| Ortega vs. Rodriguez |
Lemos vs. Waterson |
Jingliang vs. Salikhov |
Mudaerji vs. Schnell |
Burgos vs. Jourdain |
Murphy vs. Tate |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 117-63 |
 Ortega (63%) |
 Lemos (65%) |
 Salikhov (64%) |
 Mudaerji (63%) |
 Burgos (74%) |
 Tate (72%) |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 123-62  2018 Champion |
Ortega |
Lemos |
 Jingliang |
Mudaerji |
Burgos |
 Murphy |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 119-66 |
Ortega |
Lemos |
Jingliang |
Mudaerji |
Burgos |
Tate |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 119-66 2014 Champion |
 Rodriguez |
Lemos |
Salikhov |
 Schnell |
 Jourdain |
Tate |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 117-68 |
Rodriguez |
Lemos |
Jingliang |
Mudaerji |
Jourdain |
Tate |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 117-68 |
Ortega |
Lemos |
Jingliang |
Mudaerji |
Burgos |
Tate |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 116-69 |
Ortega |
Lemos |
Jingliang |
Mudaerji |
Burgos |
Tate |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 110-75 |
Rodriguez |
Lemos |
Salikhov |
Schnell |
Burgos |
Tate |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 110-75 |
Ortega |
Lemos |
Salikhov |
Mudaerji |
Burgos |
Tate |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 109-76 2017 Champion |
Ortega |
Lemos |
Jingliang |
Mudaerji |
Burgos |
Tate |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 103-82 |
Ortega |
Lemos |
Salikhov |
Schnell |
Burgos |
Tate |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 89-96 |
Rodriguez |
Lemos |
Salikhov |
Schnell |
Burgos |
Tate |
The UFC is back in New York on Long Island this week with a pair of featherweight contenders atop the lineup.
UFC on ABC 3 takes place Saturday at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. The main card airs on ABC and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, former featherweight title challenger [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in a key bout for the division. Ortega is a -190 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Rodriguez is +145. But it’s not a blowout with our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, who have Ortega with a 7-4 lead in the picks.
In the women’s flyweight co-feature, [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] (11-2-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Michelle Waterson[/autotag] (18-9 MMA, 6-5 UFC). Lemos is the biggest favorite on the main card at -320 and is our staff members’ only unanimous pick at 11-0.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag] (18-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) takes on [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in a welterweight bout. Salikhov is a -160 favorite, but our staff pickers have Jingliang with a narrow 6-5 picks lead.
[autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is a big -260 favorite against [autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in their flyweight bout, but he doesn’t have a blowout in the picks. He has just a 7-4 edge from our crew.
[autotag]Shane Burgos[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is a -170 favorite in his featherweight fight against [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag] (13-4-1 MMA, 4-3-1 UFC) and has a 9-2 lead in the picks.
And to open the main card, former women’s bantamweight champion [autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag] (19-8 MMA, 6-5 UFC) makes her first appearance at flyweight. She’s more than a 2-1 favorite against Lauren Murphy (15-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) and is a near-unanimous pick at 10-1.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Ortega (63 percent), Lemos (65 percent), Salikhov (64 percent), Mudaerji (63 percent), Burgos (74 percent) and Tate (72 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 3.
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