Later this evening, UFC Fight Night 151 will take place live from the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. With that comes our MMASucka staff picks for the six-fight main card. These fights can be streamed live on ESPN+ beginning at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT). This weekend is a double-header for us with Bellator Birmingham beginning this afternoon; you can check out our staff picks for that event here. Due to a miscalculated date, ONE Championship picks from Friday morning’s card will not be counted this weekend. We apologize.
THE FIGHTS
Two fan-favorite lightweights Al Iaquinta and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone are set for a potential 25 minutes in the main event. Following a two-year layoff, Iaquinta returned to the UFC in April of 2017 stopping veteran Diego Sanchez in the first round. He followed it up with a short-notice interim title fight against undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov, dropping a unanimous decision to. His last outing came in December, winning an impressive decision over Kevin Lee. Cerrone is competing in his second 155-pound fight since returning from welterweight. His last two octagon showings included an armbar victory over Mike Perry and a second-round head-kick finish over Alexander Hernandez. Another win could extend his slue of UFC records, such as a potential 23rd victory (most wins in promotional history).
Middleweights Derek Brunson and Elias Theodorou will battle in the co-main event. A fantastic fight at 145 will take place between Cub Swanson and Shane Burgos. Season 27 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Brad Katona, looks to make sound at bantamweight with a potential winning performance over Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili. Check out the remaining main card fights for UFC Fight Night 151 further below.
STAFF PICKS
Throughout the year, staff picks will be composed of four different MMA promotions: UFC, Bellator, ONE, and RIZIN. Main cards will make up both UFC and Bellator picks, while the biggest fights to make up ONE and RIZIN events will be used. The WINNER of staff picks will have a choice between receiving a championship belt from ProAmBelts or a championship chain from Championship Chains. The 2018 winner was awarded to Michael DeSantis, compiling a record of 202-101.
Check out our main card staff picks for UFC Fight Night 151 below.
Staff Records after UFC Fort Lauderdale:
1. Ed Gallo: 102-42
2. Michael DeSantis: 99-45
3. Connor Deitrich: 95-48
4T. Wesley Riddle: 94-50
4T. Brian Gerson: 94-50
6. Mike Skytte: 92-52
7. Ryan Wagner: 90-46
8. Jeremy Brand: 88-56
9. Omar Villagrana: 87-57
10. Matt Bricker: 84-60
11. Mitchell Banuelos: 83-46
12. Patrick Auger: 82-55
13. Justin Pierrot: 79-55
14. Ash Camyab: 78-50
15. Suraj Sukumar: 46-16
16. Sasha Moksyakov: 31-16
17. Idrees Crawley: 15-7
18. Ryan Hobbs: 13-13
19. Frazer Krohn: 8-2
Marc-Andre Barriault (11-1) vs. Andrew Sanchez (10-4)
Jeremy Brand: Sanchez via Round 2 SUB
Wesley Riddle: Barriault via Round 3 TKO
Mike Skytte: Barriault via Round 3 TKO
Justin Pierrot: Sanchez via UD
Michael DeSantis: Sanchez via UD
Ryan Wagner: Sanchez via UD
Mitchell Banuelos: Sanchez via UD
Ed Gallo: Sanchez via UD
Omar Villagrana: Sanchez via UD
Brian Gerson: Sanchez via UD
Matt Bricker: N/A
Connor Deitrich: Sanchez via UD
Patrick Auger: Barriault via UD
Sasha Moksyakov: N/A
Suraj Sukumar: N/A
Ash Camyab: Sanchez via UD
Idrees Crawley: N/A
Ryan Hobbs: N/A
Andrew Benjamin: N/A
Frazer Krohn: Sanchez via UD
Staff picking Barriault: 3
Staff picking Sanchez: 11
Walt Harris (11-7, 1 NC) vs. Sergey Spivak (9-0)
Jeremy Brand: Harris via UD
Wesley Riddle: Harris via Round 1 TKO
Mike Skytte: Spivak via UD
Justin Pierrot: Harris via UD
Michael DeSantis: Harris via UD
Ryan Wagner: Harris via UD
Mitchell Banuelos: Harris via Round 1 TKO
Ed Gallo: Harris via Round 1 TKO
Omar Villagrana: Harris via UD
Brian Gerson: Harris via UD
Matt Bricker: N/A
Connor Deitrich: Harris via Round 1 TKO
Patrick Auger: Harris via UD
Sasha Moksyakov: N/A
Suraj Sukumar: N/A
Ash Camyab: Harris via Round 3 TKO
Idrees Crawley: N/A
Ryan Hobbs: N/A
Andrew Benjamin: N/A
Frazer Krohn: Harris via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Harris: 13
Staff picking Spivak: 1
Brad Katona (8-0) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (8-4)
Jeremy Brand: Katona via UD
Wesley Riddle: Katona via UD
Mike Skytte: Katona via UD
Justin Pierrot: Katona via UD
Michael DeSantis: Dvalishvili via UD
Ryan Wagner: Katona via UD
Mitchell Banuelos: Dvalishvili via UD
Ed Gallo: Katona via UD
Omar Villagrana: Katona via UD
Brian Gerson: Katona via UD
Matt Bricker: N/A
Connor Deitrich: Katona via UD
Patrick Auger: Katona via UD
Sasha Moksyakov: N/A
Suraj Sukumar: N/A
Ash Camyab: Katona via UD
Idrees Crawley: N/A
Ryan Hobbs: N/A
Andrew Benjamin: N/A
Frazer Krohn: Dvalishvili via UD
Staff picking Katona: 11
Staff picking Dvalishvili: 3
Cub Swanson (25-10) vs. Shane Burgos (11-1)
Jeremy Brand: Swanson via UD
Wesley Riddle: Swanson via UD
Mike Skytte: Swanson via UD
Justin Pierrot: Swanson via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Burgos via UD
Ryan Wagner: Burgos via Round 3 TKO
Mitchell Banuelos: Burgos via UD
Ed Gallo: Burgos via UD
Omar Villagrana: Swanson via UD
Brian Gerson: Burgos via Round 2 TKO
Matt Bricker: N/A
Connor Deitrich: Burgos via UD
Patrick Auger: Swanson via UD
Sasha Moksyakov: N/A
Suraj Sukumar: N/A
Ash Camyab: Swanson via Round 2 TKO
Idrees Crawley: N/A
Ryan Hobbs: N/A
Andrew Benjamin: N/A
Frazer Krohn: Swanson via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Swanson: 8
Staff picking Burgos: 6
Derek Brunson (18-7) vs. Elias Theodorou (16-2)
Jeremy Brand: Theodorou via SD
Wesley Riddle: Brunson via UD
Mike Skytte: Brunson via Round 1 TKO
Justin Pierrot: Theodorou via UD
Michael DeSantis: Theodorou via UD
Ryan Wagner: Brunson via Round 1 TKO
Mitchell Banuelos: Brunson via SD
Ed Gallo: Brunson via Round 3 TKO
Omar Villagrana: Brunson via UD
Brian Gerson: Theodorou via UD
Matt Bricker: N/A
Connor Deitrich: Brunson via Round 2 TKO
Patrick Auger: Theodorou via UD
Sasha Moksyakov: N/A
Suraj Sukumar: N/A
Ash Camyab: Theodorou via UD
Idrees Crawley: N/A
Ryan Hobbs: N/A
Andrew Benjamin: N/A
Frazer Krohn: Theodorou via UD
Staff picking Brunson: 7
Staff picking Theodorou: 7
Al Iaquinta (14-4-1) vs. Donald Cerrone (35-11, 1 NC)
Jeremy Brand: Cerrone via Round 2 SUB
Wesley Riddle: Iaquinta via Round 3 TKO
Mike Skytte: Iaquinta via Round 4 TKO
Justin Pierrot: Iaquinta via UD
Michael DeSantis: Iaquinta via UD
Ryan Wagner: Cerrone via Round 2 TKO
Mitchell Banuelos: Iaquinta via UD
Ed Gallo: Iaquinta via UD
Omar Villagrana: Iaquinta via UD
Brian Gerson: Iaquinta via UD
Matt Bricker: N/A
Connor Deitrich: Iaquinta via UD
Patrick Auger: Iaquinta via Round 4 TKO
Sasha Moksyakov: N/A
Suraj Sukumar: N/A
Ash Camyab: Cerrone via Round 4 SUB
Idrees Crawley: N/A
Ryan Hobbs: N/A
Andrew Benjamin: N/A
Frazer Krohn: Iaquinta via SD
Staff picking Iaquinta: 11
Staff picking Cerrone: 3
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