Picking & Grinning: UFC Fight Night ‘Belfort vs. Gastelum’

Vitor Belfort can probably see the light at the end of the tunnel, and Kelvin Gastelum would like nothing more than to hurry along the process when the two middleweights collide in the UFC Fight Night 106 headliner on Saturday in Fortaleza, Brazil. In the three-round co-main event, Mauricio Rua squares off with Gian Villante at 205 pounds.

The rest of the six-fight main card shines the Ultimate Fighting Championship spotlight on lightweights Edson Barboza and Beneil Dariush, flyweights Jussier da Silva and Ray Borg, women’s bantamweights Bethe Correia and Marion Reneau and welterweights Tim Means and Alex Oliveira (online betting).

Ahead of UFC Fight Night “Belfort vs. Gastelum,” Sherdog.com staff members and contributors swallowed their pride and put their reputations on the line with bold predictions:

THE LINEUP

185: Vitor Belfort vs. Kelvin Gastelum
205: Mauricio Rua vs. Gian Villante
155: Edson Barboza vs. Beneil Dariush
125: Jussier da Silva vs. Ray Borg
135: Bethe Correia vs. Marion Reneau
170: Tim Means vs. Alex Oliveira
155: Francisco Trinaldo vs. Kevin Lee
170: Sergio Moraes vs. Davi Ramos
135: Rani Yahya vs. Joe Soto
155: Michel Prazeres vs. Joshua Burkman
145: Rony Mariano Bezerra vs. Jeremy Kennedy
185: Garreth McLellan vs. Paulo Henrique Costa

THE STANDINGS

Jordan Breen: 50-18
Connor Ruebusch: 46-22
Tristen Critchfield: 45-23
Brian Knapp: 45-23
Todd Martin: 43-25
Mike Fridley: 39-29
Eric Stinton: 39-29
Mike Sloan: 38-30

THE PICKS

Jordan Breen: Gastelum, Rua, Barboza, da Silva, Reneau, Means, Trinaldo, Moraes, Yahya, Burkman, Kennedy, Costa

Connor Ruebusch: Gastelum, Villante, Barboza, da Silva, Correia, Means, Trinaldo, Moraes, Yahya, Prazeres, Bezerra, Costa

Tristen Critchfield: Gastelum, Villante, Barboza, Borg, Correia, Means, Trinaldo, Moraes, Yahya, Prazeres, Kennedy, Costa

Brian Knapp: Gastelum, Rua, Barboza, da Silva, Reneau, Means, Trinaldo, Moraes, Yahya, Prazeres, Kennedy, Costa

Todd Martin: Gastelum, Villante, Barboza, da Silva, Reneau, Means, Lee, Moraes, Soto, Prazeres, Bezerra, Costa

Mike Fridley: Gastelum, Rua, Barboza, Borg, Reneau, Means, Trinaldo, Moraes, Yahya, Prazeres, Bezerra, Costa

Eric Stinton: Gastelum, Rua, Barboza, Borg, Reneau, Means, Trinaldo, Moraes, Soto, Prazeres, Kennedy, Costa

Mike Sloan: Gastelum, Villante, Barboza, da Silva, Correia, Oliveira, Trinaldo, Moraes, Yahya, Prazeres, Kennedy, Costa