UFC 249 predictions: Ferguson or Gaethje, Cejudo or Cruz in title fights?

Check out our staff members’ and readers’ picks for the UFC 249 main card in Jacksonville, Fla., which features a pair of title fights.

Ferguson
vs.
Gaethje
Cejudo
vs.
Cruz
Ngannou
vs.
Rozenstruik
Kattar
vs.
Stephens
De Castro
vs.
Hardy
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2020: 38-21
ferguson2020
Ferguson
(64%)
cruz2020
Cruz
(57%)
ngannou2020
Ngannou
(78%)
kattar2020
Kattar
(65%)
hardy2020
Hardy
(57%)
Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2020: 45-14
ferguson2020
Ferguson
cruz2020
Cruz
ngannou2020
Ngannou
kattar2020
Kattar
hardy2020
Hardy
Nolan King
@mma_kings
2020: 44-15
gaethje2020
Gaethje
cejudo2020
Cejudo
ngannou2020
Ngannou
kattar2020
Kattar
hardy2020
Hardy
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2020: 44-15
ferguson2020
Ferguson
cejudo2020
Cejudo
ngannou2020
Ngannou
kattar2020
Kattar
hardy2020
Hardy
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2020: 43-16
trophy copy 2014 Champion
ferguson2020
Ferguson
cejudo2020
Cejudo
ngannou2020
Ngannou
kattar2020
Kattar
hardy2020
Hardy
Simon Head
@simonhead
2020: 43-16
trophy copy 2019 Champion*
ferguson2020
Ferguson
cejudo2020
Cejudo
ngannou2020
Ngannou
kattar2020
Kattar
hardy2020
Hardy
John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2020: 43-16
ferguson2020
Ferguson
cejudo2020
Cejudo
ngannou2020
Ngannou
kattar2020
Kattar
hardy2020
Hardy
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2020: 43-16
gaethje2020
Gaethje
cejudo2020
Cejudo
ngannou2020
Ngannou
kattar2020
Kattar
decastro2020
De Castro
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2020: 43-16
trophy copy 2017 Champion
gaethje2020
Gaethje
cejudo2020
Cejudo
ngannou2020
Ngannou
kattar2020
Kattar
hardy2020
Hardy
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2020: 42-17
trophy copy 2018 Champion
gaethje2020
Gaethje
cejudo2020
Cejudo
ngannou2020
Ngannou
kattar2020
Kattar
decastro2020
De Castro
Dave Doyle
@davedoylemma
2020: 42-17
ferguson2020
Ferguson
cejudo2020
Cejudo
ngannou2020
Ngannou
kattar2020
Kattar
decastro2020
De Castro
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
2020: 41-18
ferguson2020
Ferguson
cejudo2020
Cejudo
rozenstruik2020
Rozenstruik
kattar2020
Kattar
hardy2020
Hardy
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2020: 40-19
ferguson2020
Ferguson
cejudo2020
Cejudo
ngannou2020
Ngannou
kattar2020
Kattar
decastro2020
De Castro
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2020: 35-24
ferguson2020
Ferguson
cruz2020
Cruz
ngannou2020
Ngannou
stephens2020
Stephens
hardy2020
Hardy
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2020: 27-32
gaethje2020
Gaethje
cruz2020
Cruz
rozenstruik2020
Rozenstruik
kattar2020
Kattar
decastro2020
De Castro

The UFC is back this week after two months away in the coronavirus era with a pair of title fights atop the first of three shows in eight days in Florida.

UFC 249 takes place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and 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.)

In the main event, [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] (21-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) for the interim lightweight title. Ferguson is favorite in the fight, and he’s got a decent 9-5 lead in the picks from our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.

In the co-main event, bantamweight champion [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) puts his belt on the line for the first time when he meets ex-champ [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag] (22-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC). Cejudo is roughly a 2-1 favorite from the oddsmakers, and only three of our 14 pickers are taking Cruz to pull off the upset.

[lawrence-related id=514249,515702,515708]

Also on the main card, [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in what likely is a No. 1 contender bout at heavyweight. Ngannou is a heavy favorite, and he’s got a big 12-2 lead in the picks.

Our one near-unanimous pick is featherweight [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (20-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC). He’s more than a 2-1 favorite against [autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag] (28-17 MMA, 15-16 UFC), and he’s got a 13-1 lead in the picks with only one picker taking Stephens in an upset.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Yorgan De Castro[/autotag] (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will try to pull off an upset against 2-1 favorite [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at heavyweight. Hardy has a 9-5 lead in the picks.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Ferguson (64 percent), Cruz (57 percent), Ngannou (78 percent), Kattar (65 percent) and Hardy (57 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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