Half down, half to go for a promotion as our MMASucka staff picks wrap up another month of the year.
Dana White’s Contender Series 52 will take place in just a few short hours tonight, August 30th from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ten fighters will look to secure a UFC contract from promotional president White at the season’s sixth, Tuesday-night event of ten total in 2022. Tonight’s card will begin at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT) live for subscribers on ESPN+.
Stay tuned this upcoming weekend for our UFC Fight Night 209: Gane vs. Tuivasa staff picks from Paris, the promotion’s first-ever event France.
The Fights
Welterweight hopefuls Yusaku Kinoshita and Jose Henrique will meet in the featured three-round main event. The two youthful prospects, both under the age of 25, will look to make the most of their opportunity as both search for a sixth professional win.
In the co-main event, former Glory kickboxer and OKTAGON MMA standout Matej Penaz will faceoff against Port City Combat Sport’s Sedriques Dumas as the two put their undefeated 6-0 streaks on the line.
Former Fight Exclusive Night lightweight champion Mateusz Rebecki, returning Contender Series hopeful Maria Silva, and former TKO featherweight title holder Alex Morgan will look for their ticket into the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a strong performance against their respected and dangerous opponents. Find our staff picks for all of Dana White’s Contender Series 52 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.
See below for our Dana White’s Contender Series 52 staff picks.
Staff Records after Dana White’s Contender Series 51:
1. Nate Freeman: 179-95
2. Wesley Riddle: 178-96
3T. Michael DeSantis: 174-100
3T. Frazer Krohn: 174-100
5. William Dong: 169-105
6. Jeremy Brand: 165-103
7. Chris Presnell: 156-112
8T. Andrew Benjamin: 154-114
8T. Julio Monteros Jr.: 154-85
10. Tim Wheaton: 145-84
11. Mike Lynch: 123-74
12. Brian Knight: 115-81
13. Brandon Joint: 111-72
14. Jack Goodwillie: 109-50
15. Ash Camyab: 105-77
16. Coby Weinsier: 87-47
17. Chinyere Okafor: 72-38
18. Jacek Okninski: 70-58
19. Roemello Reyes: 37-20
20. Matt Bricker: 24-22
21. Ben Jamieson: 17-16
22. Joe Porter: 11-5
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Alex Morgan (11-4), -200
vs.
Blake Bilder (6-0-1), +170
Featherweight Division
– 145 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Morgan via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Morgan via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Morgan via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Morgan via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Bilder via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Bilder via Round 3 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Bilder via Round 1 TKO
Chris Presnell: Bilder via Round 1 TKO
Roemello Reyes: Morgan via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Morgan via Round 2 SUB
Staff picking Morgan: 6
Staff picking Bilder: 4
Viktoriya Dudakova (5-0), +240
vs.
Maria Silva (8-0), -285
Women’s Strawweight Division
– 115 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Silva via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Silva via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Silva via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Silva via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Dudakova via Round 2 SUB
Nate Freeman: Silva via Split Decision
Tim Wheaton: Dudakova via Round 2 SUB
Chris Presnell: Dudakova via Round 1 SUB
Roemello Reyes: Silva via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Dudakova via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Dudakova: 4
Staff picking Silva: 6
Rodrigo Lidio (12-2), +205
vs.
Mateusz Rebecki (15-1), -245
Lightweight Division
– 155 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Rebecki via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Rebecki via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Rebecki via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Lidio via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Lidio via Round 3 TKO
Nate Freeman: Rebecki via Round 2 SUB
Tim Wheaton: Lidio via Round 3 TKO
Chris Presnell: Rebecki via Round 1 SUB
Roemello Reyes: Rebecki via Round 1 SUB
Ben Jamieson: Lidio via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Lidio: 4
Staff picking Rebecki: 6
Matej Penaz (6-0), -170
vs.
Sedriques Dumas (6-0), +145
Middleweight Co-Main Event
– 185 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Penaz via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Penaz via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Penaz via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Dumas via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Dumas via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Penaz via Round 1 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Penaz via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Penaz via Unanimous Decision
Roemello Reyes: Dumas via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Dumas via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Penaz: 6
Staff picking Dumas: 4
Yusaku Kinoshita (5-1), -205
vs.
Jose Henrique (5-0), +175
Welterweight Main Event
– 170 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Kinoshita via Round 3 SUB
Wesley Riddle: Kinoshita via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Kinoshita via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Kinoshita via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Kinoshita via Round 2 SUB
Nate Freeman: Kinoshita via Round 2 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Kinoshita via Round 3 SUB
Chris Presnell: Kinoshita via Round 2 TKO
Roemello Reyes: Kinoshita via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Henrique via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Kinoshita: 9
Staff picking Henrique: 1
*Fight odds from DraftKings*
DANA WHITE’S CONTENDER SERIES 52 FEATURED IMAGE:
Embed from Getty Images
