UFC Newark comes to fans on a Saturday afternoon on ESPN and Cageside Press has their picks set.
| Staff Writers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Payne (122-51) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Joe McDonagh (113-52) |  | |  | |  | |
| Heath Harshman (114-59) | |  | | | |  |
| Keith Shillan (74-40) | | | | | | |
| Ryan Fortune (73-41) | | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (109-64) | | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (109-64) | | | |  | | |
| Josh Evanoff (107-66) | | | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (106-67) | | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (73-41) | | | | | | |
The main event of UFC Newark is a welterweight battle between former champion Robbie Lawler and former interim champion/top contender Colby Covington. Covington has won six straight fights, including a win over Rafael dos Anjos. Lawler has lost three of his last four, with his last fight being a controversial submission defeat against Ben Askren. Cageside Press is split at five picks apiece for the headliner.
The co-main event is a bout between longtime veterans Clay Guida and Jim Miller. Miller, who has the most fights in UFC history, has won two of his last three fights by submission. Guida has won three of four, with BJ Penn being his most recent victim. Miller was slightly favored by Cageside Press, receiving six picks out of 10.
Nasrat Haqparast attempts to continue his rise against the also-promising Joaquim Silva. Haqparast came to the promotion on the back of eight straight TKO victories, and has won two straight since dropping his promotional debut. Silva is 4-1 in the Octagon and is coming off a fight of the night knockout against Jared Gordon. All but two writers picked Haqparast.
Trevin Giles and Gerald Meerschaert square off on the main card. Giles, who is also a cop, is looking to bounce back after suffering his first career loss after starting his career 11-0. Meerschaert is riding a two-fight skid into New Jersey and is 4-3 in the Octagon. Six of 10 writers picked Giles.
Scott Holtzman takes on Dong Hyun Ma (who missed weight for this contest). Holtzman has been with the UFC since 2015 and recently had a three-fight win streak snapped by Nik Lentz. Ma is a brawler who is also looking to get back on track after his three-fight win streak came to an end. Six of 10 writers picked Holtzman.
Darko Stosic and Kennedy Nzechukwu open up the UFC Newark main card. Stosic is 1-1 in the Octagon with a first-round knockout to his name. Nzechukwu impressed on the Contender Series, but lost to Paul Craig by a miraculous late submission in his debut. Seven of 10 writers went with Stosic.
