November rolls on with our MMASucka staff picks.
This evening, November 19th sees UFC Vegas 65, also titled as UFC Fight Night 215, set to take place from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The preliminary card will begin at 1:00pm ET (10:00am PT) with the main card at 4:00pm ET (1:00pm PT) all available to ESPN+ subscribers.
UFC Vegas 65: Lewis vs. Spivak live results will be available here at MMASucka.
Also, be sure to recap our MMASucka staff picks from Friday night’s Bellator 288 event in Chicago, Illinois.
The Fights
Heavyweight hopefuls Derrick Lewis and Sergey Spivak look for big performances in the night’s featured main event.
Seventh-ranked Lewis is set for his third octagon appearance of the year in search of a win after back-to-back knockout defeats to both Tai Tuivasa and Sergei Pavlovich. The Texas native and fan-favorite’s last victory came in December of 2021 over Chris Daukaus where he secured the record for most knockout wins in UFC history at 13. His opponent, Spivak, has had an opposite year with two knockout victories over Greg Hardy in March and Augusto Sakai in August. A win would be the Moldovan’s biggest win to date as he makes his first promotional main event in his tenth UFC bout.
In the co-main event, another fellow Moldovan of Ion Cutelaba will battle against Nigeria’s Kennedy Kzechukwu in the light heavyweight division. 28-year-old Cutelaba looks to avoid three-straight defeats in search of his first win since a unanimous decision over Devin Clark in September last year. Fortis MMA’s Nzechukwu snapped a two fight skid in July with his third-round knockout over former kickboxer Karl Roberson.
Additional fighters composing the main card include the undefeated Waldo Cortes-Acosta, dangerous stand-up finisher Andre Fialho, and 2021 Contender Series contract winner Jack Della Maddalena. Who are the MMASucka staff picking to win at UFC Vegas 65? See their selections 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 are 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 out below who the staff has picked to win at UFC Vegas 65: Lewis vs. Spivak.
Staff Records after UFC 281:
1. Wesley Riddle: 236-122
2. Michael DeSantis: 232-126
3. Frazer Krohn: 231-127
4. Nate Freeman: 225-218
5. Jeremy Brand: 217-135
6. Andrew Benjamin: 199-145
7. Tim Wheaton: 177-106
8. Julio Monteros Jr.: 175-100
9. William Dong: 173-106
10. Chris Presnell: 170-120
11. Brian Knight: 142-103
12. Jack Goodwillie: 131-68
13. Mike Lynch: 123-74
14. Brandon Joint: 115-74
15. Ash Camyab: 105-77
16. Coby Weinsier: 87-47
17. Roemello Reyes: 75-45
18. Chinyere Okafor: 72-38
19. Jacek Okninski: 70-58
20. Ben Jamieson: 48-26
21. Matt Bricker: 24-22
22. Joe Porter: 11-5
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
*Note – Bellator 288 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Jack Della Maddalena (12-2), -660
vs.
Danny Roberts (18-6), +490
Welterweight Division
– 170 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Della Maddalena via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Della Maddalena via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Della Maddalena via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Della Maddalena via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Della Maddalena via Round 2 SUB
Nate Freeman: Della Maddalena via Round 2 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Della Maddalena via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Della Maddalena via Round 2 TKO
Brian Knight: Della Maddalena via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Della Maddalena via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Della Maddalena: 10
Staff picking Roberts: 0
Andre Fialho (16-5, 1 NC), +100
vs.
Muslim Salikhov (18-3), -120
Welterweight Division
– 170 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Salikhov via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Fialho via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Fialho via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Fialho via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Fialho via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Fialho via Round 2 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Salikhov via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Fialho via Round 2 TKO
Brian Knight: Fialho via Split Decision
Ben Jamieson: Salikhov via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Fialho: 7
Staff picking Salikhov: 3
Chase Sherman (16-10), +200
vs.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta (8-0), -240
Heavyweight Division
– 265 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Cortes-Acosta via Round 3 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Cortes-Acosta via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Cortes-Acosta via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Sherman via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Cortes-Acosta via Round 3 TKO
Nate Freeman: Cortes-Acosta via Round 2 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Cortes-Acosta via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Cortes-Acosta via Round 1 TKO
Brian Knight: Cortes-Acosta via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Cortes-Acosta via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Sherman: 1
Staff picking Cortes-Acosta: 9
Kennedy Nzechukwu (10-3), -170
vs.
Ion Cutelaba (16-8-1), +145
Light Heavyweight Division
Co-Main Event
– 205 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Nzechukwu via Round 3 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Nzechukwu via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Nzechukwu via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Cutelaba via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Cutelaba via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Nzechukwu via Split Decision
Tim Wheaton: Cutelaba via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Cutelaba via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Cutelaba via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Nzechukwu via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Nzechukwu: 5
Staff picking Cutelaba: 5
Derrick Lewis (26-10), +170
vs.
Sergey Spivak (15-3), -200
Heavyweight Division
Main Event
– 265 lbs. –
Jeremy Brand: Spivak via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Lewis via Round 3 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Brian Knight: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Spivak via Round 1 SUB
Staff picking Lewis: 8
Staff picking Spivak: 2
UFC VEGAS 65 FEATURED IMAGE:
Embed from Getty Images
