Heavy-handed light heavyweights and the return of Robbie Lawler highlight UFC Vegas 8 and Cageside Press has its picks set.
| Staff Writers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Fortune (89-47) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Jay Anderson (86-50) |  | | |  |  |
| Joe McDonagh (82-54) | | | | | |
| Justin Gibbons (55-45) | | | | | |
| Dan Doherty (72-59) | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (74-62) | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (51-46) | |  | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (72-64) | | | | | |
Anthony Smith and Aleksandar Rakic headline UFC Vegas 8 looking to elevate their top-10 status in a division that is currently without a champion. Smith will be looking to bounce back from a brutal loss to Glover Teixeira while Rakic suffered the first loss of his career in a controversial split decision to Volkan Oezdemir last time out. All but two writers picked Rakic.
The co-main event is a huge opportunity for Neil Magny as he takes on Robbie Lawler. Magny is coming off a pair of very solid wins against Li Jingliang and Anthony Rocco Martin. Lawler, a former champion, has lost four of his last five fights, including three straight. Lawler was picked by five of eight writers.
Striking-centric strawweights square off on the main card with Ji Yeon Kim battling Alexa Grasso. Kim is 3-2 in the UFC and is coming off a body punch stoppage her last time out. Since joining the promotion, Grasso has alternated wins and losses and is 3-3. However, most believe she won her last fight, a majority decision loss to Carla Esparza. Grasso was unanimously picked.
Ricardo Lamas welcomes Bill Algeo to the UFC. Lamas was supposed to fight jiu-jitsu ace Ryan Hall, but that fell through and Algeo has stepped in. Lamas has lost three of his last four, getting stopped in two of those. Algeo is 13-4 in his career and fell to Brendan Loughnane on the Contender Series. All but two writers picked Lamas.
Once and for all, Magomed Ankalaev and Ion Cutelaba will settle their score. Ankalaev a vicious Russian striker, won in their first meeting earlier this year after a very controversial stoppage in a wild 38-second brawl. It’s been rescheduled twice and was canceled both times due to the coronavirus. The Cageside Press staff was split at four picks apiece.
