Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN 28 main card, featuring Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland.
|
Hall
vs.
Strickland |
Kang
vs.
Yahya |
Buys
vs.
De Paula |
Gooden
vs.
Stolze |
Adashev
vs.
Benoit |
Barberena
vs.
Witt |
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2021: 111-66 |
Hall
(61%) |
Yahya
(62%) |
Buys
(77%) |
Stolze
(61%) |
Benoit
(74%) |
Barberena
(86%) |
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2021: 112-65
2018 Champion |
Strickland |
Kang |
De Paula |
Gooden |
Benoit |
Barberena |
John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2021: 109-68 |
Strickland |
Kang |
Buys |
Stolze |
Adashev |
Barberena |
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2021: 109-68 |
Strickland |
Kang |
Buys |
Stolze |
Adashev |
Barberena |
Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2021: 108-69
2020 Champion |
Hall |
Yahya |
Buys |
Stolze |
Benoit |
Barberena |
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2021: 107-70
2014 Champion |
Hall |
Yahya |
De Paula |
Stolze |
Benoit |
Barberena |
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2021: 106-71 |
Strickland |
Kang |
Buys |
Stolze |
Benoit |
Barberena |
Nolan King
@mma_kings
2021: 106-71 |
Strickland |
Kang |
Buys |
Stolze |
Benoit |
Barberena |
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2021: 105-72 |
Strickland |
Yahya |
Buys |
Stolze |
Benoit |
Barberena |
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2021: 105-72
2017 Champion |
Strickland |
Kang |
Buys |
Stolze |
Benoit |
Barberena |
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
2021: 104-73 |
Strickland |
Yahya |
Buys |
Stolze |
Benoit |
Barberena |
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2021: 103-74 |
Strickland |
Yahya |
Buys |
Stolze |
Benoit |
Barberena |
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2021: 100-77 |
Strickland |
Kang |
Buys |
Gooden |
Benoit |
Barberena |
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
2021: 36-25 |
Strickland |
Yahya |
Buys |
Stolze |
Benoit |
Barberena |
BetMGM
Betting Favorites |
Strickland -225 |
Kang -135 |
Buys -165 |
Stolze -200 |
Benoit -140 |
Barberena -275 |
The UFC stays in its Las Vegas home base this week with a fight between a pair of surging middleweights.
UFC on ESPN 28 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] (17-9 MMA, 10-7 UFC) takes on [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) at 185 pounds. Both fighters come in with four-fight winning streaks, but it’s Strickland with a sizable betting advantage at -225 at BetMGM, and he’s got a big 10-3 lead in the picks from our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Kyung Ho Kang[/autotag] (17-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) meets jiu-jitsu ace [autotag]Rani Yahya[/autotag] (27-10-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC) at bantamweight. Kang is the slight favorite at -135, and he’s got just a narrow 7-6 lead in the picks in our most contentious fight.
[autotag]Cheyanne Buys[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and [autotag]Gloria de Paula[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) both are looking for their first UFC wins in a women’s strawweight fight. Buys, from South Africa, is a -165 favorite and has a big 11-2 lead in the picks.
[autotag]Jared Gooden[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) is stepping up on short notice to take on [autotag]Niklas Stolze[/autotag] (12-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at welterweight. Stolze is a 2-1 favorite at the betting window, and he’s got an 11-2 edge from our pickers.
[autotag]Zarrukh Adashev[/autotag] (3-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] (10-7 MMA, 3-5 UFC) in a flyweight bout. And despite just a -140 nod from the oddsmakers and betting public for Benoit, he’s running away with the picks at 11-2.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Bryan Barberena[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 6-5 UFC) is the biggest favorite at -275 in his welterweight bout against [autotag]Jason Witt[/autotag] (18-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC). He’s also our lone unanimous pick at 13-0.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Hall (61 percent), Yahya (62 percent), Buys (77 percent), Stolze (61 percent), Benoit (74 percent) and Barberena (86 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.