A historic event is in store as our MMASucka staff picks start the final third of the calendar year.
UFC Fight Night 209 will begin later this afternoon, September 3rd from the Accor Arena in Paris, France. This will mark the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s debut after mixed martial arts became legalized in the country just over two years ago. Six fights compose the main card beginning at 3:00pm ET (12:00pm PT) live for subscribers on ESPN+.
Results from the entire UFC Fight Night 209: Gane vs. Tuivasa event are available here at MMASucka.
Stay tuned this upcoming Tuesday the 6th for our Dana White’s Contender Series 53 picks from Las Vegas.
The Fights
Heavyweights Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa are set for a possible five rounds in tonight’s featured main event.
France’s Gane looks to make the most in front of his country having been the former divisional interim champion with his August of 2021 knockout over Derrick Lewis. The well-rounded MMA Factory talent looks to rebound after losing his first professional fight with Francis Ngannou in January by unanimous decision. Gane’s opponent, Tuivasa, will make his second-ever UFC main event appearance. Despite losing three in-a-row from 2018 to 2019 and nearly seeing his release from the promotion, the Australian has won five straight by knockout round including a February stoppage of the aforementioned Lewis.
An incredible, must-watch pairing falls in the co-main event as Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori clash in the middleweight division. Former champion of the division Whittaker hopes to rebound after his back-and-forth, title-fight rematch with Israel Adesanya went against his favor by decision earlier this year. Grappling talent and recent title challenger Vettori aims for his second straight win after a unanimous decision over Paulo Costa last October.
A late change in the fight card will see a preliminary bout between John Makdessi and Nasrat Haqparast counted towards our MMASucka staff picks. In turn, the middleweight pairing between Nassourdine Imavov and Joaquin Buckley will not be included.
Other fighters making up the UFC Fight Night 209 main card include French UFC newcomer William Gomis and former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion Nathaniel Wood against their respected opponents. Who are the MMASucka staff picking to win?
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.
Find our UFC Fight Night 209: Gane vs. Tuivasa staff picks below.
Staff Records after Dana White’s Contender Series 52:
1. Nate Freeman: 182-97
2. Wesley Riddle: 180-99
3. Frazer Krohn: 178-101
4. Michael DeSantis: 176-103
5. William Dong: 173-106
6. Jeremy Brand: 167-106
7. Chris Presnell: 160-113
8. Andrew Benjamin: 156-117
9. Julio Monteros Jr.: 154-85
10. Tim Wheaton: 148-86
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: 40-22
20. Matt Bricker: 24-22
21. Ben Jamieson: 20-18
22. Joe Porter: 11-5
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
John Makdessi (18-7), +195
vs.
Nasrat Haqparast (13-5), -230
Lightweight Division
– 155 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Makdessi via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Haqparast via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Haqparast via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Haqparast via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Haqparast via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Haqparast via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Haqparast via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Haqparast via Round 2 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Haqparast via Split Decision
Brian Knight: Haqparast via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Makdessi via Unanimous Decision
Roemello Reyes: Haqparast via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Haqparast via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Makdessi: 2
Staff picking Haqparast: 11
Charles Jourdain (13-5-1), -145
vs.
Nathaniel Wood (18-5), +125
Featherweight Division
– 145 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Jourdain via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Wood via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Jourdain via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Wood via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Wood via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Wood via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Wood via Round 3 SUB
Brandon Joint: Jourdain via Split Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Wood via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Jourdain via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Wood via Split Decision
Roemello Reyes: Wood via Split Decision
Ben Jamieson: Jourdain via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Jourdain: 5
Staff picking Wood: 8
William Gomis (10-2), -225
vs.
Jarno Errens (13-3-1), +190
Featherweight Division
– 145 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Errens via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Gomis via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Gomis via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Gomis via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Gomis via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Errens via Round 3 SUB
Chris Presnell: Errens via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Gomis via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Errens via Round 2 TKO
Brian Knight: Errens via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Errens via Round 2 TKO
Roemello Reyes: Gomis via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Gomis via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Gomis: 7
Staff picking Errens: 6
Alessio Di Chirico (13-6), -105
vs.
Roman Kopylov (8-2), -115
Middleweight Division
– 185 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Di Chirico via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Di Chirico via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Di Chirico via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Di Chirico via Round 3 TKO
Nate Freeman: Kopylov via Split Decision
Tim Wheaton: Di Chirico via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Di Chirico via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Di Chirico via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Di Chirico via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Di Chirico via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Di Chirico via Unanimous Decision
Roemello Reyes: Kopylov via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Kopylov via Round 3 SUB
Staff picking Di Chirico: 10
Staff picking Kopylov: 3
Robert Whittaker (24-6), -210
vs.
Marvin Vettori (18-5-1), +180
Middleweight Co-Main Event
– 185 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Whittaker via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Whittaker via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Whittaker via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Whittaker via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Whittaker via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Whittaker via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Whittaker via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Whittaker via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Whittaker via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Vettori via Round 3 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Whittaker via Unanimous Decision
Roemello Reyes: Vettori via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Whittaker via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Whittaker: 11
Staff picking Vettori: 2
Ciryl Gane (10-1), -560
vs.
Tai Tuivasa (15-3), +430
Heavyweight Main Event
– 265 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Gane via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Gane via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Gane via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Gane via Round 5 TKO
Nate Freeman: Gane via Round 3 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Gane via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Gane via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Gane via Round 2 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Gane via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Gane via Round 4 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Gane via Round 3 TKO
Roemello Reyes: Gane via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Gane via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Gane: 13
Staff picking Tuivasa: 0
*Fight odds from DraftKings*
UFC FIGHT NIGHT 209 FEATURED IMAGE:
Embed from Getty Images
