Conor McGregor returns to the Octagon to kick off 2020 for the UFC, taking on Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246. Here are our picks.
| Staff Writers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Anderson (0-0) |  |  |  |  |
| Chris Prawdzik (0-0) |  |  | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (0-0) | | |  | |
| Josh Evanoff (0-0) | | | | |
| Joe McDonagh (0-0) | | | | |
| Michael Lynch (0-0) | | | | |
| Dylan Bowker (0-0) | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (0-0) | | | | |
| Paarth Pande (0-0) | | | | |
| Jason Payne (0-0) | | | | |
| Keith Shillan (0-0) | | | | |
| Ryan Fortune (0-0) | | | | |
| Heath Harshman (0-0) | | | | |
| Shawn Bitter (0-0) | | | | |
| Eddie Law (0-0) | | | |  |
The main event of UFC 246 marks the long-awaited return of Conor McGregor. The Irishman has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, but nothing was able to successfully turn him away from fighting. Greeting him in the Octagon will be Donald Cerrone. After stringing together three very impressive wins, Cowboy has suffered TKO losses to both Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, who are undoubtedly top contenders at lightweight. All but one writer picked McGregor.
The co-main event is a rematch of Holly Holm’s UFC debut, which was against Raquel Pennington. Since that bout in 2015, Holm is 4-5, but has won the title. She is 1-2 in her last three, falling to Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg. Pennington is 5-2 since the first meeting, losing in her lone title shot. She’s coming off a victory over Irene Aldana. All but three writers picked Holm.
Heavyweights appear on the main card as wily veteran Aleksei Oleinik battles Maurice Greene, who is affectionately known as the Crochet Boss. Oleinik recently won four of five fights, but his run was stopped in brutal fashion, suffering knockout losses against Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem. Oleinik was narrowly favored by the staff, receiving eight picks to Greene’s seven.
Anthony Pettis will look to bounce back from a loss to Nate Diaz against the streaking Carlos Diego Ferreira. Pettis is an even 4-4 in his last eight fights, never going on a streak of any kind. Ferreira has won five straight fights with two wins coming by TKO. Nine of 15 writers picked the Brazilian Ferreira.
Ode Osbourne vs. Brad Kelleher was not included due to its late addition to the UFC 246 main card.
