Leon Edwards finally returns to the cage in the main event of UFC Vegas 21 when he takes on the red-hot Belal Muhammad. Cageside Press has its picks set.
| Staff Writer | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Behunin (14-5) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Dan Doherty (24-14) | | | | |  | |
| Ryan Fortune (21-17) | | | |  | | |
| Heath Harshman (21-17) | | | | | | |
| Justin Gibbons (21-17) |  | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (20-18) | | | | | | |
| Doug Murray (19-19) | | |  | | | |
| Dylan Bowker (19-19) | | | | | | |
| Jason Payne (18-20) | | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (17-21) | | | | | | |
The main event of UFC Vegas 21 features top welterweight contender Leon Edwards taking on Belal Muhammad. Edwards dedicated the past several months of his career to fights against Khamzat Chimaev that did not happen. As a result, he’s been on a layoff since July 2019, putting a halt on his rise through the division that was caused by an eight-fight win streak. Muhammad has been on a roll lately, winning eight of his last nine fights including a four-fight win streak that he’s currently on. Edwards was unanimously picked.
The co-main event is a light heavyweight battle between Misha Cirkunov and Ryan Spann. Cirkunov has won two of his last three, submitting Jimmy Crute last time out. Spann is 4-1 in the UFC after coming painfully close to knocking out Johnny Walker before getting knocked out himself. All but three writers picked Cirkunov.
Dan Ige takes on Gavin Tucker in a clash of talented strikers. Tucker has won his last three fights including two submissions. Ige was on a six-fight win streak before a main event loss to Calvin Kattar. Ige was picked by six of 10 writers.
Bantamweights take center stage as Jonathan Martinez faces Davey Grant. Martinez is coming off a dominant victory over Thomas Almeida, making it four wins in his last five fights. Grant has won two straight after starting his UFC career 1-3. All but two writers picked Martinez.
Manel Kape looks for better fortune in his second trip to the Octagon when he takes on Matheus Nicolau. Nicolau was part of the flyweight purge in recent years despite going 3-1 in the UFC. Kape had a disappointing outing against Alexandre Pantoja in his promotional debut after an impressive stint in RIZIN with knockouts over Kai Asakura and Takeya Mizugaki. Kape was unanimously picked.
Opening up the UFC Vegas 21 main card will be middleweights Eryk Anders and Darren Stewart. Anders recently had a two-fight win streak snapped while Stewart has lost two of his last three. All but two writers picked Stewart.
