An incredibly stacked fight night is just hours away for our MMASucka staff picks.
UFC 271 kicks off later tonight, February 12 from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event marks the promotion’s second pay-per-view of the year, both taking place within The Lone Star State. Five thrilling matchups make up the main card beginning at 10:00pm ET (7:00pm PT) available for purchase to ESPN+ subscribers.
Live results from the entire UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker II card can be found here at MMASucka beginning at 6:00pm ET (3:00pm PT).
Stay tuned next weekend for MMASucka staff picks as our first double-header of 2022 will take place featuring UFC Vegas 48: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev and Bellator 274: Gracie vs. Storley.
The Fights
Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will rematch former divisional title holder Robert Whittaker in the night’s highly-anticipated main event. The two first met in October of 2019, Adesanya snagging the belt away from Whittaker with a second-round knockout.
Adesanya has since compiled a record of 3-1; the three victories all coming as defenses of his championship with a lone loss by decision to Jan Blachowicz last year in an attempt to become a simultaneous two-divisional UFC king. Meanwhile, Whittaker has rallied with three straight unanimous decisions over Darren Till (five rounds), Jared Cannonier (three rounds), and Kelvin Gastelum (five rounds). Who takes the rematch in the battle of the world’s greatest Australasians?
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Two of the heaviest hitters across the entire UFC roster will meet in the co-main event between Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa. Lewis targets a second-straight win after his December stoppage of Chris Daukaus breaking the promotion’s record for most wins by way of knockout. Tuivasa has turned his entire UFC tenure around, having secured four straight knockouts following a dangerous three-fight skid from late 2018 to 2019.
A last-minute shuffle to the pay-per-view portion sees a preliminary fight between Kyler Phillips and Marcelo Rojo counted for our staff picks. As a result, the lightweight pairing between Alexander Hernandez and Renato Moicano will not be included. See our UFC 271 staff picks 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 selected for PFL MMA. Dana White’s Contender Series will be composed of the entire fight card.
Dates for the return of both PFL MMA and Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022 are soon-to-be announced.
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 who the MMASucka staff is picking to win at UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker II.
Staff Records after UFC Vegas 46:
1. Brandon Joint: 14-5
2. Frazer Krohn: 13-6
3T. Ash Camyab: 12-7
3T. Coby Weinsier: 12-7
5T. Andrew Benjamin: 11-8
5T. Mike Lynch: 11-8
5T. Julio Monteros Jr.: 11-8
8T. Jeremy Brand: 10-9
8T. Jacek Okninski: 10-9
10T. Wesley Riddle: 9-10
10T. Michael DeSantis: 9-10
10T. Nate Freeman: 9-10
10T. William Dong: 9-10
10T. Chinyere Okafor: 9-6
15T. Tim Wheaton: 7-7
15T. Chris Presnell: 7-12
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Bobby Green (28-12-1), -145
vs.
Nasrat Haqparast (13-4), +125
Lightweight Division, 155 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Green via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Green via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Green via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Green via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Green via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Green via Unanimous Decision
Mike Lynch: Green via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Green via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Green via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Green via Unanimous Decision
Coby Weinsier: Haqparast via Split Decision
Brandon Joint: Haqparast via Unanimous Decision
Jacek Okninski: Green via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Green via Round 2 TKO
Chinyere Okafor: Green via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Green via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Green: 14
Staff picking Haqparast: 0
Kyler Phillips (9-2), -475
vs.
Marcelo Rojo (16-8), +350
Bantamweight Division, 135 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Phillips via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Phillips via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Phillips via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Phillips via Round 3 SUB
Andrew Benjamin: Phillips via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Phillips via Round 2 TKO
Mike Lynch: Phillips via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Phillips via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Phillips via Round 2 TKO
Chris Presnell: Phillips via Round 2 SUB
Coby Weinsier: Phillips via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Phillips via Unanimous Decision
Jacek Okninski: Phillips via Unanimous Decision
William Dong: Phillips via Unanimous Decision
Chinyere Okafor: Phillips via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Phillips via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Phillips: 16
Staff picking Rojo: 0
Jared Cannonier (14-5), -165
vs.
Derek Brunson (23-7), +145
Middleweight Division, 185 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Brunson via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Cannonier via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Brunson via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Brunson via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Brunson via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Brunson via Split Decision
Mike Lynch: Cannonier via Round 1 TKO
Nate Freeman: Brunson via Split Decision
Tim Wheaton: Cannonier via Round 2 TKO
Chris Presnell: Brunson via Unanimous Decision
Coby Weinsier: Cannonier via Round 2 TKO
Brandon Joint: Cannonier via Round 2 TKO
Jacek Okninski: Cannonier via Round 3 TKO
William Dong: Cannonier via Round 2 TKO
Chinyere Okafor: Cannonier via Round 3 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Brunson via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Cannonier: 8
Staff picking Brunson: 8
Derrick Lewis (26-8, 1 NC), -190
vs.
Tai Tuivasa (14-3), +160
Heavyweight Co-Main Event, 265 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Ash Camyab: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Lewis via Round 3 TKO
Mike Lynch: Lewis via Round 3 TKO
Nate Freeman: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Chris Presnell: Lewis via Unanimous Decision
Coby Weinsier: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Brandon Joint: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Jacek Okninski: Tuivasa via Round 1 TKO
William Dong: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Chinyere Okafor: Lewis via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Lewis via Round 2 TKO
Staff picking Lewis: 15
Staff picking Tuivasa: 1
Israel Adesanya (21-1), -280
vs.
Robert Whittaker (24-5), +225
Middleweight Divisional Championship, 185 lbs.
Jeremy Brand: Whittaker via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Adesanya via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Adesanya via Unanimous Decision
Ash Camyab: Whittaker via Round 4 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Adesanya via Round 4 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Whittaker via Unanimous Decision
Mike Lynch: Adesanya via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Adesanya via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Whittaker via Unanimous Decision
Chris Presnell: Adesanya via Split Decision
Coby Weinsier: Adesanya via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Joint: Adesanya via Split Decision
Jacek Okninski: Adesanya via Round 5 TKO
William Dong: Adesanya via Round 3 TKO
Chinyere Okafor: Adesanya via Round 3 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Whittaker via Round 4 TKO
Staff picking Adesanya: 11
Staff picking Whittaker: 5
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