We Want Picks

Hernandez's grappling volume (six takedowns per 15 minutes) and his ability to absorb head strikes decide it, so long as Rodrigues head-hunts for the knockout instead of attacking the body — the one route Angelo flags as Hernandez's weakness, citing how Kevin Holland and Sean Strickland both beat him. Notes he is surprised Hernandez is as short as -175 rather than -120, but takes him anyway and expects a nail-biter.

“I am going to pick him. Anthony Fluffy Hernandez, it's going to be a nail-biter, guys.”

▶ Hear it — 37:54 View this fight →

Picks against his own long-standing preference for Dolidze: the wins that made Dolidze's name are four years old, and de Ridder is the bigger man genuinely suited to 205. Expects de Ridder to manage range, land jumping knees, and for Dolidze to fold mentally as he has before.

“So I absolutely love Reinier de Ridder in this spot.”

▶ Hear it — 35:12 View this fight →

Takes Spivac as an underdog on grit and heavyweight experience: reads Petrino as an athlete who became a fighter rather than a fighter, and expects Spivac -- ten times the grappler of Petrino's last opponent -- to work in his own takedowns. Flags the one real concern that at heavyweight raw athleticism alone can still win a fight or two.

“So, Sergey Spivak is going to be the pick.”

▶ Hear it — 32:35 View this fight →

Takes Nzechukwu on power and rangy kicks against a Gaziev coming off back-to-back knockout losses, with the chin now the deciding weakness. Allows that Gaziev can strike and wrestle and could absolutely win, and expects a sloppy or outright boring heavyweight fight either way.

“I'm actually going to pick Kennedy Nzechukwu here.”

▶ Hear it — 20:13 View this fight →

Reads it as mostly a striking match-up and takes Judice on that edge, while warning she creates her own danger: after having her back taken early in her last fight she chose to grapple in the third and was nearly submitted. If Chaves lands the same kind of well-timed takedowns she used last time out, it gets weird. Notes the odds are far too long to bet.

“Carla is going to be the pick because she's the better striker.”

▶ Hear it — 28:41 View this fight →

Calls it a bad stylistic match-up for Reed rather than a knock on her: Dyer is bigger, more powerful, the better striker, and good enough defensively to stop Reed turning it into a wrestling match. Cannot find a route for Reed on the feet, into a clean takedown, or through the power.

“So, I think Chanel Dyer wins this fight.”

▶ Hear it — 17:45 View this fight →

Grants McVey the size and the clearly better striking, then discounts it on takedown defence: if Schultz shows up as the All-American wrestler rather than pulling guard as he did against Penaaz, he can repeat the success Zac Reese had against McVey. Rates neither man highly and sides with whoever can control where the fight happens.

“So, I'm going to side with the wrestler here. The striking doesn't matter if you can't keep the fight on the feet.”

▶ Hear it — 30:32 View this fight →

Reads Mederos as almost too technical and too athletic for this match-up, and expects Jones's pressure and grit to deny him room to breathe -- Jones will keep walking forward even while eating two strikes to one. Mederos's only path is to stay clean, stay safe and out-athlete him.

“So, I think Mason Jones wins this fight just by being violent and willing to take a beating.”

▶ Hear it — 26:20 View this fight →

Concedes Haqparast is the better and more technical striker with excellent takedown defence, then picks against him on durability and forward pressure, plus the risk he returns from a bad knockout loss hesitant to engage or on a strange game plan. Notes Haqparast has also underperformed against low-level opposition, and that the current odds are about where they should be.

“So, Chris Padilla is going to be the pick.”

▶ Hear it — 16:01 View this fight →

Expects Dorsainvil to test Young's chin early and to cut him -- predicting a bloody Young by the middle of the first -- but backs Young to work through it on toughness and the option of wrestling. Notes Young's one bad night on the feet came against teammate Evan Elder on short notice, whereas here he has a full camp and was preparing for an aggressive opponent. Explicitly declines to bet it because Young cuts too easily.

“so I'll take Gage to win this fight.”

▶ Hear it — 11:05 View this fight →

Picks Douglas on trust in the matchmaking rather than on a proven record, and says so plainly: the odds are far too wide for a fighter who has not been tested and has no quality UFC win. Warns that Emmers is a proven entity whose recent turn to wrestling -- as against Haider Amil -- could put Douglas in a tough spot.

“So I'm going to pick Laren Douglas here.”

▶ Hear it — 13:14 View this fight →

Reads it as a mismatch off tape study: Kuse shows a lack of head movement and hesitancy, and relies on physicality rather than technique. Expects Barbosa's aggressive, intent-heavy striking -- coming off the knockout of Dennis Bazooka -- to run through a fighter he does not rate as UFC level. Notes odds had not been posted when he recorded.

“I think he dominates this fight. I can't even see a world where Ryan wins.”

▶ Hear it — 4:43 View this fight →

Dismisses the short-turnaround worry -- Wint won on Tuesday's Contender Series in 34 seconds without absorbing a strike -- and takes the former NFL linebacker on power, speed and composure at heavyweight, with real takedowns behind it. Rates Chatman as a clean, well-trained technical striker with a UFC future, just not at heavyweight and not yet, because he is too hittable.

“This fight was clearly set up for Anthony Wint to get a big win, and Anthony Wint will get a big win.”

▶ Hear it — 7:14 View this fight →

Both hosts independently select Fernando in the dedicated matchup segment.

▶ Hear it — 48:09 View this fight →

Both hosts align on Luque in the dedicated matchup segment.

▶ Hear it — 64:50 View this fight →

Both hosts align on Fernandes; the video explicitly confirms they are on the same side.

▶ Hear it — 98:30 View this fight →

Both hosts select Ribovics in the dedicated matchup segment.

▶ Hear it — 116:52 View this fight →

The hosts explicitly reconfirm that they both picked Abdul-Malik.

▶ Hear it — 135:44 View this fight →

Both hosts align on Dern in the dedicated matchup segment.

▶ Hear it — 158:35 View this fight →

Both hosts align on Makhachev but do not share a single method call.

▶ Hear it — 170:28 View this fight →

Both hosts land on Gamrot, the second explicitly far less confident than the first.

▶ Hear it — 173:07 View this fight →

Takes del Valle on Elkins being too old and slow with a chin compromised by the Erosa loss, but commits to no method.

▶ Hear it — 12:58 View this fight →

Picks Miller on how hard he hits and the size advantage, without committing to a method.

▶ Hear it — 15:08 View this fight →

Makes Thainara the pick as a modest favourite, with no method.

▶ Hear it — 29:49 View this fight →

Backs Johns on pure winner pick, expecting Vazquez to slow the pace and Johns to get the decision.

▶ Hear it — 13:24 View this fight →

Takes the underdog, Montanha.

▶ Hear it — 19:36 View this fight →

Takes Nurgozhay without a method.

▶ Hear it — 16:52 View this fight →

Takes Miranda without a method.

▶ Hear it — 8:31 View this fight →

Takes Oliveira on the view that Miller is too far off the pace.

▶ Hear it — 25:16 View this fight →

Takes Foro without a method.

▶ Hear it — 6:26 View this fight →

Rates Medic faster, more diverse and harder-hitting, and does not expect Rodriguez to land the takedowns that might change it.

▶ Hear it — 40:21 View this fight →

Says he would rather fade Stirling, but takes him anyway on Blachowicz being 43 and coming off a fight he nearly lost in the second round.

▶ Hear it — 38:06 View this fight →

Backs Rakic’s footwork, striking and takedown defence despite a suspect chin, while calling the price risky money on a fighter coming off four straight losses.

▶ Hear it — 35:37 View this fight →

Calls Valentin the more durable man and expects his forward pressure, grinding and takedown mixing to get him on top — while saying he could not bet the fight either way.

▶ Hear it — 33:24 View this fight →

Rates Urbina well short of the level and expects Cepo to crowd him, hedging on whether it ends inside the distance.

▶ Hear it — 31:56 View this fight →

Rates Klein far the better striker with good takedown defence and believes Musayev can be rocked — conditional on Klein being fully recovered from a broken ankle.

▶ Hear it — 24:20 View this fight →

Elliott’s losses come from being taken down and Oliveira does not wrestle, so he expects a striker-versus-striker fight that Oliveira’s volume and pressure win.

▶ Hear it — 21:46 View this fight →

Takes Grad on the striking edge, noting Buzukja is a credentialed wrestler who does not use his wrestling, while saying he would probably not bet it.

▶ Hear it — 20:33 View this fight →

Names Magomed Ankalaev as the full-card pick in this preview.

▶ Hear it — 38:25 View this fight →

Picks Tyrell Fortune as the stronger striker with the wrestling to create his own entries.

▶ Hear it — 32:34 View this fight →

Names Axel Sola as the full-card pick in this preview.

▶ Hear it — 17:32 View this fight →

Names Valter Walker as the full-card pick in this preview.

▶ Hear it — 19:15 View this fight →

Names Magomed Tuchalov as the full-card pick in this preview.

▶ Hear it — 15:28 View this fight →

Names Magomed Zaynukov as the full-card pick in this preview.

▶ Hear it — 28:01 View this fight →

Picks Nurullo Aliev for his controlling wrestling against Mike Davis.

▶ Hear it — 12:20 View this fight →

Names Ramazan Temirov as the full-card pick in this preview.

▶ Hear it — 35:20 View this fight →

Names Sam Patterson as the full-card pick in this preview.

▶ Hear it — 10:51 View this fight →

Names Abubakar Vagaev as the full-card pick in this preview.

▶ Hear it — 25:16 View this fight →

Names Dustin Jacoby as the full-card pick in this preview.

▶ Hear it — 9:07 View this fight →

Names Abdul Hussein as the full-card pick in this preview.

▶ Hear it — 7:08 View this fight →

Takes Hines to survive Harris' wild punches, get the fight to the ground and take over with durability, cardio and wrestling.

▶ Hear it — 11:09 View this fight →

Calls Kline the better striker, wrestler and grappler, and sees no route for the current version of Ricci to control her.

▶ Hear it — 29:57 View this fight →

The We Want Picks hosts split the desk call: Angelo picked Alessandro Costa because of the power and knockout threat, while Jacob picked Cody Durden as a survivor-wrestler who can bank control if he avoids the early damage.

▶ Hear it — 24:28 View this fight →

Both hosts side with Ryan Gandra while acknowledging Reese can become live if he survives the opening minutes. They trust Gandra's pressure and right-hand power against Reese's tall, hittable defensive posture.

• Jacob specifically liked a first-round knockout angle, but the shared desk pick is Gandra to win.

“I'm all over Ryan Gandra.”

▶ Hear it — 32:15 View this fight →

They respect John Garza's clean boxing and short-notice danger, but see Basharat as the safer side because he is unlikely to trade recklessly in the pocket. The grappling and overall MMA layer are framed as too much too soon for Garza.

“He's just miles ahead.”

▶ Hear it — 38:56 View this fight →

They give Damian Pinas real first-round knockout value because of his pressure and power, but the shared pick is Cesar Almeida. The argument is that Almeida is the cleaner, more experienced striker if he survives the early heat and the fight extends.

• They separate the pick from the bet: Pinas round-one KO has value, but Almeida is their winner.

“I'm going Caesar as a pick.”

▶ Hear it — 42:52 View this fight →

They frame the fight as binary: either Cortez controls with wrestling or Wang wins the striking clearly. Both land on Wang because they trust her improving takedown defense and cleaner damage more than Cortez's control-heavy path.

“I do think Kong Wang wins this fight.”

▶ Hear it — 56:50 View this fight →

They have concerns about Luke Riley if Kai Kamaka can force clinches and make rounds ugly, but both still pick Riley. The shared logic is that Riley is the cleaner and faster striker in what should mostly be a striking matchup.

“Luke Riley is the pick.”

▶ Hear it — 62:14 View this fight →

They think Adrian Yanez is faster, cleaner and more technical, while Cody Garbrandt is too reliant on one big counter. The warning is for Yanez to stay patient rather than chase a knockout and create Cody's best counter window.

• Jacob liked Yanez by decision, but the shared desk call is stored winner-only.

“Adrien's the pick.”

▶ Hear it — 69:57 View this fight →

They treat Steveson as the obvious side because of the wrestling base and physical tools, while rejecting the contrarian case against him as overthinking. Ellison is acknowledged as aggressive and hard-hitting, but not enough to offset Steveson's athletic and grappling advantages.

“Gable is going to win this fight.”

▶ Hear it — 78:55 View this fight →

Both pick Robert Whittaker despite some concern about the move to light heavyweight and Krylov's size. They still see Whittaker as the better fighter technically, faster and cleaner on the feet, with enough skill to manage the matchup.

“I'm picking Bobby Knuckles.”

▶ Hear it — 90:42 View this fight →

They pick Lone'er Kavanagh for his speed, clean technical striking and cardio, while noting Brandon Royval's experience and chaos make it dangerous. The argument is that Kavanagh can keep the pace and avoid being dragged into Royval's weird submission-heavy fight.

“He should win this fight.”

▶ Hear it — 118:52 View this fight →

The desk split the rematch: Angelo picked Mario Bautista, citing the improved wrestling and overall game, while Jacob picked Cory Sandhagen by decision because he expects Sandhagen's activity and movement to win the striking minutes.

▶ Hear it — 127:19 View this fight →

Both hosts say they originally understood the Benoit Saint Denis wrestling case, but flipped toward Paddy Pimblett after rewatching recent tape and weighing durability. They still call the grappling dangerous if BSD gets top position, but pick Paddy as the tougher, more damaging side.

• They are explicit that this is a pick, not a confident bet.

“I'm taking Patty.”

▶ Hear it — 139:33 View this fight →

The hosts split rather than giving a desk consensus: Angelo says Conor McGregor has no realistic comeback path and expects Max Holloway to finish him, while Jacob knowingly makes a contrarian McGregor pick after conceding Max is the obvious side and bet.

▶ Hear it — 146:33 View this fight →

Topuria is too fast and hits too hard, and beats Gaethje almost anywhere; only a weather-the-storm grind gives Gaethje a chance. He expects a first-round KO.

▶ Hear it — 24:15 View this fight →

Despite being a vocal Pereira fan, he thinks Gane is too fast, too clean and too big for Pereira to walk down and knock out at heavyweight.

▶ Hear it — 18:58 View this fight →

Sean is the far more accurate striker with more power and controls the range against a Zahabi who doesn't threaten takedowns or move forward.

▶ Hear it — 16:38 View this fight →

Hokit has no quit and relentless forward pressure, while Lewis has shown he'll quit when a finish isn't coming; his most confident pick on the card.

▶ Hear it — 12:54 View this fight →

Chandler will fight to entertain rather than wrestle, and Ruffy's big finishing power will smack him; one of the more confident picks on the card.

▶ Hear it — 9:47 View this fight →

Nickal won't get submitted, should get the takedowns he wants, control where the fight goes and win almost everywhere.

▶ Hear it — 6:41 View this fight →

A tiny lean for Diego: once you factor in his grappling and five-round title-fight experience he's the more dangerous overall.

▶ Hear it — 2:55 View this fight →

Chimaev's wrestling is just too dominant; sees Strickland losing on control time.

▶ Hear it — 43:58 View this fight →

Van keeps it on the feet and defends the takedowns — and to him that's all that matters.

▶ Hear it — 39:37

Backs Cortes-Acosta as the faster, more powerful, higher-motor athlete with a real puncher’s chance.

▶ Hear it — 35:09

Buckley is too dangerous on the feet and stuffs takedowns, like he did against Usman.

▶ Hear it — 31:42

Green is the better striker in a mostly-striking matchup, and can wrestle if he needs to.

▶ Hear it — 28:53

We Want Picks backs Carpenter to grind his way to a win, arguing Ochoa will not be able to take him down and Carpenter has faced tougher opposition.

▶ Hear it — 20:31

We Want Picks makes Sabatini the pick because Gomis can be taken down and lacks the one-punch threat that usually punishes Sabatini.

▶ Hear it — 6:51

We Want Picks picks Gordon by decision, treating his hands and takedown defense as enough while refusing to lay a heavy price against Miller at home.

▶ Hear it — 4:01

We Want Picks chooses Rebecki, framing the fight as Rebecki's violence versus Dawson's control and siding with the pressure fighter.

▶ Hear it — 9:57

We Want Picks makes Amosov the pick because his wrestling can put Alvarez on his back whenever he wants, neutralizing the cleaner striking.

▶ Hear it — 13:57

Acknowledges Ulberg is more technical but trusts Jiri's experience and elite finishing.

▶ Hear it — 41:55 View this fight →

Azamat's power and high-level wrestling; Costa is a question mark moving up to 205.

▶ Hear it — 35:19

No frame of reference for Hokit's level of competition; Blaydes's experience takes over late.

▶ Hear it — 32:08 View this fight →

Went against his instinct to take Walker — Reyes is simply the more technical of the two.

▶ Hear it — 37:34

Landwehr's chin has given out; Swanson is the better fighter in every aspect.

▶ Hear it — 21:35

Old and chinny, but still the better, more technical fighter — picks Izzy to manage range.

▶ Hear it — 48:32 View this fight →

Barber's wrestling and confidence grind out a win — flagged as a low-confidence pick.

▶ Hear it — 44:51

McKinney is the more skilled fighter across the board; a half-unit play.

▶ Hear it — 35:00