The title of Baddest Man on the Planet is on the line at UFC 260 as Stipe Miocic defends his heavyweight belt against Francis Ngannou. Cageside Press has its picks set.
| Staff Writer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Behunin (18-10) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Dan Doherty (28-19) | | | |  |  |
| Ryan Fortune (26-21) | | | | | |
| Heath Harshman (26-21) | | | | | |
| Mike McClory (21-18) | | | | | |
| Josh Evanoff (23-20) | | | | | |
| Justin Gibbons (22-20) | | | | | |
| Gabriel Gonzalez (25-22) |  | | | | |
| Doug Murray (24-23) | | | | | |
| Dylan Bowker (23-24) | | | | | |
| Jason Payne (22-25) | | |  | | |
| Joe McDonagh (19-24) | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (20-27) | | | | | |
The main event of UFC 260 is a rematch of a past heavyweight title fight, as Stipe Miocic defends the belt against Francis Ngannou for a second time. Miocic won the first time around after some early danger, and since then is 2-0 in a pair of tough fights with Daniel Cormier. Ngannou has been on a tear since the loss, with four consecutive first-round knockouts (following a loss to Derrick Lewis we don’t speak of). Ngannou was picked by eight of 13 writers.
The co-main event features former champion Tyron Woodley trying to snap a rough losing streak against talented welterweight Vicente Luque. Woodley has been outright dominated in three fights against the three best welterweights in the world – Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, and Gilbert Burns – most recently. Luque is 8-1 in his last nine, losing only to top contender Stephen Thompson. Luque was slightly favored, with seven picks to Woodley’s six.
Sean O’Malley will look to bounce back from his first career loss against the struggling Thomas Almeida. O’Malley saw his four-fight run in the UFC come to an end after an ankle injury spoiled his chances against Marlon Vera. Since a great start to his Octagon career that featured three blistering knockouts in four fights, Almeida is 1-4 with a pair of knockout losses. All but one writer picked O’Malley.
Gillian Robertson will look to get back in the win column against tough young fighter Miranda Maverick. Robertson is coming off a one-sided loss to Taila Santos that stopped a two-fight win streak. Maverick, who is just 23, dominated Liana Jojua in her UFC debut recently en route to a first-round stoppage. Maverick was unanimously picked.
Opening up the UFC 260 main card will be Jamie Mullarkey and Khama Worthy. Worthy impressed in his first two Octagon appearances with a pair of stoppages, but was knocked out quickly by Ottman Azaitar last time out. Mullarkey is 0-2 with the promotion thus far. All but one writer picked Worthy.
