The month is at its end with a stacked night of fights ahead for our MMASucka staff picks.
Later tonight, July 30 sees UFC 277 set to go down from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, returning to the arena for the first time since September of 2018. The main card will begin at 10:00pm ET (7:00pm PT) live on pay-per-view available for purchase to ESPN+ subscribers.
Results from the entire UFC 277: Pena vs. Nunes 2 fight card will be available here at MMASucka.
Stay tuned this upcoming Tuesday for our Dana White’s Contender Series 48 staff picks from Las Vegas.
The Fights
A highly-anticipated rematch is in store between Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes for the UFC bantamweight championship.
The first fight saw an incredible upset as Pena rallied back in the second round to submit Nunes and become only the division’s third champion in the last seven years. Pena, season 18 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, will look for her third straight victory and second title defense in her 16th professional fight. Her opponent, Nunes, had won twelve promotional fights in-a-row dating all the way back to March of 2015. Although sitting still as the featherweight champion, the Brazilian looks to reclaim the very belt at 135 pounds where she had secured five defenses of the title.
An interim title for the UFC flyweight division will take place in the co-main event between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France. The two had fought three rounds in late 2019 seeing Moreno the victor by unanimous decision.
Former divisional champion Moreno looks to bounce back strong after his title was taken away in a trilogy fight with Deiveson Figueiredo in January. City Kickboxing talent Kara-France looks to bring New Zealand home a third-reigning champion in search of his third-straight including a recent decision win over previously-undefeated Askar Askarov. The winner between Moreno and Kara-France will be next for the aforementioned Figueiredo upon his recovery from previous injuries.
Three other incredible pairings will be in store for tonight’s UFC 277 pay-per-view. Find our staff picks for those matchups further below.
Staff Picks
Staff picks in 2022 will follow the same set of rules from the 2021 season. Throughout the calendar year, staff picks will be composed of main card fights from both UFC and Bellator events. Main card fights and selected preliminary fights will be included for PFL MMA. Dana White’s Contender Series will be composed of the entire fight card.
The WINNER of staff picks in 2022 will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. A winner is determined simply by the individual correctly picking the most victorious fighters at the year’s end. Nate Freeman secured his first victory with MMASucka in 2021 with a compiled record 243-136.
Who are the MMASucka staff picking to win at UFC 277: Pena vs. Nunes 2?
Staff Records after Dana White’s Contender Series 47:
1T. Wesley Riddle: 143-74
1T. Nate Freeman: 143-74
3. Michael DeSantis: 142-75
4T. Frazer Krohn: 137-80
4T. William Dong: 137-80
6. Julio Monteros Jr.: 136-70
7. Jeremy Brand: 132-79
8. Chris Presnell: 129-82
9. Andrew Benjamin: 125-92
10. Mike Lynch: 123-74
11. Tim Wheaton: 121-66
12. Brandon Joint: 109-69
13. Ash Camyab: 99-83
14. Jack Goodwillie: 94-38
15. Coby Weinsier: 87-47
16. Brian Knight: 86-63
17. Chinyere Okafor: 72-38
18. Jacek Okninski: 69-54
19. Matt Bricker: 24-22
20. Joe Porter: 11-5
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Magomed Ankalaev (17-1), -560
vs.
Anthony Smith (36-16), +430
Light Heavyweight Division
~ 205 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Ankalaev via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Ankalaev via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Ankalaev via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Smith via Round 3 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Smith via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Ankalaev via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Ankalaev via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Ankalaev via Round 2 TKO
Brandon Joint: Ankalaev via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Ankalaev via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Ankalaev via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Ankalaev via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Ankalaev via Unanimous Decision
Roemello Reyes: Ankalaev via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Ankalaev: 12
Staff picking Smith: 2
Alexandre Pantoja (24-5), -195
vs.
Alex Perez (24-6), +165
Flyweight Division
~ 125 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Pantoja via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Pantoja via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Pantoja via Split Decision
Ash Camyab: Perez via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Pantoja via Round 2 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Pantoja via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Pantoja via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Pantoja via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Perez via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Pantoja via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Perez via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Pantoja via Split Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Perez via Unanimous Decision
Roemello Reyes: Pantoja via Round 1 SUB
Staff picking Pantoja: 10
Staff picking Perez: 4
Derrick Lewis (26-9, 1 NC), +125
vs.
Sergei Pavlovich (15-1), -145
Heavyweight Division
~ 265 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Pavlovich via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Ash Camyab: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Pavlovich via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Brandon Joint: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
William Dong: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Brian Knight: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Pavlovich via Round 1 TKO
Roemello Reyes: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Lewis: 11
Staff picking Pavlovich: 3
Brandon Moreno (19-6-2), -210
vs.
Kai Kara-France (24-9, 1 NC), +180
Flyweight Interim Divisional Championship
~ 125 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Moreno via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Moreno via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Moreno via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Moreno via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Moreno via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Moreno via Round 4 SUB
Nate Freeman: Moreno via Split Decision
Chris Presnell: Moreno via Round 3 SUB
Brandon Joint: Kara-France via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Moreno via Round 2 SUB
Julio Monteros Jr.: Moreno via Round 4 SUB
Brian Knight: Moreno via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Moreno via Unanimous Decision
Roemello Reyes: Moreno via Split Decision
Staff picking Moreno: 13
Staff picking Kara-France: 1
Julianna Pena (12-4), +230
vs.
Amanda Nunes (21-5), -275
Bantamweight Divisional Championship
~ 135 lbs. ~
Jeremy Brand: Pena via Round 4 SUB
Wesley Riddle: Nunes via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Nunes via Round 1 SUB
Ash Camyab: Nunes via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Pena via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Nunes via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Nunes via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Nunes via Round 3 TKO
Brandon Joint: Nunes via Round 2 TKO
William Dong: Nunes via Round 2 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Pena via Round 4 SUB
Brian Knight: Nunes via Round 3 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Pena via Round 4 SUB
Roemello Reyes: Pena via Round 3 SUB
Staff picking Pena: 5
Staff picking Nunes: 9
*Fight odds from DraftKings*
UFC 277 FEATURED IMAGE:
Embed from Getty Images
