UFC on ESPN+ 29 predictions: Is anyone picking Glover Teixeira over Anthony Smith?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN+ 29 main card in Jacksonville, Fla., featuring Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira.

Smith
vs.
Teixeira
Rothwell
vs.
Saint Preux
Dober
vs.
Hernandez
Borg
vs.
Simon
Roberson
vs.
Vettori
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2020: 41-23
smith2020
Smith
(82%)
saintpreux2020
Saint Pruex
(61%)
dober2020
Dober
(52%)
borg2020
Borg
(51%)
vettori2020
Vettori
(64%)
Nolan King
@mma_kings
2020: 49-15
smith2020
Smith
saintpreux2020
Saint Pruex
dober2020
Dober
simon2020
Simon
vettori2020
Vettori
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2020: 48-16
trophy copy 2017 Champion
smith2020
Smith
rothwell2020
Rothwell
hernandez2020
Hernandez
simon2020
Simon
vettori2020
Vettori
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2020: 48-16
smith2020
Smith
saintpreux2020
Saint Pruex
dober2020
Dober
simon2020
Simon
vettori2020
Vettori
Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2020: 48-16
smith2020
Smith
rothwell2020
Rothwell
dober2020
Dober
borg2020
Borg
vettori2020
Vettori
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2020: 47-17
trophy copy 2014 Champion
smith2020
Smith
rothwell2020
Rothwell
hernandez2020
Hernandez
borg2020
Borg
roberson2020
Roberson
Simon Head
@simonhead
2020: 47-17
trophy copy 2019 Champion*
smith2020
Smith
rothwell2020
Rothwell
hernandez2020
Hernandez
borg2020
Borg
vettori2020
Vettori
John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2020: 47-17
smith2020
Smith
rothwell2020
Rothwell
hernandez2020
Hernandez
borg2020
Borg
vettori2020
Vettori
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2020: 47-17
smith2020
Smith
saintpreux2020
Saint Pruex
hernandez2020
Hernandez
simon2020
Simon
vettori2020
Vettori
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2020: 46-18
trophy copy 2018 Champion
smith2020
Smith
saintpreux2020
Saint Pruex
dober2020
Dober
borg2020
Borg
vettori2020
Vettori
Dave Doyle
@davedoylemma
2020: 45-19
smith2020
Smith
rothwell2020
Rothwell
hernandez2020
Hernandez
borg2020
Borg
roberson2020
Roberson
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
2020: 44-20
smith2020
Smith
rothwell2020
Rothwell
dober2020
Dober
borg2020
Borg
roberson2020
Roberson
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2020: 43-21
smith2020
Smith
rothwell2020
Rothwell
hernandez2020
Hernandez
borg2020
Borg
vettori2020
Vettori
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2020: 38-26
smith2020
Smith
saintpreux2020
Saint Pruex
dober2020
Dober
simon2020
Simon
vettori2020
Vettori
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2020: 29-35
smith2020
Smith
saintpreux2020
Saint Pruex
dober2020
Dober
simon2020
Simon
roberson2020
Roberson

The UFC is back with a quick turnaround for its second of three shows in eight days in Florida.

UFC on ESPN+ 29 takes place Wednesday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The card streams on 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.)

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In the main event, [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] (33-14 MMA, 8-4 UFC) takes on fellow former light heavyweight title challenger [autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) for the opportunity to stay in contention in the division. Smith is a slight favorite in the fight, but he’s the only unanimous pick on the five-fight main card from our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.

In the co-main event, [autotag]Ben Rothwell[/autotag] (37-12 MMA, 7-6 UFC) meets [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] (24-13 MMA, 12-8 UFC), who is moving up to heavyweight from 205 pounds for the first time. Saint Preux is a slight favorite in the fight, but it’s Rothwell with an 8-6 lead in the picks from our staff members.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag] (22-9 MMA, 8-5 UFC) is a mild favorite in his lightweight fight against [autotag]Alexander Hernandez[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC). But in the picks, it’s split right down the middle at 7-7.

[autotag]Ray Borg[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) often struggled to make the flyweight limit, so the UFC forced his hand to move up to bantamweight to take on [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC). Simon is the favorite, but Borg has the slimmest of leads from our pickers at 8-6.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (14-3-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) is a small favorite at middleweight against [autotag]Karl Roberson[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC), but he’s the second biggest favorite on the main card among our pickers with a big 10-4 lead.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Smith (82 percent), Saint Preux (61 percent), Dober (52 percent), Borg (51 percent) and Vettori (64 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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