This article is part of our UFC Picks series.
For the first time in over a year, the UFC will host fights in front of a live crowd, as it makes its return to Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The card features three title fights, headlined by a rematch between dominant champion Kamaru Usman and local favorite Jorge Masvidal.
As a reminder, the following selections are purely picks. If you're looking for a fantasy-specific breakdown of these fights, check out the MMA Mashup from Chris Olson or a DraftKings preview courtesy of Jon Litterine.
Also, don't forget to tune into Fight IQ live Friday at 8:00 p.m. EST on the RotoWire Youtube Channel, where Chris, Joe and Shaun will break down the card from top to bottom, featuring a more in-depth look at the selections below.
| MATCHUP | WEIGHT CLASS | JON | JAKE | CHRIS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kamaru Usman (-400) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+300) | Welterweight | Usman | Usman | Usman |
| Valentina Shevchenko (-400) vs. Jessica Andrade (+300) | Women's | Shevchenko | Shevchenko | |
| Zhang Weili (-195) vs. Rose Namajunas (+155) | Women's | |||
| Uriah Hall (-115) vs. Chris Weidman (-108) | Middleweight | Hall | Hall | |
| Anthony Smith (+155) vs. Jimmy Crute (-200) | Light Heavyweight | |||
| UFC 261 RECORD | 2-3 | 3-2 | 2-3 | |
| 2021 RECORD | 12-10 | 15-7 | 10-12 | |
| 2021 PERCENTAGE | .545 | .682 | .455 | |
| 2020 RECORD | 36-18 | 34-20 | 28-26 | |
| 2020 PERCENTAGE | .667 | .630 | .519 | |
| 2019 RECORD | 39-19 | 35-23 | 32-26 | |
| 2019 PERCENTAGE | .672 | .603 | .552 | |
| ALL-TIME | 182-109 | 182-109 | 146-112 | |
| ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE | .625 | .625 | .566 |
MATCHUP | WEIGHT | JOE "SUNTZU" | SHAUN | COLE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kamaru Usman (-400) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+300) | Welterweight | Usman | Usman | Usman |
| Valentina Shevchenko (-400) vs. Jessica Andrade (+300) | Women's | Shevchenko | Shevchenko | Shevchenko |
| Zhang Weili (-195) vs. Rose Namajunas (+155) | Women's | |||
| Uriah Hall (-115) vs. Chris Weidman (-108) | Middleweight | Hall | ||
| Anthony Smith (+155) vs. Jimmy Crute (-200) | Light Heavyweight | |||
| UFC 261 RECORD | 2-3 | 2-3 | 3-2 | |
| 2021 RECORD | 12-10 | 13-9 | 10-8 | |
| 2021 PERCENTAGE | .545 | .591 | .556 | |
| 2020 RECORD | 36-18 | 38-16 | N/A | |
| 2020 PERCENTAGE | .667 | .704 | N/A | |
| 2019 RECORD | 34-24 | 34-24 | N/A | |
| 2019 PERCENTAGE | .586 | .586 | N/A | |
| ALL-TIME | 109-71 | 115-65 | 10-8 | |
| ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE | .606 | .639 | .556 |
THE PICKERS
Jon Litterine: RotoWire lead MMA beat writer and scribe for our weekly DrafKings preview. Lead analyst on the RotoWire MMA Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @JonLitterine.
Jake Letarski: RotoWire.com Operations Manager, plus MMA and NCAA Hoops Senior Editor. Host on the RotoWire MMA Podcast and guest on the RotoWire Fantasy Football Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @RotoJake.
Chris Olson: Contributor at RotoWire to "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," as well as The MMA Mashup, DFS Baseball, a MMA gambling columnist and fight recaps. Follow him on Twitter at @RealChrisOlson.
Joe "SunTszu": Known more commonly by his Twitter handle @SunTszu, Joe is a Hedge Fund Executive by day and high-volume DFS player by night. He is a 2x "Bracket Challenge" & "Gotham qualifier. You can also find him as one of the original contributors of "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," a DFS-centric video breakdown. He is also a co-creator of the "Creating Alpha in DFS" podcast.
@theDFSniper: @theDFSniper is the host and lead instigator of "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," a DFS-centric video breakdown. He also appears on the LoudMouth MMA podcast and contributes soccer content to DFS Army.
Cole Shelton: Cole Shelton is a full-time sports writer focusing on MMA. His work has appeared on BJPenn.com, CBC Sports, Sports Betting Dime and Blue Jays Nation. He currently pens the MMA Best Bets column on RotoWire. Follow him on Twitter at @ColeShelton91.
