UFC Tampa is headlined by an exciting strawweight matchup with title implications and Cageside Press has its picks set.
| Staff Writers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Payne (154-78) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Joe McDonagh (148-76) |  | | | | | |
| Keith Shillan (112-61) | | | | | | |
| Ryan Fortune (110-63) | | | | | | |
| Heath Harshman (146-86) | | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (143-89) | | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (136-91) | | | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (136-96) | | |  | | |  |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (136-96) | | | | |  | |
| Mike McClory (92-67) | | | | | | |
| Paarth Pande (104-76) | | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (88-79) | |  | |  | | |
Joanna Jedrzejczyk returns to strawweight in the main event of UFC Tampa to take on rising contender Michelle Waterson. Jedrzejczyk defended her title five times from 2015 to 2017, then lost a pair of bouts to Rose Namajunas. Her last fight was for the flyweight title, falling to Valentina Shevchenko. Waterson is 3-0 since the start of 2018, with her last performance being perhaps her most impressive, a dominant win over former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz. All but two writers picked the former champion.
Kron Gracie steps into the Octagon for the second time against veteran Cub Swanson. Gracie ran through Alex Caceres in his promotional debut recently. Swanson has struggled recently, falling in his last four fights. Like the main event, all but two writers picked Gracie.
Niko Price will welcome James Vick to the welterweight division in a late addition to the UFC Tampa main card. Price has alternated wins and losses in his last four fights, and all nine of his Octagon appearances have not seen a judges’ decision. After starting his career 13-1, Vick has lost in his last three fights, prompting a move up in weight. All but one writer picked Price.
Mackenzie Dern returns to action post-pregnancy against Amanda Ribas. Dern is a jiu-jitsu prodigy with several gold medals at the highest level. She’s turned that into a 7-0 run in MMA. Ribas impressed in her debut, submitting Emily Whitmire in her debut in June. All but one writer picked Dern.
Luis Pena looks to continue his run against Matt Frevola. Since appearing on The Ultimate Fighter, Pena is 3-1, knocking out Matt Wiman most recently. Frevola is 1-1-1 in the UFC, defeating Jailin Turner in his last fight. Pena was unanimously picked.
Eryk Anders and Gerald Meerschaert open up the main card. Anders evened up his UFC record at 4-4 with a knockout victory in his most recent contest. Meerschaert is 5-3 in the Octagon with four submissions and one knockout. All but two writers picked Anders.
