Advertisement

UFC Fight Night 221 predictions: Petr Yan or Merab Dvalishvili in heated rivalry?

Yan
vs.
Dvalishvili

Romanov
vs.
Volkov

Krylov
vs.
Spann

Lingo
vs.
Ramos

Martinez
vs.
Nurmagomedov

Petrino
vs.
Turkalj

MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
23-14

yan2023


Yan
(56%)

romanov2023


Romanov
(53%)

spann2023


Spann
(59%)

ramos2023


Ramos
(75%)

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov
(84%)

petrino2023


Petrino
(71%)

George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
27-13

yan2023


Yan

romanov2023


Romanov

krylov2023


Krylov

ramos2023


Ramos

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov

petrino2023


Petrino

Nolan King
@mma_kings
26-14/em>

yan2023


Yan

volkov2023


Volkov

spann2023


Spann

ramos2023


Ramos

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov

petrino2023


Petrino

Matt Erickson
@MattE
26-14

dvalishvili2023


Dvalishvili

romanov2023


Romanov

spann2023


Spann

ramos2023


Ramos

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov

petrino2023


Petrino

Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
26-14

dvalishvili2023


Dvalishvili

romanov2023


Romanov

spann2023


Spann

lingo2023


Lingo

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov

petrino2023


Petrino

Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
25-15

trophy copy

2018, 2022 Champion

yan2023


Yan

romanov2023


Romanov

spann2023


Spann

lingo2023


Lingo

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov

petrino2023


Petrino

Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
24-16

yan2023


Yan

romanov2023


Romanov

spann2023


Spann

ramos2023


Ramos

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov

petrino2023


Petrino

Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
24-16

yan2023


Yan

volkov2023


Volkov

krylov2023


Krylov

ramos2023


Ramos

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov

petrino2023


Petrino

Simon Samano
@SJSamano
24-16

dvalishvili2023


Dvalishvili

volkov2023


Volkov

krylov2023


Krylov

ramos2023


Ramos

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov

petrino2023


Petrino

Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
23-17

trophy copy

2014 Champion

dvalishvili2023


Dvalishvili

romanov2023


Romanov

spann2023


Spann

ramos2023


Ramos

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov

petrino2023


Petrino

Brian Garcia
@thegoze
22-18

trophy copy

2017 Champion

yan2023


Yan

romanov2023


Romanov

krylov2023


Krylov

ramos2023


Ramos

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov

petrino2023


Petrino

Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
22-18

dvalishvili2023


Dvalishvili

romanov2023


Romanov

spann2023


Spann

lingo2023


Lingo

snurmagomedov2023


Nurmagomedov

petrino2023


Petrino

The UFC stays in Las Vegas this week with a heated bantamweight rivalry atop the card.

UFC Fight Night 221 takes place Saturday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, former bantamweight champion Petr Yan (16-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on Merab Dvalishvili (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC). Yan is a -260 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Dvalishvili is +210. But it’s not a blowout. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Yan ahead by the smallest possible margin at 6-5.

In the co-feature, Alexandr Romanov (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) meets Alexander Volkov (35-10 MMA, 9-4 UFC) at heavyweight. Romanov is a slight favorite at -150, but he has a big 8-3 lead in the picks.

Also on the main card, Nikita Krylov (29-9 MMA, 10-7 UFC) takes on Ryan Spann (21-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in a fight rescheduled from two weeks ago when Krylov fell ill on fight day at UFC Fight Night 220. Krylov and Spann were set to headline that card. Krylov is a -170 favorite in the light heavyweight rebooted bout, but it’s Spann with a 7-4 picks lead.

Austin Lingo (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Ricardo Ramos (16-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) are set to tangle at featherweight. Ramos is the biggest favorite on the main card at -370 and he has a big 8-3 lead from our staff members.

Said Nurmagomedov (17-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) is a -270 favorite against Jonathan Martinez (17-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) at bantamweight and is one of our two 11-0 unanimous picks on the main card.

And to open the main card, Vitor Petrino (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Anton Turkalj (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) have pick’em odds in their light heavyweight matchup. Despite that, Petrino is our second unanimous pick.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Yan (56 percent), Romanov (53 percent), Spann (59 percent), Ramos (75 percent), Nurmagomedov (84 percent) and Petrino 71 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.

More UFC!

UFC Fight Night 221's Austin Lingo eyes 'in-and-out' win over 'dangerous' Ricardo Ramos after long layoff

UFC Fight Night 221 video: Petr Yan, Merab Dvalishvili on weight for clash of contenders

UFC Fight Night 221 weigh-in results: Two fighters have massive weight misses

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie