| Miocic vs. Cormier |
O’Malley vs. Vera |
Dos Santos vs. Rozenstruik |
Burns vs. Pineda |
Dodson vs. Dvalishvili |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2020: 78-52 |
 Miocic (52%) |
 O’Malley (72%) |
 Rozenstruik (54%) |
 Burns (84%) |
 Dvalishvili (60%) |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2020: 91-39 |
 Cormier |
 Vera |
 Dos Santos |
Burns |
Dvalishvili |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2020: 91-39 |
Miocic |
O’Malley |
Dos Santos |
Burns |
 Dodson |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2020: 89-41 |
Miocic |
O’Malley |
Dos Santos |
Burns |
Dvalishvili |
| Simon Head @simonhead 2020: 87-43  2019 Champion* |
Miocic |
O’Malley |
Rozenstruik |
Burns |
Dvalishvili |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2020: 87-43 2014 Champion |
Cormier |
O’Malley |
Dos Santos |
Burns |
Dodson |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2020: 86-44 2017 Champion |
Cormier |
Vera |
Rozenstruik |
Burns |
Dvalishvili |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2020: 86-44 |
Miocic |
O’Malley |
Dos Santos |
Burns |
Dodson |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2020: 84-46 |
Cormier |
Vera |
Rozenstruik |
Burns |
Dvalishvili |
| Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2020: 83-47 |
Cormier |
O’Malley |
Rozenstruik |
Burns |
Dvalishvili |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2020: 81-49 |
Cormier |
Vera |
Dos Santos |
Burns |
Dvalishvili |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2020: 81-49 2018 Champion |
Miocic |
O’Malley |
Dos Santos |
Burns |
Dvalishvili |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2020: 80-50 |
Cormier |
O’Malley |
Dos Santos |
Burns |
Dvalishvili |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2020: 80-50 |
Cormier |
O’Malley |
Dos Santos |
Burns |
Dvalishvili |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2020: 54-76 |
Cormier |
Vera |
Dos Santos |
 Pineda |
Dodson |
The UFC is back on pay-per-view this week with a heavyweight title trilogy rematch atop the bill.
UFC 252 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
[lawrence-related id=543758,543764]
In the main event, heavyweight champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] (19-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) meets former heavyweight and light heavyweight champ [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] (22-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) for the third time. Their series is tied at 1-1, and Cormier has said he will retire after this fight. The fight is a pick’em with the oddsmakers and our readers like Miocic. But nine of our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts are picking Cormier to go out on top.
In the co-main event, unbeaten bantamweight prospect [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) takes on veteran fighter [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] (17-6-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC). O’Malley is a heavy favorite around 3-1, but he’s only got a 9-5 lead in the picks.
Also on the main card, former heavyweight champ [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 15-6 UFC) returns against [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC). And though Rozenstruik is a slight favorite and is our readers’ pick, our staff members are taking Dos Santos heavily at a 10-4 clip.
[autotag]Herbert Burns[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is a heavy favorite in his featherweight bout against [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag] (26-13 MMA, 3-4 UFC), which was moved up from the prelims. Only one of our pickers is taking Pineda in an upset.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is a sizable favorite at bantamweight against [autotag]John Dodson[/autotag] (21-11 MMA, 10-6 UFC), and he’s got a big 10-4 picks lead.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Miocic (52 percent), O’Malley (72 percent), Rozenstruik (54 percent), Dvalishvili (60 percent) and Burns (84 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.