Two championship fights await for MMASucka staff picks.
UFC 295 is set to take place tonight, November 11th, from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s seventh event from the venue and “The Big Apple” since November of 2016. Early preliminary fights begin at 6:00pm ET (3:00pm PT) on UFC Fight Pass followed by the regular preliminary card at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT) on ESPN News for cable viewers and ESPN+ for subscribers. Five fights on pay-per-view begin at 10:00pm ET (7:00pm PT) available for purchase through ESPN+.
Stay tuned here at MMASucka for live results from all of UFC 295: Prochazka vs. Pereira.
The Fights
In the night’s main event, gold awaits the victor between Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira as the two battle for the UFC’s vacant Light Heavyweight Championship.
Returning for the first time in nearly 17 months sees Prochazka, who last left the octagon holding the divisional championship after his 2022 “Fight of the Year” with Glover Teixeira in which he secured a comeback rear-naked choke finish in the fifth and final round. After spending over a year recovering from a shoulder injury with surgery, the Czech talent looks to return to glory as he attempts to keep his 13-fight win streak intact dating back to his days competing under the RIZIN banner. Prochazka’s opponent, former two-divisional Glory Kickboxing Champion and former UFC Middleweight Champion Pereira, makes his second appearance at 205 pounds after taking a closely contested split decision over Jan Blachowicz in July. Tonight’s fight will be the Brazilian’s third of the calendar year since losing the middleweight belt to Israel Adesanya in April as he looks to become only the eighth dual-divisional championship in company history.
Fighting for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship sees Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall set to meet in the co-main slot. This pairing was elevated to interim status after UFC 295’s originally scheduled headliner between current champion Jon Jones and challenger Stipe Miocic was cancelled due to an injury Jones suffered in training. Former Fight Nights Global Heavyweight Champion, Pavlovich, has amassed six consecutive first-round knockouts since dropping his one-and-only professional fight through 19 matches in his November of 2018 octagon debut versus Alistair Overeem. Well-rounded English finisher Aspinall, whose run of eight in-a-row was stopped after suffering a knee injury in the summer of 2022 to Curtis Blaydes, saw a rebound with his sub-80 second knockout of Marcin Tybura as tonight he aims to keep hold of his 100% stoppage streak.
Strawweights will clash on the main card between top contenders Mackenzie Dern and Jessica Andrade. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist, Dern, targets her second win of 2023 following a five-round decision over Angela Hill as former divisional champion, Andrade, looks for a needed rebound after three finishing defeats this year alone in search of her first win since beating Lauren Murphy by decision in January.
Looking to steal the show in a must-watch affair at 155 pounds as Matt Frevola puts his three-fight, first-round knockout run on the line against the four-fight win streak of 27-year-old Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis.
Opening the night’s pay-per-view comes in the featherweight division between former Lux Fight League Champion Diego Lopes and former two-time Cage Fury FC Champion Pat Sabatini. Find our staff picks and predictions for these UFC 295: Prochazka vs. Pereira main card fights further below.
Intensity at an all time high for this LHW title fight
@Jiri_BJP vs @AlexPereiraUFC#UFC295 | SATURDAY | Live on ESPN+ PPV pic.twitter.com/s7x7EroCXT
— UFC (@ufc) November 10, 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/or 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.
Who comes out victorious at UFC 295: Prochazka vs. Pereira?
Staff Records after UFC Fight Night 231:
1. Ben Jamieson: 272-137
2. Michael DeSantis: 264-141
3. Nate Freeman: 259-150
4. Jeremy Brand: 258-151
5. Wesley Riddle: 256-153
6. Frazer Krohn: 242-161
7. Julio Monteros Jr.: 222-126
8. Andrew Benjamin: 190-165
9. Jack Goodwillie: 148-83
10. Brian Knight: 140-84
11. Tim Wheaton: 105-60
12. Roemello Reyes: 62-34
13. Jonathan Andrade: 31-24
14. Brandon Joint: 12-9
15. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
16. Joshua Yule: 7-6
17. Chris De Santiago: 6-6
18. Antwyn Jackson: 5-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Diego Lopes (22-6), +100
vs.
Pat Sabatini (18-4), -120
Featherweight Division
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Sabatini via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Sabatini via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Lopes via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Lopes via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Lopes via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Lopes via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Sabatini via Unanimous Decision
Chris De Santiago: Lopes via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Lopes: 5
Staff picking Sabatini: 3
Matt Frevola (11-3-1), +185
vs.
Benoit Saint-Denis (12-1), -225
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Saint-Denis via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Saint-Denis via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Saint-Denis via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Saint-Denis via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Saint-Denis via Round 3 SUB
Julio Monteros Jr.: Saint-Denis via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Saint-Denis via Round 3 TKO
Chris De Santiago: Saint-Denis via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Frevola: 0
Staff picking Saint-Denis: 8
Jessica Andrade (24-12), +185
vs.
Mackenzie Dern (13-3), -225
Women’s Strawweight Division
– 115 LBS. ~ 52.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Dern via Round 1 SUB
Wesley Riddle: Dern via Round 2 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Dern via Round 2 SUB
Andrew Benjamin: Andrade via Round 3 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Andrade via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Andrade via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Dern via Unanimous Decision
Chris De Santiago: Dern via Round 3 SUB
Staff picking Andrade: 3
Staff picking Dern: 5
Sergei Pavlovich (18-1), -112
vs.
Tom Aspinall (13-3), -108
Interim Heavyweight Divisional Championship
– Co-Main Event –
– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Pavlovich via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Aspinall via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Pavlovich via Round 1 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Aspinall via Round 1 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Aspinall via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Pavlovich via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Aspinall via Round 2 SUB
Chris De Santiago: Aspinall via Round 4 TKO
Staff picking Pavlovich: 3
Staff picking Aspinall: 5
Jiri Prochazka (29-3-1), +102
vs.
Alex Pereira (8-2), -122
Light Heavyweight Divisional Championship
– Main Event –
– 185 LBS. ~ 83.9 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Prochazka via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Prochazka via Round 1 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Prochazka via Round 3 SUB
Andrew Benjamin: Prochazka via Round 2 TKO
Frazer Krohn: Pereira via Round 4 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Pereira via Round 3 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Pereira via Round 2 TKO
Chris De Santiago: Pereira via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Prochazka: 4
Staff picking Pereira: 4
