, also titled UFC on ESPN 29, will take place tonight, August 21 from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card will kick off live on both ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 10:00pm ET (7:00pm PT).
Make sure to recap our staff picks this weekend from PFL 8 2021 and Bellator 265.
The Fights
Fireworks will fly in tonight’s UFC Vegas 34 main event between top-ranked middleweights Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum. With a combined finishing rate just over 72% of their opponents, both look to impress as they work their way back towards title contention. Cannonier’s three-fight win streak was snapped against Robert Whittaker last October, the middleweight hoping to be victorious in just his second promotional main event. Gastelum, replacing Cannonier’s former opponent Paulo Costa in June, targets his second triumph of the calendar year; his first coming by decision over Ian Heinisch in February.
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Lightweights Clay Guida and Mark Madsen will meet in the co-main event for a potential 15 minutes. Fan-favorite Guida is set to make the octagon walk for the 31st time of his career, looking to add upon his recent decision win of Michael Johnson. Olympic Greco-Roman medalist Madsen hopes to remain undefeated in his eleventh professional outing.
A main card pairing between Trevin Jones and Saidyokub Kakhramonov will not be counted for our MMASucka staff picks this evening. See all the UFC Vegas 34 fights counted tonight further below.
Staff Picks
Throughout the calendar year, staff picks will be composed of main card fights from UFC and Bellator events and a variety of fights from PFL MMA. Dana White’s Contender Series will make its debut this August 31st.
The WINNER of staff picks in 2021 will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or chain from Championship Chains. For the third straight year, Michael DeSantis captured the 2020 victory compiling a record of 201-88.
Find our UFC Vegas 34: Cannonier vs. Gastelum staff picks below.
Staff Records after Bellator 264:
1. Nate Freeman: 132-77
2. Wesley Riddle: 131-78
3. Michael DeSantis: 127-82
4. Frazer Krohn: 123-86
5. Ash Camyab: 118-82
6. Jeremy Brand: 112-98
7. Mike Lynch: 109-90
8. Mitchell Banuelos: 107-89
9. Andrew Benjamin: 89-97
10. Tim Wheaton: 88-66
11. Kenny Lee: 77-64
12. Brandon Joint: 59-27
13. Matt Bricker: 57-57
14. Chris Presnell: 20-8
15. Maria Morales: 9-1
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
*Note – PFL 8 2021 & Bellator 265 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Alexandre Pantoja (23-5) vs. Brandon Royval (12-5)
Jeremy Brand: Royval via Round 2 SUB
Wesley Riddle: Pantoja via Round 3 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Pantoja via UD
Ash Camyab: Pantoja via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Pantoja via Round 1 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Royval via SD
Mike Lynch: Pantoja via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Pantoja via SD
Brandon Joint: Pantoja via UD
Chris Presnell: Royval via SD
Steven Irvine: Pantoja via Round 1 SUB
Amanda Grace: Royval via Round 1 SUB
Staff picking Pantoja: 8
Staff picking Royval: 4
Vinc Pichel (13-2) vs. Austin Hubbard (13-5)
Jeremy Brand: Pichel via UD
Wesley Riddle: Pichel via SD
Michael DeSantis: Pichel via UD
Ash Camyab: Pichel via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Pichel via UD
Frazer Krohn: Pichel via UD
Mike Lynch: Pichel via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Pichel via UD
Brandon Joint: Pichel via UD
Chris Presnell: N/A
Steven Irvine: Hubbard via Round 2 TKO
Amanda Grace: Pichel via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Pichel: 10
Staff picking Hubbard: 1
Parker Porter (11-6) vs. Chase Sherman (15-7)
Jeremy Brand: Sherman via Round 3 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Sherman via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Sherman via Round 2 TKO
Ash Camyab: Sherman via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Sherman via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Sherman via Round 2 TKO
Mike Lynch: Sherman via Round 3 TKO
Nate Freeman: Sherman via Round 1 TKO
Brandon Joint: Sherman via Round 2 TKO
Chris Presnell: N/A
Steven Irvine: Sherman via Round 1 TKO
Amanda Grace: Sherman via UD
Staff picking Porter: 0
Staff picking Sherman: 11
Clay Guida (36-17) vs. Mark Madsen (10-0)
Jeremy Brand: Guida via UD
Wesley Riddle: Madsen via Round 2 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Madsen via UD
Ash Camyab: Madsen via UD
Andrew Benjamin: Guida via SD
Frazer Krohn: Madsen via UD
Mike Lynch: Madsen via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Madsen via UD
Brandon Joint: Madsen via UD
Chris Presnell: N/A
Steven Irvine: Madsen via UD
Amanda Grace: Madsen via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Guida: 2
Staff picking Madsen: 9
Jared Cannonier (13-5) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (17-7, 1 NC)
Jeremy Brand: Cannonier via UD
Wesley Riddle: Cannonier via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Cannonier via UD
Ash Camyab: Cannonier via Round 5 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Cannonier via UD
Frazer Krohn: Cannonier via UD
Mike Lynch: Cannonier via Round 4 TKO
Nate Freeman: Cannonier via UD
Brandon Joint: Cannonier via Round 3 TKO
Chris Presnell: Gastelum via UD
Steven Irvine: Gastelum via Round 3 TKO
Amanda Grace: Cannonier via UD
Staff picking Cannonier: 10
Staff picking Gastelum: 2
UFC VEGAS 34 FEATURED IMAGE:
Embed from Getty Images
