UFC on ESPN 23 predictions: It's a close one between Dominick Reyes, Jiri Prochazka
| Reyes vs. Prochazka |
Chikadze vs. Swanson |
Cutelaba vs. Jacoby |
Jotko vs. Strickland |
Dvalishvili vs. Stamann |
Botelho vs. Carolina |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 50-34 |
 Prochazka (69%) |
 Chikadze (59%) |
 Cutelaba (59%) |
 Strickland (69%) |
 Dvalishvili (70%) |
 Botelho (81%) |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 57-31 |
Prochazka |
Chikadze |
Cutelaba |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 56-32  2018 Champion |
Prochazka |
Chikadze |
 Jacoby |
 Jotko |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 54-34 |
Prochazka |
Chikadze |
Cutelaba |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 54-34 |
 Reyes |
Chikadze |
Cutelaba |
Jotko |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 54-34 |
Reyes |
 Swanson |
Jacoby |
Strickland |
 Stamann |
Botelho |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 53-35 |
Reyes |
Chikadze |
Jacoby |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 53-35 2017 Champion |
Prochazka |
Swanson |
Jacoby |
Strickland |
Stamann |
Botelho |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 52-36 2020 Champion |
Reyes |
Swanson |
Jacoby |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 51-37 |
Reyes |
Chikadze |
Cutelaba |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 49-39 2014 Champion |
Prochazka |
Chikadze |
Cutelaba |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 49-39 |
Reyes |
Swanson |
Cutelaba |
Jotko |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 48-40 |
Reyes |
Chikadze |
Jacoby |
Strickland |
Dvalishvili |
Botelho |
| BetMGM Betting Favorites |
Prochazka -135 |
Chikadze -175 |
Cutelaba -120 |
Strickland -275 |
Dvalishvili -250 |
Botelho -275 |
After an event in Florida, the UFC is back on its home turf with a former light heavyweight title challenger at the top of the bill.
UFC on ESPN 23 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, former 205-pound title challenger Dominick Reyes (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) meets Jiri Prochazka (27-3-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC). Prochazka is a slight favorite at -135 at BetMGM, but it’s Reyes with a slight 7-5 lead in the picks from our 12 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.
In the co-feature, Giga Chikadze (12-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is a -175 favorite against Cub Swanson (27-11 MMA, 12-7 UFC) at featherweight. Chikadze doubled up on Swanson in our picks at 8-4.
Our most contentious fight from a picking standpoint is at light heavyweight between Ion Cutelaba (15-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) and Dustin Jacoby (14-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC). Cutelaba is a mild favorite at -120, and the picks are dead even at 6-6.
Sean Strickland (22-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and Krzysztof Jotko (22-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) have similar records going into their middleweight bout. But Strickland is a big favorite at -275, and he’s got a 9-3 lead in the picks.
Merab Dvalishvili (12-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is a big favorite, too, at -250 in his bantamweight bout against Cody Stamann (19-3-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC), and only two pickers are taking Stamann in an upset.
And to open the main card, we have our only unanimous pick at 12-0. Poliana Botelho (8-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) pitched a picks shutout in her women’s flyweight bout against Luana Carolina (6-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC).
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Prochazka (69 percent), Chikadze (59 percent), Cutelaba (59 percent), Strickland (69 percent), Dvalishvili (70 percent) and Botelho (81 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.