UFC 277 predictions: Who’s picking upsets in Peña vs. Nunes, Moreno vs. Kara-France title fights?
Peña | Moreno | Lewis | Pantoja | Ankalaev | |
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Ken Hathaway  2018 Champion |
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Mike Bohn 2014 Champion |
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Abbey Subhan |
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Matt Erickson | 
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Simon Samano |
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Matthew Wells |
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Farah Hannoun |
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Nolan King |
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Brian Garcia 2017 Champion |
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George Garcia |
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Danny Segura |
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The UFC is back in Texas this week with a pair of title fights atop the bill.
UFC 277 takes place Saturday at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, Julianna Pena (11-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) puts her women’s bantamweight title on the line for the first time when she takes on former champ Amanda Nunes (21-5 MMA, 14-2 UFC). Peña upset Nunes to win the title this past December at UFC 269. Nunes, who remains the women’s featherweight champ, nearly is a 3-1 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Peña is +210. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers largely are siding with the former champ to become a two-division titleholder once again. They have Nunes with a big 9-2 picks lead.
In the co-main event, former flyweight champ Brandon Moreno (19-6-2 MMA, 7-3-2 UFC) takes on Kai Kara-France (24-9 MMA, 7-2 UFC) for the interim 125-pound title. Moreno holds a December 2019 win over Kara-France. He’s more than a 2-1 favorite and is a near-unanimous pick from our staff members at 10-1.
Also on the main card, former heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) fights in front of his home Texas fans when he meets Sergei Pavlovich (15-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC). Pavlovich is a slight favorite at -150, but Lewis has massive 10-1 support from our pickers.
Alexandre Pantoja (24-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) is a -180 favorite in his flyweight bout against Alex Perez (24-6 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and has a whopping 10-1 picks lead.
And to open the main card, Magomed Ankalaev (17-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is the second biggest favorite at the entire event at 6-1 against former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith (36-16 MMA, 11-6 UFC). Ankalaev has a big 8-3 rout in the picks.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Nunes (60 percent), Moreno (59 percent), Lewis (57 percent), Pantoja (70 percent) and Ankalaev (66 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 277.
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UFC 277: How to watch Peña-Nunes 2, start time, fight card, odds
