| Pettis vs. Collard |
Held vs. Schulte |
Khaybulaev vs. Stojadinovic |
Jenkins vs. Palmer |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 46-29 |
 Pettis (78%) |
 Schulte (66%) |
 Khaybulaev (80%) |
 Palmer (82%) |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 49-26 |
Pettis |
Schulte |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 48-27  2018 Champion |
Pettis |
Schulte |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 47-28 |
Pettis |
Schulte |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 47-28 |
Pettis |
Schulte |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 47-28 |
Pettis |
Schulte |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 45-30 |
Pettis |
Schulte |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 45-30 2017 Champion |
Pettis |
Schulte |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 44-31 2020 Champion |
Pettis |
Schulte |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 43-32 |
Pettis |
 Held |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 42-33 |
Pettis |
Schulte |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 41-34 2014 Champion |
Pettis |
Schulte |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 39-36 |
Pettis |
Schulte |
Khaybulaev |
Palmer |
| BetMGM Betting Favorites |
Pettis -600 |
Schulte -400 |
Khaybulaev -650 |
Palmer -350 |
The PFL returns Friday after missing 2020, and lightweights and featherweights kick off the 2021 season.
PFL 2021, Week 1 takes place at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. The main card airs on ESPN2 following prelims on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, former UFC and WEC lightweight champion [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] (24-10) makes his PFL debut in a lightweight regular season bout against [autotag]Clay Collard[/autotag] (18-8). Whittaker is a heavy favorite at -600 at BetMGM, and he’s one of three unanimous picks from our 12 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.
In the co-feature, two-time PFL lightweight season winner [autotag]Natan Schulte[/autotag] (20-3-1) returns to take on [autotag]Marcin Held[/autotag] (26-7). Schulte is a 4-1 favorite, and only one of our pickers is taking submission specialist Held to pull off the upset.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag] (15-0-1) will try to stay unbeaten in a featherweight season bout against [autotag]Lazar Stojadinovic[/autotag] (14-7). Khaybulaev is a -650 favorite and another of our unanimous picks.
And to open the main card, two-time featherweight season winner [autotag]Lance Palmer[/autotag] (22-3) takes on [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] (14-4). Palmer is a -350 favorite and our third unanimous pick.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Pettis (78 percent), Schulte (66 percent), Khaybulaev (80 percent) and Palmer (82 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
[listicle id=585647]
[listicle id=585992]
[listicle id=587389]