| Jung vs. Ige |
Oleinik vs. Spivac |
Grant vs. Vera |
Choi vs. Erosa |
Silva vs. Turman |
Brown vs. Lima |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 81-53 |
 Jung (62%) |
 Oleinik (57%) |
 Vera (81%) |
 Erosa (53%) |
 Silva (65%) |
 Brown (51%) |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 82-52 |
Jung |
 Spivac |
Vera |
 Choi |
Silva |
 Lima |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 81-53 |
 Ige |
Oleinik |
Vera |
Erosa |
Silva |
Brown |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 81-53  2014 Champion |
Jung |
Spivac |
Vera |
Erosa |
Silva |
Lima |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 80-54 |
Ige |
Spivac |
Vera |
Choi |
Silva |
Lima |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 80-54 2018 Champion |
Jung |
Spivac |
 Grant |
Choi |
Silva |
Brown |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 79-55 |
Ige |
Oleinik |
Vera |
Choi |
Silva |
Lima |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 79-55 |
Ige |
Oleinik |
Vera |
Choi |
Silva |
Lima |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 78-56 2020 Champion |
Ige |
Oleinik |
Vera |
Erosa |
Silva |
Brown |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 77-57 2017 Champion |
Ige |
Spivac |
Vera |
Erosa |
Silva |
Brown |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 76-58 |
Jung |
Spivac |
Vera |
Choi |
Silva |
Lima |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 75-59 |
Ige |
Spivac |
Vera |
Choi |
Silva |
Lima |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 75-59 |
Jung |
Spivac |
Vera |
Choi |
Silva |
Brown |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 11-7 |
Ige |
Spivac |
Vera |
Erosa |
Silva |
Lima |
| BetMGM Betting Favorites |
Ige -125 |
Spivac -225 |
Vera -200 |
Choi -150 |
Silva -135 |
Lima -185 |
The UFC is back this week with a longtime fan favorite against a rising star at the top of the lineup.
UFC on ESPN 25 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, “The Korean Zombie,” [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC), takes on [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) at featherweight. Ige is a slight -125 betting favorite at BetMGM, and it’s pretty close in the picks from our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, too. They’ve got Ige with an 8-5 advantage.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag] (59-15-1 MMA, 8-6 UFC) meets [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in a heavyweight bout. Spivac is a -225 favorite and has a big 9-4 picks lead.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) takes on [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] (18-7-1 MMA, 10-6 UFC) in a bantamweight bout. Vera is a 2-1 favorite at the betting window, and he’s a near-unanimous pick from our staff members at 12-1.
[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag] (25-8 MMA, 3-4 UFC) is a slight underdog at +125 against [autotag]Seungwoo Choi[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC). Choi, the -150 favorite, has an 8-5 lead in the picks.
[autotag]Bruno Silva[/autotag] (19-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) only is a -120 favorite in his middleweight fight against [autotag]Wellington Turman[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC). Silva is returning for the first time since November 2018. But despite those facts, our staff members have him as the main card’s only unanimous pick.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Matt Brown[/autotag] (22-18 MMA, 15-12 UFC) meets [autotag]Dhiego Lima[/autotag] (15-8 MMA, 4-6 UFC) at welterweight. Lima is a -185 favorite, and he’s got an 8-5 lead in the picks.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Jung (62 percent), Oleinik (57 percent), Vera (81 percent), Erosa (53 percent), Silva (65 percent) and Brown (51 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
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