| Usman vs. Masvidal |
Weili vs. Namajunas |
Shevchenko vs. Andrade |
Hall vs. Weidman |
Crute vs. Smith |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 46-29 |
 Usman (71%) |
 Weili (57%) |
 Shevchenko (91%) |
 Hall (64%) |
 Crute (63%) |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 49-26 |
Usman |
Weili |
Shevchenko |
Hall |
Crute |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 48-27  2018 Champion |
Usman |
Weili |
Shevchenko |
Hall |
Crute |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 47-28 |
Usman |
Weili |
Shevchenko |
 Weidman |
 Smith |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 47-28 |
Usman |
Weili |
Shevchenko |
Hall |
Crute |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 47-28 |
 Masvidal |
 Namajunas |
Shevchenko |
Hall |
Smith |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 45-30 |
Usman |
Namajunas |
Shevchenko |
Hall |
Crute |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 45-30 2017 Champion |
Masvidal |
Namajunas |
Shevchenko |
Hall |
Smith |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 44-31 2020 Champion |
Usman |
Weili |
Shevchenko |
Hall |
Crute |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 43-32 |
Usman |
Weili |
Shevchenko |
Hall |
Crute |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 42-33 |
Usman |
Weili |
Shevchenko |
Hall |
Crute |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 41-34 2014 Champion |
Usman |
Weili |
Shevchenko |
Hall |
Smith |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 39-36 |
Usman |
Namajunas |
Shevchenko |
Hall |
Crute |
| BetMGM Betting Favorites |
Usman -400 |
Weili -200 |
Shevchenko -500 |
Weidman -125 |
Crute -200 |
The UFC is back in front of a full arena of fans for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic shut things down, and there are three title fights atop the card.
UFC 261 takes place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
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In the main event, welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) takes on [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] (35-14 MMA, 12-7 UFC) in a rematch from 2020. Usman is a heavy favorite at -400 at BetMGM, and he’s got a big 10-2 lead in the picks from our 12 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.
In the co-feature, women’s strawweight champ [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) puts her title on the line against former champ [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC). Weili is the smallest favorite among the champions, but still sits at -200. She has doubled up on Namajunas in our picks at 8-4.
And in the third title fight, women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is a 5-1 favorite against former strawweight champion and now 125-pound challenger [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (21-8 MMA, 12-6 UFC). Shevchenko is our only unanimous pick on the card at 12-0.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] (16-9 MMA, 9-7 UFC) takes on former middleweight champion [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] (15-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC). And though the odds have shifted from Hall as a slight favorite to Weidman as a slight favorite at -125, our pickers are going with Hall at a big 11-1 clip.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) takes on former light heavyweight title challenger [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] (34-16 MMA, 9-6 UFC). Crute is a 2-1 favorite and has an 8-4 picks lead.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Usman (71 percent), Weili (57 percent), Shevchenko (91 percent), Hall (64 percent) and Crute (63 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
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