The UFC is back for its first event in 2021 – and the first of three cards in eight days at “Ilha da Luta”.
UFC on ABC 1 takes place on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main card will air on ABC and ESPN + after the preliminaries on ESPN +.
(Click here to open a PDF of the team’s choice grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, former featherweight champion Max Holloway (21-6 MMA, 17-6 UFC) faces Calvin Kattar (22-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC). Holloway is a favorite at BetMGM in -165, but for the first headline of the year, our 14 editors, writers, videographers and radio presenters are split in half at 7-7.
In the co-presentation, longtime UFC welterweight Matt Brown (22-17 MMA, 15-11 UFC) and former interim champion Carlos Condit (31-13 MMA, 8-9 UFC) face off. Condit is the lightweight favorite, but he has a big advantage of 11-3 from our pickers.
Also on the main card, Li Jingliang (17-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) is a heavyweight at middleweight against Santiago Ponzinibbio (27-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC), and Ponzinibbio has a big 12- 2 not the choices.
Joaquin Buckley (12-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is the only unanimous choice of our staff in the middleweight fight against Alessio Di Chirico (12-5 MMA, 3-5 UFC). He’s almost a 3-1 favorite in sports betting, and he’s lost 14-0 of our team members.
And to open the main card, Punahele Soriano (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is a slight underdog at middleweight against Dusko Todorovic (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC). Both are undefeated, but it is Soriano with a 9-5 picks advantage.
In the consensus choices of MMA reader Junkie, Holloway (68 percent), Condit (63 percent), Ponzinibbio (82 percent), Buckley (85 percent) and Todorovic (57 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the choices above.