The first UFC on FOX card of the year comes to us from Charlotte, North Carolina. The picks for this solid card ended up being very uneventful.
| Staff Writers | Dober vs. Camacho | Rinaldi vs. Gillespie | Bermudez vs. Fili | Souza vs. Brunson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paarth Pande (10-3) |  |  |  |  |
| Mike Straus (10-3) |  | | | |
| Jesse Gillette (9-4) | | | | |
| Heath Harshman (8-5) | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (8-5) | | | | |
| Eddie Law (8-5) | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (7-6) | | | | |
| Harry Davies (6-7) | | | | |
| Jason Payne (5-8) | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (5-8) | | | | |
| Mike McClory (5-8) | | | | |
UFC Charlotte is a well put-together FOX card with an intriguing main event. Three oft-injured fighters return on the prelims, and the main card features featherweights and middleweights looking to re-obtain contender status.
UFC Charlotte pits middleweight contenders Jacare Souza and Derek Brunson against each other in the main event. Both men are looking to re-enter the title picture after having their title hopes dashed by Robert Whittaker. While Souza has not fought since falling to Bobby Knuckles, Brunson has knocked out both Dan Kelly and Lyoto Machida, and lost a controversial decision to Anderson Silva. Ring rust means nothing to Cageside Press, as every writer picked the Brazilian Souza.
The co-main event features featherweights who are attempting to get their careers back on track. Dennis Bermudez went 0-2 last year, and Andre Fili halted all momentum he received from beating Hacran Dias by losing to newcomer Calvin Kattar. Cageside Press trusts the wrestling of Bermudez, as he was picked unanimously.
Gregor Gillespie still has a zero in his career’s loss column and will try to continue that trend against Jordan Rinaldi. Rinaldi is 1-1 in the UFC and won by a first-round Von Flue choke in his last appearance. Every writer picked the wrestling phenom Gillespie.
Finally, a non-unanimous pick. Drew Dober and Frank Camacho will battle to open the card. Camacho is an all-excitement fighter, winning Fight of the Night in both of his UFC appearances. Drew Dober has been on the UFC’s roster since 2013, going 4-4 over that period of time. He’s won three of his last four with his last two victories coming by knockout. Cageside Press was split right down the middle for this one, with five writers going each way.
