| Rozenstruik vs. Gane |
Ankalaev vs. Krylov |
De La Rosa vs. Silva |
Munhoz vs. Rivera |
Hill vs. Yoder |
Caceres vs. Croom |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 14-15 |
 Gane (63%) |
 Ankalaev (81%) |
 Silva (52%) |
 Munhoz (57%) |
 Hill (78%) |
 Caceres (72%) |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 18-11  2020 Champion |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
 Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 18-11 |
 Rozenstruik |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Munhoz |
Hill |
Caceres |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 17-12 |
Rozenstruik |
Ankalaev |
 De La Rosa |
Munhoz |
 Yoder |
Caceres |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 16-13 2018 Champion |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 16-13 2017 Champion |
Rozenstruik |
Ankalaev |
De La Rosa |
Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 16-13 |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 15-14 |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Rivera |
Hill |
 Croom |
| Simon Head @simonhead 2021: 15-14 2019 Champion* |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
De La Rosa |
Rivera |
Hill |
Croom |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 15-14 2014 Champion |
Rozenstruik |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 14-15 |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Rivera |
Hill |
Caceres |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 14-15 |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
De La Rosa |
Munhoz |
Hill |
Caceres |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 13-16 |
Rozenstruik |
Ankalaev |
De La Rosa |
Munhoz |
Hill |
Caceres |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 11-18 |
Gane |
Ankalaev |
Silva |
Munhoz |
Hill |
Caceres |
(This story was updated at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, to reflect the addition of Angela Hill vs. Ashley Yoder to the main card.)
The UFC has a big heavyweight fight in the headlining spot for the second straight week.
UFC Fight Night 186 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, [autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) takes on the unbeaten [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC). The winner is expected to stay in the hunt for a title shot. Gane is the third biggest favorite on the card at -250 at BetMGM, but he’s only got an 8-5 picks lead from our 13 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (14-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is a prohibitive -350 favorite at light heavyweight against [autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag] (27-7 MMA, 8-5 UFC), and Ankalaev is our lone unanimous pick on the main card.
It’s a close fight from a betting perspective between [autotag]Montana De La Rosa[/autotag] (11-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and [autotag]Mayra Bueno Silva[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at women’s flyweight. Silva is a slight favorite at -145, and she’s got an 8-5 lead in the picks.
[autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag] (23-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) meet in a crucial bantamweight rematch. They fought more than five years ago and Rivera won a split decision. Rivera is a -155 favorite this time around and has an 8-5 picks lead.
It’s not unanimous, but 4-1 favorite [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (12-9 MMA, 7-9 UFC) has a big picks lead over [autotag]Ashley Yoder[/autotag] (8-6 MMA, 3-6 UFC) in their women’s strawweight fight. Hill is the choice of all but one of our staff members.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (17-12 MMA, 12-10 UFC) meets [autotag]Kevin Croom[/autotag] (21-12 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in a featherweight fight. Caceres is a 2-1 favorite and has a big 11-2 lead in our picks.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Gane (63 percent), Ankalaev (81 percent), Silva (52 percent), Munhoz (57 percent) and Caceres (72 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
[listicle id=591142]
[listicle id=591242]
[listicle id=590883]
[vertical-gallery id=591437]
[vertical-gallery id=391998]