This article is part of our UFC Picks series.
International Fight Week 2017 features two titles on the line. UFC fans will be treated to reigning bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes making her second title defense and first appearance in the Octagon since effectively ending the career of Ronda Rousey. Preceding that fight will be an interim middleweight title matchup between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker, with the winner getting a chance to unify that belt against Michael Bisping after the champion returns from a knee injury. Fight aficionados will also be treated to the rare Friday night card, where UFC newcomer and former WSOF Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje will take on one of the toughest fighters in the division in Michael Johnson -- a matchup sure to be a slugfest. Before placing your bets or setting fantasy lineups, see how the RotoWire MMA Staff anticipates the main fights of the weekend playing out.If you're looking for a fantasy-specific breakdown of these fights on DraftKings, click here for Jon Litterine's UFC 213 preview.
Note: Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Schevchenko was cancelled due to a withdrawal from Nunes (sinus issue). As a result, the fight will not be counted in the Staff Picks Records.
| MATCHUP | WEIGHT CLASS | JON | EVAN | JAKE |
| Yoel Romero (+110) vs. Robert Whittaker (-130) | Middleweight | Whittaker | ||
| Daniel Omielanczuk (+550) vs. Curtis Blaydes (-800) | Heavyweight | Blaydes | Blaydes | Blaydes |
| Fabricio Werdum (+105) vs. Alistair Overeem (-125) | Heavyweight | Overeem | ||
| Anthony Pettis (-240) vs. Jim Miller (+200) | Lightweight | Pettis | Pettis | |
| Travis Browne (-220) vs. Aleksei Oleinik (+180) | Heavyweight | Oleinik | ||
| Michael Johnson (-165) vs. Justin Gaethje (+135) | TUF Lightweight | Gaethje | ||
| RECORD | 4-2 | 2-4 | 3-3 | |
| OVERALL (since UFC 200) | 43-32 | 39-36 | 45-30 | |
| PERCENTAGE | .573 | .520 | .600 |
| MATCHUP | WEIGHT CLASS | RICHARD | CHRIS | JASON |
| Yoel Romero (+110) vs. Robert Whittaker (-130) | Middleweight | |||
| Daniel Omielanczuk (+550) vs. Curtis Blaydes (-800) | Heavyweight | Blaydes | Blaydes | Blaydes |
| Fabricio Werdum (+105) vs. Alistair Overeem (-125) | Heavyweight | Overeem | ||
| Anthony Pettis (-240) vs. Jim Miller (+200) | Lightweight | Pettis | Pettis | Pettis |
| Travis Browne (-220) vs. Aleksei Oleinik (+180) | Heavyweight | Oleinik | ||
| Michael Johnson (-165) vs. Justin Gaethje (+135) | TUF Lightweight | |||
| RECORD | 2-4 | 4-2 | 2-4 | |
| OVERALL (since UFC 200) | 29-17 | 9-6 | 7-8 | |
| PERCENTAGE | .630 | .600 | .467 |
THE PLAYERS
Jon Litterine: RotoWire lead MMA beat writer and scribe for our weekly DrafKings preview. Lead analyst on the RotoWire MMA Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @JonLitterine.
Evan Dahl: Pens our bi-weekly MMA Barometer column. Follow him on Twitter at @RealEvanDahl.
Jake Letarski: MMA and NCAA Hoops Senior Editor. Sirius XM contributor. Host of the RotoWire MMA Podcast, RotoWire Fantasy Football Podcast and RotoWire DFS Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @JakeSki52.
Richard Mann: Richard is a stats-based analyst that has appeared on ESPN MMA via Fightmetric. He handles event recaps in our Fight Stat Wrap column, and maintains his own, data-driven MMA blog at StrikescoreMMA.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichardAMann.
Chris Olson: Contributor at RotoWire for DFS Baseball, as well as MMA fight recaps. Follow him on Twitter at @RealChrisOlson.
Jason Rubin: Host of TYT Sports on YouTube and writer of our Handicapping The NBA column on RotoWire. Follow him on Twitter at @jasonrubin91.
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