This article is part of our UFC Picks series.
An action-packed main event headlines UFC 274 on Saturday, where Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje will throw down with the 155-pound belt on the line. Setting the table for that clash is a women's strawweight championship bout between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza.
As a reminder, the following selections are purely picks. If you're looking for a fantasy-specific breakdown of these fights, check out the MMA Mashup from Chris Olson or our DraftKings preview courtesy of Jon Litterine.
Also, don't forget to tune into Fight IQ live Friday at 8:00 p.m. EST on the RotoWire MMA Youtube Channel, where Chris and Shaun will break down the card from top to bottom, featuring a more in-depth look at the selections below.
| MATCHUP | WEIGHT CLASS | JON | JAKE | CHRIS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (C) Charles Oliveira (-165) vs. Justin Gaethje (+145) | Lightweight | Oliveira | ||
| (C) Rose Namajunas (-195) vs. Carla Esparza (+165) | Women's | |||
| Michael Chandler (-410) vs. Tony Ferguson (+310) | Lightweight | Chandler | Chandler | Chandler |
| Mauricio Rua (+195) vs. Ovince Saint Preux (-240) | Light | Saint Preux | Saint Preux | |
| UFC 274 RECORD | 2-2 | 2-2 | 2-2 | |
| 2022 RECORD | 13-10 | 17-6 | 13-10 | |
| 2022 PERCENTAGE | .565 | .739 | .565 | |
| 2021 RECORD | 35-28 | 42-21 | 37-26 | |
| 2021 PERCENTAGE | .556 | .667 | .586 | |
| 2020 RECORD | 36-18 | 34-20 | 28-26 | |
| 2020 PERCENTAGE | .667 | .630 | .519 | |
| 2019 RECORD | 39-19 | 35-23 | 32-26 | |
| 2019 PERCENTAGE | .672 | .603 | .552 | |
| ALL-TIME | 218-137 | 226-129 | 181-135 | |
| ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE | .614 | .637 | .573 |
MATCHUP | WEIGHT | JOE "SUNTZU" | SHAUN |
|---|---|---|---|
| (C) Charles Oliveira (-165) vs. Justin Gaethje (+145) | Lightweight | Oliveira | Oliveira |
| (C) Rose Namajunas (-195) vs. Carla Esparza (+165) | Women's | Esparza | |
| Michael Chandler (-410) vs. Tony Ferguson (+310) | Lightweight | Chandler | |
| Mauricio Rua (+195) vs. Ovince Saint Preux (-240) | Light | Saint Preux | Saint Preux |
| UFC 274 RECORD | 2-2 | 4-0 | |
| 2022 RECORD | 16-7 | 14-9 | |
| 2022 PERCENTAGE | .696 | .609 | |
| 2021 RECORD | 38-25 | 36-27 | |
| 2021 PERCENTAGE | .603 | .571 | |
| 2020 RECORD | 36-18 | 38-16 | |
| 2020 PERCENTAGE | .667 | .704 | |
| 2019 RECORD | 34-24 | 34-24 | |
| 2019 PERCENTAGE | .586 | .586 | |
| ALL-TIME | 151-93 | 152-92 | |
| ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE | .619 | .623 |
MATCHUP | WEIGHT | COLE | DRAKE |
|---|---|---|---|
| (C) Charles Oliveira (-165) vs. Justin Gaethje (+145) | Lightweight | ||
| (C) Rose Namajunas (-195) vs. Carla Esparza (+165) | Women's | Esparza | |
| Michael Chandler (-410) vs. Tony Ferguson (+310) | Lightweight | Chandler | Chandler |
| Mauricio Rua (+195) vs. Ovince Saint Preux (-240) | Light | Saint Preux | Saint Preux |
| UFC 274 RECORD | 2-2 | 3-1 | |
| 2022 RECORD | 14-9 | 14-9 | |
| 2022 PERCENTAGE | .609 | .609 | |
| 2021 RECORD | 43-21 | 17-14 | |
| 2021 PERCENTAGE | .672 | .548 | |
| 2020 RECORD | N/A | N/A | |
| 2020 PERCENTAGE | N/A | N/A | |
| 2019 RECORD | N/A | N/A | |
| 2019 PERCENTAGE | N/A | N/A | |
| ALL-TIME | 54-28 | 31-23 | |
| ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE | .659 | .574 |
THE PICKERS
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.
Jake Letarski: RotoWire.com Operations Manager, plus MMA and NCAA Hoops Senior Editor. Host on the RotoWire MMA Podcast and guest on the RotoWire Fantasy Football Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @RotoJake.
Chris Olson: Contributor at RotoWire to "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," as well as The MMA Mashup, DFS Baseball, a MMA gambling columnist and fight recaps. Follow him on Twitter at @RealChrisOlson.
Joe "SunTszu": Known more commonly by his Twitter handle @SunTszu, Joe is a Hedge Fund Executive by day and high-volume DFS player by night. He is a 2x "Bracket Challenge" & "Gotham qualifier. You can also find him as one of the original contributors of "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," a DFS-centric video breakdown. He is also a co-creator of the "Creating Alpha in DFS" podcast.
@theDFSniper: @theDFSniper is the host and lead instigator of "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," a DFS-centric video breakdown. He also appears on the LoudMouth MMA podcast and contributes soccer content to DFS Army.
Cole Shelton: Cole Shelton is a full-time sports writer focusing on MMA. His work has appeared on BJPenn.com, CBC Sports, Sports Betting Dime and Blue Jays Nation. He currently pens the MMA Best Bets column on RotoWire. Follow him on Twitter at @ColeShelton91.
Drake Burden: Drake is a proven DFS winner with multiple four-figure paydays under his belt. He took an interest to writing MMA during the pandemic and is active in various Discords and other social media communities. Follow him on Twitter at @DBurdz.
