2023 has reached its halfway mark for both the calendar year and our MMASucka staff picks.
Closing out the first six month stretch sees UFC on ESPN 48 set for action later tonight, July 1st from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Early preliminaries will kick off at 4:00pm ET (1:00pm PT) followed by the main card at 7:00pm ET (4:00pm PT) with all fights available to watch through ESPN cable or for subscribers to ESPN+.
Stay tuned for UFC on ESPN 48: Strickland vs. Magomedov live results here at MMASucka.
The Fights
Clashing in the featured main event sees middleweights Sean Strickland and Abus Magomedov set for a potential five, five-minute rounds.
The year started off strong for Strickland who, after back-to-back losses in 2022 to Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier, fought in the light heavyweight division on short notice against Nassourdine Imavov and would ultimately secure the main event victory by unanimous decision. Now, the former King of the Cage Middleweight Champion looks to start a new run towards the 185-pound peak in his 19th fight with the UFC. Strickland’s opponent, Magomedov, gets the biggest test of his professional career in only his second promotional fight after finishing Dustin Stoltzfus by knockout in just 19 seconds last September. The well-rounded talent has finished all but two of his professional wins as he targets his fourth straight victory since losing in the 2018 PFL tournament finals to Louis Taylor.
Looking to crack in to the lightweight division’s top ten sees a pairing between #12 Damir Ismagulov and #15 Grant Dawson in the co-main event. Former two-time defending M-1 Lightweight Champion Ismagulov targets a rebound after his 19-fight win streak was snapped to Arman Tsarukyan in December of last year. 29-year-old Dawson hopes for eleven victories in-a-row after a successful 2022 with back-to-back rear-naked chokes in the third round over Jared Gordon that April and Mark Madsen that November.
Four additional fight compose the main card ahead which can be found further below. Who are the MMASucka staff picking and predicting to win at UFC on ESPN 48: Strickland vs. Magomedov?
Both coming to make a statement Saturday 😤@SStricklandMMA and @OfficialAbus ready for our #UFCVegas76 main event! pic.twitter.com/ajYVFSyMPt
— UFC (@ufc) June 28, 2023
2023 Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of five promotions: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature picks from only main cards. PFL will feature select fights from the main and preliminary card while DWCS sees all fights counted from the event. ONE Championship returns to picks for the first time since 2020 and will feature only mixed martial arts (MMA) fights selected from cards with a minimum three matchups.
The WINNER of staff picks at the end of 2023, who picked the most victorious fighters, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2022 was won by Wesley Riddle with a record of 264-135.
See below for our UFC on ESPN 48: Strickland vs. Magomedov main card staff picks.
Staff Records after UFC on ABC 5:
1T. Michael DeSantis: 148-69
1T. Ben Jamieson: 148-69
3. Nate Freeman: 144-73
4. Jeremy Brand: 143-74
5. Wesley Riddle: 141-76
6. Frazer Krohn: 139-78
7. Julio Monteros Jr.: 128-73
8. Jack Goodwillie: 115-61
9. Brian Knight: 109-59
10. Andrew Benjamin: 106-86
11. Tim Wheaton: 105-60
12. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
13. Jonathan Andrade: 29-21
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
16. Joshua Yule: 7-6
Brunno Ferreira (10-0), -225
vs.
Nursulton Ruziboev (34-8-2, 2 NC), +190
Middleweight Division
– 185 LBS. ~ 83.9 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Ferreira via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Ferreira via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Ferreira via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: N/A
Frazer Krohn: Ferreira via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Ferreira via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Ferreira via Round 1 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Ferreira via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Ferreira: 7
Staff picking Ruziboev: 0
Ismael Bonfim (19-3), -295
vs.
Benoit Saint-Denis (10-1, 1 NC), +245
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Bonfim via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Bonfim via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Bonfim via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: N/A
Frazer Krohn: Saint-Denis via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Bonfim via Round 2 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Saint-Denis via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Bonfim via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Bonfim: 5
Staff picking Saint-Denis: 2
Ariane Lipski (15-8), +190
vs.
Melissa Gatto (8-1-2), -225
Women’s Flyweight Division
– 125 LBS. ~ 56.7 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Gatto via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Gatto via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Gatto via Split Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Lipski via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Lipski via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Gatto via Split Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Gatto via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Gatto via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Lipski: 2
Staff picking Gatto: 6
Max Griffin (19-9), +210
vs.
Michael Morales (14-0), -250
Welterweight Division
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Morales via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Morales via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Morales via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Morales via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Morales via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Morales via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Morales via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Morales via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Griffin: 0
Staff picking Morales: 8
Damir Ismagulov (24-2), -115
vs.
Grant Dawson (19-1-1), -105
Lightweight Division
– Co-Main Event –
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Ismagulov via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Ismagulov via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Dawson via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Dawson via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Dawson via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Ismagulov via Split Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Dawson via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Ismagulov via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Ismagulov: 4
Staff picking Dawson: 4
Sean Strickland (26-5), -155
vs.
Abus Magomedov (25-4-1), +135
Middleweight Division
– Main Event –
– 185 LBS. ~ 83.9 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Strickland via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Strickland via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Strickland via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Strickland via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Strickland via Split Decision
Nate Freeman: Strickland via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Magomedov via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Strickland via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Strickland: 7
Staff picking Magomedov: 1
