MMASucka staff picks are locked in for tonight’s Saturday fights ahead.
UFC on ESPN 49, also titled as UFC Vegas 77, will take place later today, July 15th, from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Seven fights are slated for action on the preliminary card beginning at 7:00pm ET (4:00pm PT) followed by the six-fight main card at 10:00pm ET (7:00pm ET). All fights will be available to watch on either cable ESPN or on ESPN+ for subscribers.
Stay tuned to MMASucka for live UFC on ESPN 49: Holm vs. Bueno Silva results.
Also, be sure to recap our staff picks from Friday’s ONE Fight Night 12 event.
The Fights
In a critical fight for the women’s bantamweight division, Holly Holm and Mayra Bueno Silva will meet across five possible five-minute rounds in the night’s main event. A winner between Holm and Bueno Silva would likely be the next candidate for a shot at the vacant divisional championship after Amanda Nunes announced retirement from the division last month.
Former champion of the 135-pound division, Holm, shows no signs of slowing down after her dominant March decision win over Yana Santos. The Jackson Wink MMA Academy veteran and multi-time title challenger has sat within the division’s top five for numerous years and currently hosts three wins in her last four outings dating back to January of 2020. Holm’s opponent, Bueno Silva, gets her first featured platform in the UFC after nine fights with the promotion following a 2018 contract win on Dana White’s Contender Series Brazil. Three straight victories including back-to-back submissions over Stephanie Egger and Lina Lansberg have propelled the Brazilian to a shot against one of the division’s all-time greats.
The co-main event will see a welterweight clash between the 14-fight run of Jack Della Maddalena and recent Fury Fight Championship Welterweight title victor Bassil Hafez. However, due to late shuffling of the main card, this fight will not be included in our staff picks. Additionally not included sees a heavyweight pairing between knockout specialists Walt Harris and Josh Parisian scrapped after Harris was removed due to a violation found by USADA.
With fights like the grudge match of Norma Dumont versus Chelsea Chandler and the main card opener between dangerous finishers Terrance McKinney and Nazim Sadykhov, find our UFC on ESPN 49: Holm vs. Bueno Silva picks and predictions below.
Bantamweight showdown tomorrow night 🤜 🤛 LET’S GO!@HollyHolm vs @MayraSheetara
Prelims 7pmET | Main Card 10pmET | LIVE on @ESPN & ESPN+ 📺 pic.twitter.com/1lIBmT5OjN
— UFC (@ufc) July 14, 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 ONE Fight Night 12 picks and predictions.
[metabet_core_side_odds_tile query=”mma_game_team_win_method_ko/536179″ size=”350×300″ site_id=”lastwordonsports”]
Staff Records after UFC 290:
1. Michael DeSantis: 153-75
2. Ben Jamieson: 152-76
3. Nate Freeman: 148-80
4T. Jeremy Brand: 147-81
4T. Frazer Krohn: 147-81
6. Wesley Riddle: 145-83
7. Julio Monteros Jr.: 130-76
8. Jack Goodwillie: 121-66
9. Andrew Benjamin: 113-90
10. Brian Knight: 111-62
11. Tim Wheaton: 105-60
12. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
13. Jonathan Andrade: 31-24
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Benjamin: 10-7
16. Joshua Yule: 7-6
17. Antwyn Jackson: 2-3
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
*Note – ONE Fight Night 12 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Nazim Sadykhov (8-1), -145
vs.
Terrance McKinney (13-5), +125
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Wesley Riddle: Sadykhov via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: McKinney via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: McKinney via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: McKinney via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: McKinney via Round 2 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: McKinney via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Sadykhov via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Sadykhov: 2
Staff picking McKinney: 5
Norma Dumont (9-2), -140
vs.
Chelsea Chandler (5-1), +120
Women’s Featherweight Division
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Wesley Riddle: Dumont via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Dumont via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Dumont via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Dumont via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Dumont via Split Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Dumont via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Dumont via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Dumont: 7
Staff picking Chandler: 0
Albert Duraev (16-4), +130
vs.
Jun Yong Park (16-5), -150
Middleweight Division
– 185 LBS. ~ 83.9 KG. –
Wesley Riddle: Duraev via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Yong Park via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Yong Park via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Yong Park via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Duraev via Split Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Yong Park via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Yong Park via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Duraev: 2
Staff picking Yong Park: 5
Ottman Azaitar (13-1), -105
vs.
Francisco Prado (11-1), -115
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Wesley Riddle: Prado via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Azaitar via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Azaitar via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Azaitar via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Azaitar via Split Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Prado via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Prado via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Azaitar:
Staff picking Prado:
Holly Holm (15-6), -165
vs.
Mayra Bueno Silva (10-2-1), +140
Women’s Bantamweight Division
– Main Event –
– 135 LBS. ~ 61.2 KG. –
Wesley Riddle: Holm via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Holm via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Holm via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Holm via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Holm via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Holm via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Holm via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Holm: 7
Staff picking Bueno Silva: 0
