Yair Rodriguez and Chan Sung Jung both return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC Denver, and Cageside Press has their picks ready.
| Staff Writers | Trizano vs. Pena | Barber vs. Cifers | Pennington vs. De Randamie | Cerrone vs. Perry | Jung vs. Rodriguez |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heath Harshman (115-62) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Dan Doherty (115-68) |  | | |  | |
| Paarth Pande (108-66) | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (102-64) | | |  | |  |
| Mike Straus (111-72) | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (92-70) | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (54-42) | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (101-82) | | | | | |
| Mike McClory (90-80) | | | | | |
It has been a long time since we’ve seen either Yair Rodriguez or The Korean Zombie compete. And now, due to an injury to Frankie Edgar, both men will be headlining UFC Denver tonight. Rodriguez saw his eight-fight win streak come to an end in May 2017 when he faced Edgar. Since then, he’s been injured, cut from the UFC, re-signed, and injured again. Chan Sung Jung returned from mandatory military service emphatically with a first-round knockout against Dennis Bermudez in February 2017. However, a knee injury stopped him from stepping into the cage against Ricardo Lamas. The Korean Zombie received the majority of the picks.
The co-main event of UFC Denver features Mike Perry taking on Donald Cerrone. Cowboy has struggled recently, winning just one of his last five. That includes a controversial loss to Robbie Lawler and a first-round knockout over Yancy Medeiros. Perry has lost two of his last three since getting a bump in competition against Santiago Ponzinibbio. Cowboy received five of nine picks.
Germaine de Randamie and Raquel Pennington battle for a top spot in the bantamweight division. Pennington received a title shot after winning four in a row, but was overwhelmed by Amanda Nunes en route to a fifth-round defeat. GDR has not fought since winning the featherweight belt against Holly Holm in February 2017, and has been stripped since. She is, however, on a three-fight win streak. All but three writers picked the former champion.
Maycee Barber makes her long-awaited debut against Hannah Cifers. Barber is 5-0 with four stoppages including a third-round submission on the Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series. Cifers is 8-2, winning five in a row with four stoppages. Barber was picked unanimously.
Opening up the UFC Denver main card is a bout between TUF veterans Mike Trizano (who won TUF 27), and “Violent Bob Ross” Luis Pena. Trizano is 7-0 with four stoppages, while Pena is 5-0 with four submissions and a knockout. Pena received seven of nine picks.
Picks were not recorded for Beneil Dariush vs. Thiago Moises due to its late addition to the card.
