UFC San Antonio brings fans a solid card from the Lone Star State headlined by a premier welterweight matchup between top contenders Rafael dos Anjos and Leon Edwards and Cageside Press has their picks set.
| Staff Writers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Payne (116-46) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Joe McDonagh (107-47) | | |  | | | |
| Heath Harshman (108-54) | |  | | |  | |
| Keith Shillan (67-36) | | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (104-58) |  | | | | |  |
| Jay Anderson (103-59) | | | | | | |
| Mike McClory (63-38) | | | | | | |
| Ryan Fortune (64-39) | | | |  | | |
| Dan Doherty (100-62) | | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (97-65) | | | | | | |
| Davidson Baker (30-22) | | | | | | |
Top welterweight contenders Leon Edwards and Rafael dos Anjos headline UFC San Antonio. Edwards has won nine of his last 10 fights (all in the UFC) with the only loss coming to champion Kamaru Usman. After a short title reign in the lightweight division, RDA moved up to 170 pounds, where he has gone 4-2, losing to Usman and top contender Colby Covington. Dos Anjos was slightly favored by Cageside Press, receiving six of 11 picks.
The co-main event pits 70-fight veteran Aleksei Oleinik against 20-fight veteran Walt Harris. Oleinik is 6-3 in the Octagon with an incredible 45 submissions in his career. Harris is on a three-fight win streak, but had one overturned due to a positive drug test. Eight of 11 writers picked Harris.
Disgraced NFL All-Pro Greg Hardy takes on Juan Adams in his third UFC appearance. Hardy is 4-1 in his career with four knockouts, while Adams is 5-1 and with five knockouts and looking to rebound from his first career loss. All but two writers picked Adams.
Two of the taller fighters in the lightweight division square off as James Vick battles Dan Hooker. After starting his career impressively at 13-1, Vick has lost his last two fights. Hooker was on a four-fight stoppage streak after moving up to lightweight, but that was stopped in a one-sided bout against Edson Barboza. Nine of 11 writers picked Hooker.
Alex Hernandez looks to get back in the win column against the very tough Francisco Trinaldo. Hernandez defeated Beneil Dariush and Olivier Aubin-Mercier in his first two Octagon appearances before a loss to Donald Cerrone. Trinaldo has won nine of his last 11 UFC fights, only falling to Kevin Lee and James Vick in that span. Seven writers picked Hernandez compared to four for Trinaldo.
Veteran heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Ben Rothwell open the main card. Arlovski has lost nine of his last 11 fights. Rothwell is on a two-fight losing streak and has fought once since 2016 due to a USADA suspension. Eight writers sided with Rothwell.
