| 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.