| Ferguson vs. Gaethje |
Cejudo vs. Cruz |
Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik |
Kattar vs. Stephens |
De Castro vs. Hardy |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 38-21 |
 Ferguson (64%) |
 Cruz (57%) |
 Ngannou (78%) |
 Kattar (65%) |
 Hardy (57%) |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 45-14 |
Ferguson |
Cruz |
Ngannou |
Kattar |
Hardy |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 44-15 |
 Gaethje |
 Cejudo |
Ngannou |
Kattar |
Hardy |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 44-15 |
Ferguson |
Cejudo |
Ngannou |
Kattar |
Hardy |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 43-16  2014 Champion |
Ferguson |
Cejudo |
Ngannou |
Kattar |
Hardy |
| Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 43-16 2019 Champion* |
Ferguson |
Cejudo |
Ngannou |
Kattar |
Hardy |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 43-16 |
Ferguson |
Cejudo |
Ngannou |
Kattar |
Hardy |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 43-16 |
Gaethje |
Cejudo |
Ngannou |
Kattar |
 De Castro |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 43-16 2017 Champion |
Gaethje |
Cejudo |
Ngannou |
Kattar |
Hardy |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 42-17 2018 Champion |
Gaethje |
Cejudo |
Ngannou |
Kattar |
De Castro |
| Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 42-17 |
Ferguson |
Cejudo |
Ngannou |
Kattar |
De Castro |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 41-18 |
Ferguson |
Cejudo |
 Rozenstruik |
Kattar |
Hardy |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 40-19 |
Ferguson |
Cejudo |
Ngannou |
Kattar |
De Castro |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 35-24 |
Ferguson |
Cruz |
Ngannou |
 Stephens |
Hardy |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 27-32 |
Gaethje |
Cruz |
Rozenstruik |
Kattar |
De Castro |
The UFC is back this week after two months away in the coronavirus era with a pair of title fights atop the first of three shows in eight days in Florida.
UFC 249 takes place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+. The event is closed to fans, but the fights still will take place and will be broadcast with essential personnel on site.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] (21-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) for the interim lightweight title. Ferguson is favorite in the fight, and he’s got a decent 9-5 lead in the picks from our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.
In the co-main event, bantamweight champion [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) puts his belt on the line for the first time when he meets ex-champ [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag] (22-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC). Cejudo is roughly a 2-1 favorite from the oddsmakers, and only three of our 14 pickers are taking Cruz to pull off the upset.
[lawrence-related id=514249,515702,515708]
Also on the main card, [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in what likely is a No. 1 contender bout at heavyweight. Ngannou is a heavy favorite, and he’s got a big 12-2 lead in the picks.
Our one near-unanimous pick is featherweight [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC). He’s more than a 2-1 favorite against [autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag] (28-17 MMA, 15-16 UFC), and he’s got a 13-1 lead in the picks with only one picker taking Stephens in an upset.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Yorgan De Castro[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will try to pull off an upset against 2-1 favorite [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at heavyweight. Hardy has a 9-5 lead in the picks.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Ferguson (64 percent), Cruz (57 percent), Ngannou (78 percent), Kattar (65 percent) and Hardy (57 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
[vertical-gallery id=516230]
[vertical-gallery id=391998]