Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight titleholder Amanda Nunes will likely soon know the identity of her next challenger.
Ahead of UFC on Fox 23 “Shevchenko vs. Pena,” Sherdog.com staff members and contributors swallowed their pride and put their reputations on the line with bold predictions:
THE LINEUP
135: Valentina Shevchenko (13-2) vs. Julianna Pena (8-2)170: Donald Cerrone (32-7) vs. Jorge Masvidal (31-11)
265: Francis Ngannou (9-1) vs. Andrei Arlovski (25-13)
145: Alex Caceres (12-9) vs. Jason Knight (15-2)
185: Sam Alvey (29-8) vs. Nate Marquardt (35-16-2)
135: Raphael Assuncao (23-5) vs. Aljamain Sterling (12-1)
170: Bobby Nash (8-1) vs. Jingliang Li (11-4)
205: Luis Henrique da Silva (12-1) vs. Jordan Johnson (6-0)
185: Eric Spicely (9-1) vs. Alessio Di Chirico (10-1)
205: Marcos Rogerio de Lima (14-4-1) vs. Jeremy Kimball (14-5)
125: Alexandre Pantoja (16-2) vs. Eric Shelton (10-2)
155: Jason Gonzalez (10-3) vs. J.C. Cottrell (17-4)
2017 STANDINGS
Tristen Critchfield: 10-2Jordan Breen: 9-3
Connor Ruebusch: 9-3
Brian Knapp: 8-4
Mike Sloan: 7-5
Todd Martin: 6-6
Eric Stinton: 6-6
Mike Fridley: 5-7
THE PICKS
Tristen Critchfield: Shevchenko, Cerrone, Ngannou, Knight, Marquardt, Sterling, Li, Johnson, Di Chirico, Kimball, Pantoja, GonzalezJordan Breen: Shevchenko, Cerrone, Ngannou, Knight, Alvey, Assuncao, Li, Johnson, Spicely, Kimball, Pantoja, Gonzalez
Connor Ruebusch: Shevchenko, Cerrone, Ngannou, Knight, Alvey, Assuncao, Li, Johnson, Di Chirico, Kimball, Pantoja, Gonzalez
Brian Knapp: Shevchenko, Cerrone, Ngannou, Knight, Alvey, Assuncao, Li, Johnson, Di Chirico, Kimball, Pantoja, Gonzalez
Mike Sloan: Shevchenko, Cerrone, Ngannou, Knight, Alvey, Sterling, Nash, Silva, Spicely, Lima, Pantoja, Cottrell
Todd Martin: Pena, Cerrone, Ngannou, Knight, Alvey, Sterling, Li, Johnson, Di Chirico, Lima, Pantoja, Cottrell
Eric Stinton: Pena, Cerrone, Ngannou, Knight, Alvey, Sterling, Nash, Silva, Spicely, Lima, Pantoja, Gonzalez
Mike Fridley: Pena, Cerrone, Ngannou, Knight, Alvey, Sterling, Li, Silva, Spicely, Lima, Pantoja, Cottrell