UFC Chile features a six-fight main card that saw the top two fights change to the disappointment of the fans. Cageside Press still has their picks set though.
| Staff Writers | Luque vs. Laprise | Macedo vs. Lee | Rivas vs. Cannetti | Cannonier vs. Reyes | Grasso vs. Suarez | Maia vs. Usman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heath Harshman (49-21) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Paarth Pande (47-23) |  | | |  | | |
| Eddie Law (44-26) | | |  | |  |  |
| Dan Doherty (42-28) | | | | | | |
| Mike Straus (42-28) | | | | | | |
| Jesse Gillette (38-27) | | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (40-30) | | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (38-32 | | | | | | |
| Mike McClory (35-35) | | | | | | |
UFC Chile finally features a step-up in competition for dominant welterweight Kamaru Usman. The Nigerian has cruised through his first seven UFC opponents, and was set to square off against fellow rising contender Santiago Ponzinibbio at this event. However, Ponzinibbio pulled out and in stepped Demian Maia. Maia went on an incredible seven-fight win streak to earn a title shot last year, but has lost to Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington since then. Eight of nine writers picked the younger Usman to win the main event.
Alexa Grasso is 2-1 in her UFC career and coming off a controversial win over Randa Markos in which she missed weight. She battles dominant grappler Tatiana Suarez, who has only fought once since winning The Ultimate Fighter in 2016. Just three of nine writers picked the fan favorite Alexa Grasso.
A hard-hitting light heavyweight bout is next, with Jared Cannonier taking on Dominick Reyes. Reyes has opened eyes since joining the UFC, taking out his two opponents in the first round. Cannonier is 3-3 in the Octagon (2-2 at 205 pounds) and has earned fans with his brawling style. Six writers are on the Reyes hype train for this one.
Diego Rivas is the owner of one of 2016’s finest knockouts, a beautiful flying knee against Noad Lahat. On top of that, Rivas is 2-1 in the Octagon, whereas his opponent, Guido Cannetti is 1-2, losing by submission twice. Rivas got the nod from the staff by a slight 5-4 margin.
Andrea “KGB” Lee will make her long-awaited Octagon debut at UFC Chile. Lee has been dominant recently in both LFC and Invicta, winning her last four fights with three stoppages. Veronica Macedo is a promising Venezuelan flyweight, but she has not fought since her unsuccessful promotional debut in 2016. KGB was unanimously picked by the staff.
Opening the main card are a pair of well-respected welterweights in Chad Laprise and Vicente Luque. Luque has finished all five wins in his UFC career, while Laprise has knocked out his last three opponents. Luque was picked by five of nine writers.
