A sneakily stacked card for MMASucka staff picks is on the horizon.
UFC on ESPN 56 will occur today, May 11th from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. This comes as the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s second promotional trip to the venue, city, and state. The first, UFC Fight Night 124, took place in mid-January of 2018. Today’s event will begin at 4:00pm ET (1:00pm PT) with preliminaries followed by the main card at 7:00pm ET (4:00pm PT). All fights will be available on either ESPN+ for subscribers or regular ESPN.
Results from UFC on ESPN 56 will be available here at MMASucka.
Card Headliner
Heavyweight hitters Derrick Lewis and Rodrigo Nascimento will battle in the night’s featured main event.
Former divisional title challenger and all-time UFC knockout holder, Lewis (-165), looks to get back in the win column after suffering a one-sided decision loss to Jailton Almeida in November of last year. The defeat was his fourth in his last five promotional appearances; however, he did manage a blistering 33-second finish of Marcos Rodgerio de Lima last summer. Lewis’s opponent, 2019 Contender Series contract winner Nascimento (+135), gets his first career headlining spot. Following a first career loss and an overturned win from late-2020 to mid-2021, the American Top Team fighter has won three straight fights by decision including two last calendar year over Ilir Latifi and Don’Tale Mayes.
Big Boys will bring it for tomorrow’s main event 😤@TheBeast_UFC vs @ZeColmeiiia
[ #UFCStLouis | LIVE on @ESPNPlus | TOMORROW ] pic.twitter.com/kL8jB4PAYw
— UFC (@ufc) May 10, 2024
Co-Main Event
In the co-main slot, Joaquin Buckley and Nursulton Ruziboev hope to continue their forward momentum at welterweight. After calling his shot at the historic UFC 300 press conference, knockout specialist and St. Louis’s own Buckley (-125) targets his 19th professional victory in his 25th MMA fight as well as a fourth consecutive win. Seasoned Eurasia competitor Ruziboev (+105) rides a longer streak at ten in-a-row including first-round knockouts over Brunno Ferreira in his July of 2023 debut and Sedriques Dumas just six weeks ago.
Remaining Fights
Two-time Contender Series competitor Alonzo Menifield (+215) puts his impressive four-fight run on the line against 2020 Contender Series alum Carlos Ulberg (-265) in the light heavyweight division.
Lightweight Brazilian Diego Ferreira (+350) returns to the octagon after a near-year hiatus to fight the 16-fight win streak of former FEN Champion Mateusz Rebecki (-455).
Two additional fights compose the awaiting main card. Alex Caceres (+185) and Sean Woodson (-225) meet at 145 pounds, and additional heavyweights of Waldo Cortes-Acosta (+200) and Robelis Despaigne (-245) square off across three possible rounds.
See below for our staff picks and betting predictions from UFC on ESPN 56: Lewis vs. Nascimento.
Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of four of the world’s leading mixed martial arts organizations: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the Professional Fighters League (PFL) with Bellator MMA, ONE Championship (ONE FC), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS).
- UFC picks will include main card fights ranging from four to six matchups per event.
- PFL and Bellator MMA see picks from main cards for pay-per-views and from tournament fights in the Regular Season, Playoffs, and Finals.
- ONE FC and DWCS picks will feature all MMA fights from the event with a minimum of three matchups.
The individual who picks the most victorious fighters by the end of 2024 will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a detailed chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2023 were won by Ben Jamieson with a record of 300-148.
Who has the MMASucka staff picked to win at UFC on ESPN 56?
RECORDS AFTER UFC 301:
1. Nate Freeman: 104-51
2. Wesley Riddle: 98-57
3. Jeremy Brand: 94-61
4. Michael DeSantis: 90-53
5. Frazer Krohn: 88-67
6. Andrew Benjamin: 68-70
7. Lukas DeWitt: 43-31
8. Julio Monteros Jr.: 28-11
9. Michael Kachan: 19-9
10. Casey Cooper: 4-5
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Waldo Cortes-Acosta (11-1), +200
vs.
Robelis Despaigne (5-0), -245
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. ~
Jeremy Brand: Cortes-Acosta via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Despaigne via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Despaigne via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Despaigne via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Despaigne via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Cortes-Acosta: 1
Staff picking Despaigne: 4
Alex Caceres (21-14), +185
vs.
Sean Woodson (11-1-1), -225
FEATHERWEIGHT DIVISION
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. ~
Jeremy Brand: Woodson via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Caceres via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Woodson via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Caceres via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Woodson via Split Decision
Staff picking Caceres: 2
Staff picking Woodson: 3
Diego Ferreira (18-5), +350
vs.
Mateusz Rebecki (19-1), -455
LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. ~
Jeremy Brand: Rebecki via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Rebecki via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Rebecki via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Rebecki via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Rebecki via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Ferreira: 0
Staff picking Rebecki: 5
Alonzo Menifield (15-3-1), +215
vs.
Carlos Ulberg (10-1), -265
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
– 205 LBS. ~ 93.0 KG. ~
Jeremy Brand: Ulberg via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Menifield via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Ulberg via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Menifield via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Ulberg via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Menifield: 2
Staff picking Ulberg: 3
Joaquin Buckley (18-6), -125
vs.
Nursulton Ruziboev (34-8-2, 2 NC), +105
WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION
– CO-MAIN EVENT –
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. ~
Jeremy Brand: Ruziboev via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Ruziboev via Round 2 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Ruziboev via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Ruziboev via Round 2 TKO
Nate Freeman: Buckley via Split Decision
Staff picking Buckley: 1
Staff picking Ruziboev: 4
Derrick Lewis (27-12), -165
vs.
Rodrigo Nascimento (11-1), +135
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
– MAIN EVENT –
– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. ~
Jeremy Brand: Nascimento via Round 3 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Staff picking Lewis: 4
Staff picking Nascimento: 1
