After 3 years we will FINALLY see Jon Jones at heavyweight. He isn’t, however, facing the best heavyweight in the world as Francis N’Gannou left the organization and looks to respectable payday. In his place we will see the man he most recently beat, Ciryl Gane. We will also see the return of the Flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko.

Here are some specifics. The early prelims start at 5:30pm and the prelims start at 8. main card is at 10pm . All of it is on ESPN+ and it cost $80

I will give you my predictions in the order the fights are to take place. All odds are courtesy of Bet MGM. The King of Sports Books! For new users head on over there and use the promocode PatEgan and get your first bet RISK FREE up to $1K

In 2022 I hit on 58% of picks. In 2022 I hit on 65% of “locks”

This season im 22-16-1 (7-4 locks)

(7-5-1 last fight card. 2-0-1 on locks)

PRELIMS

Esteban Ribovics

Da’Mon Blackshear

Jessica Penne

Mana Martinez (lock)

Ian Garry (lock)

Julian Marquez (lock)

Amanda Ribas

Derek Brunson

Cody Garbrandt

• Bo Nickal vs Jamie Pickett

  The Phenom makes his debut. Bo Nickal steamrolled opponents on the Contender Series and now he makes his UFC debut on the main card. The organization is certainly trying to push him and its understandable after seeing his previous performances. But lost in all the hype is whats behind it. He joined American Top Team who have a history of turning high caliber wrestlers into championship contenders (see Colby Covington.) While Pickett has some pop in his hands, he is going to get taken down and mauled. The only way to make money is by taking Nickal by finish but I see that happening anyway.

  Bo Nickal (lock)

• Mateusz Gamrot vs. Jalin Turner

  Jalin Turner is an exciting prospect as “The Tarantula” has lived up to his name by strangling opponents thanks to his BJJ and long limbs. But Gamrot is different. Hes a real problem on the ground, but he is a one trick pony. He doesnt have a great standup game and looks to repeatedly take his opponent down over and over. In his last fight he shot 12 times for takedowns. Turner however, as I said, is great off his back. And hes even better when he takes his opponent. But I dont see that happening. This is a tough one to pick but Im going Gamrot.

  Mateusz Gamrot

• Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov

  Geoff Neal opened a lot of eyes in his last performance, dominating Vicente Luque with his sheer power. He looked much improved. His power has always been an issue but he just looked more dialed in. But Rakhmonov is a REAL problem. He dominates and smothers and embarrases his opponents and I think that happens again on Saturday night. WITH THAT SAID. If Neal is still standing when the 3rd round starts, hop on the live line and take Neal. Shavkat has never reached the 3rd round and I think that kind of thing really does play a factor with a grappler.

  Shavkat Rakhmonov (Lock)

• Valentina Schevchenko (C) vs. Alexa Grasso

  Valentina is unquestionably the flyweight queen. For the most part, she has steam rolled everyone the UFC has put in front of her. For whatever reason Dana White doesnt want to give the fans what they want, a super fight with 135 pound champ Amanda Nunes. While we wait for that she has to get through Alexa Grasso who is a real threat. But shes only a threat if she utilizes her takedowns. Grasso does have a legit ground game, but its not her go to. Conversely Schevchenko has had problems when being taken down, and I actually thought she lost her last fight because of it. So will Grasso look to get it to the ground? I dont think so. I think she makes the mistake that so many others have made and stand and trade with Valentina. And I think she gets lit up. While I think Valentina wins, if Grasso takes her down early then hop on the live line and pivot quick.

  Valentina Schevchenko

• Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane

  Finally after 3 years we see the return of Jon Jones but this time its at Heavyweight. Jones stayed out as he got his body ready for the division, which is smart. He was never this massive light heavyweight who had problem making weight. He legitimately shouldn’t have rushed this sort of jump. But why did he make the jump? Did he make it because he was simply bored with the 205 division, or did he make it because the division had caught up and he wanted to keep his legacy going? I think he lost his last fight to Dom Reyes. And you could certainly make a case that he lost the fight before that to Thiago Santos who had no knees during the 25 minutes.

  On the other side youve got Ciryl Gane who is the best moving heavyweight in the division. He will look to keep the fight at distance and turn it into a kickboxing match. Which is perfectly fine with Jones who is a kickboxer in nature. But the difference here is the power coming back at Jones. Will he be ready for it? The other question is how will Jones handle 5 rounds at this weight? Handling 5 rounds for Jones is nothing. But when youre carrying an extra 40 pounds it certainly matters. Because of all of this I am picking Gane. But if Jones takes Gane down early then Jones will take it.

  Ciryl Gane

• Parlays

  Since BET MGM is the king of parlay’s here is how the parlay odds look!

  if you take every one of my picks and parlay them on BetMGM, wagering $100 you’d win $978,825 (+978725)
  If you just parlay the prelims, using all my picks and wagering $100 you would walk away with $306,626 (+306526)
  Parlay the main card, taking all my picks and wagering $100 you would cash in $319 (+219)
  And if you just want to take my locks and parlay them on BetMGM, wagering $100 you would win $973 (+873)

  Odds subject to change. Good luck!

Sign me up for the 97.5 The Fanatic email newsletter!

Become a Fanatic MVP to get the latest info on the Philly Sports landscape, plus access to exclusive content and member-only contests.

First Name *

Last Name

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.