A sneakily-stacked night of fights is in store for MMASucka staff picks.
UFC Fight Night 227, also titled as “Noche UFC” in celebration of Mexican Independence Day, will take place later tonight, September 16th from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This comes as the promotion’s first non-pay-per-view event from the venue since The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale in July of 2017 whilst in celebration of Mexican Independence Day. Preliminary fights begin at 7:00pm ET (4:00pm PT) followed by the main card at 10:00pm ET (7:00pm PT) with all fights available to ESPN+ subscribers.
Tune in to MMASucka for live UFC Fight Night 227: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 results.
Stay tuned this upcoming Tuesday, September 19th for our staff picks from Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 7.
The Fights
In the night’s featured main event, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko will rematch for the UFC Flyweight Championship through five available five-minute rounds. The two faced off in March of this year with Grasso taking the back-and-forth battle by submission in the fourth round.
Grasso’s victory came as one of the largest betting upsets in promotional history (+575), extending her win streak to five in-a-row since August of 2020 including notable victories over Maycee Barber and Viviane Araujo. The very streak for the Lobo Gym talent has come since moving up from an eight-year strawweight division run as she prepares for her first defense as Mexico’s first women’s champion. Shevchenko, Grasso’s opponent, looks to claim back the 125-pound title that she had held through seven defenses against the very best of the division. A win for the striking specialist would be her 13th in the UFC as she aims to further her established legacy as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all-time.
Welterweights Kevin Holland and Jack Della Maddalena bring the heat in the co-main event. The always-entertaining Holland targets his third win of 2023 after an April knockout of Santiago Ponzinibbio and a July D’Arce choke submission over Michael Chiesa. Perth, Australia’s Della Maddalena rides significant momentum with 15 consecutive victories including five since January of 2022 with the UFC after securing a 2021 contract on Dana White’s Contender Series.
18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. looks to bounce back after his first professional defeat in April as he battles former Alaska Combat Entertainment Champion Terrence Mitchell in the bantamweight division.
Also on the main card sees 2021 Contender Series contract winner Daniel Zellhuber set to fight 13-fight promotional notable Christos Giagos at lightweight and a main card opener at 145 pounds between former Fury FC Featherweight Champion Fernando Padilla and Canada’s Kyle Nelson. Find our staff picks and predictions for the main card of UFC Fight Night 227: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 further below.
RUNNING IT BACK FOR THE STRAP 🏆@AlexaGrasso vs @BulletValentina for the flyweight title tomorrow at #NocheUFC!
[ 10pmET / 7pmPT main card | Live on ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/MnfwGr6DRG
— UFC (@ufc) September 15, 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 wins at UFC Fight Night 227: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2?
Staff Records after Dana White’s Contender Series – Season 7, Week 6:
Ben Jamieson: 225-113
Michael DeSantis: 223-115
Jeremy Brand: 215-123
Wesley Riddle: 214-124
Nate Freeman: 212-126
Frazer Krohn: 206-132
Julio Monteros Jr.: 190-107
Andrew Benjamin: 159-134
Jack Goodwillie: 148-83
Brian Knight: 137-82
Tim Wheaton: 105-60
Roemello Reyes: 62-34
Jonathan Andrade: 31-24
Brandon Joint: 12-9
Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
Joshua Yule: 7-6
Chris De Santiago: 6-6
Antwyn Jackson: 5-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
Fernando Padilla (15-4), -245
vs.
Kyle Nelson (14-5-1), +200
Featherweight Division
– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Nelson via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Padilla via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Padilla via Round 2 TKO
Andrew Benjamin: Padilla via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Nelson via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Padilla via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Padilla via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Nelson via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Padilla via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Padilla: 6
Staff picking Nelson: 3
Daniel Zellhuber (13-1), -298
vs.
Christos Giagos (20-10), +240
Lightweight Division
– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Zellhuber via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Zellhuber via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Zellhuber via Split Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Zellhuber via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Zellhuber via Round 3 SUB
Nate Freeman: Zellhuber via Split Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Zellhuber via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Zellhuber via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Zellhuber via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Zellhuber: 9
Staff picking Giagos: 0
Raul Rosas Jr. (7-1), -800
vs.
Terrence Mitchell (15-3), +550
Bantamweight Division
– 135 LBS. ~ 61.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Rosas Jr. via Round 2 SUB
Wesley Riddle: Rosas Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Michael DeSantis: Rosas Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Andrew Benjamin: Rosas Jr. via via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Rosas Jr. via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Rosas Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Julio Monteros Jr.: Rosas Jr. via Round 2 SUB
Brian Knight: Rosas Jr. via Round 2 SUB
Ben Jamieson: Rosas Jr. via Round 2 SUB
Staff picking Rosas Jr.: 9
Staff picking Mitchell: 0
Kevin Holland (25-9), +110
vs.
Jack Della Maddalena (14-2), -130
Welterweight Division
– Co-Main Event –
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Della Maddalena via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Della Maddalena via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Holland via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Brian Knight: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Della Maddalena via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Holland: 6
Staff picking Della Maddalena: 3
Alexa Grasso (16-3), +142
vs.
Valentina Shevchenko (23-4), -170
Women’s Flyweight Divisional Championship
– Main Event –
– 125 LBS. ~ 56.7 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Grasso via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Grasso via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Grasso via Split Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Grasso via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Shevchenko via Round 5 SUB
Nate Freeman: Grasso via Split Decision
Julio Monteros Jr.: Shevchenko via Round 4 TKO
Brian Knight: Shevchenko via Round 3 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Shevchenko via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Grasso: 5
Staff picking Shevchenko: 4
