Two title fights headline UFC 248, and Cageside Press has its picks set for the pay-per-view card.
| Staff Writers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Law (11-3) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Ryan Fortune (27-9) | | |  |  |  |
| Joe McDonagh (26-10) | |  | | | |
| Jay Anderson (25-11) |  | | | | |
| Jason Payne (24-12) | | | | | |
| Keith Shillan (24-12) | | | | | |
| Chris Prawdzik (17-9) | | | | | |
| Paarth Pande (9-5) | | | | | |
| Mike McClory (14-8) | | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (21-15) | | | | | |
| Dylan Bowker (20-16) | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (20-16) | | | | | |
| Justin Gibbons (0-0) | | | | | |
The main event of UFC 248 is the highly anticipated middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero. Adesanya, a kickboxing great, is undefeated in MMA and is seeking his first title defense. Romero has a free pass to a title shot, having lost three of his last four fights, but no one’s complaining. Of the 13 writers, 10 picked Adesanya to defend the belt.
The co-main event is another exciting title fight, with Weili Zhang defending her title for the first time against former dominant champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Zhang is coming off a spectacular 42-second knockout over Jessica Andrade to win the title and hasn’t lost since her MMA debut in 2013. Jedrzejczyk has won her last two fights at strawweight with a flyweight title shot in between. Jedrzejczyk is slightly favored seven writers to six.
Beneil Dariush and Drakkar Klose will battle on the main card. The pair were supposed to fight last July, but Dariush pulled out with an injury. Both men come in on three-fight win streaks. Klose got the edge with seven picks to six.
Fiery fan-favorite Li Jingliang takes on Neil Magny. Jingliang went from fun brawler to legit contender, winning seven of his last eight bouts. Magny recently had a two-fight win streak snapped by Santiago Ponzinibbio. Nine of 13 writers picked Jingliang.
Opening up the UFC 248 main card is a matchup between Alex Oliveira and Max Griffin. Cowboy Oliveira has struggled recently, losing four of his last six including three in a row heading into this contest. Griffin has been on a similar skid, losing three of his last four. Both guys tend to bring the heat, making this a fitting main card opener. 10 of 13 writers picked Oliveira to end his skid.
