RotoWire Expert Picks: UFC 277

UFC 277 picks are in! Check out how the RotoWire team of contributors envisions every fight going down on Saturday's card, which features two title fights.
RotoWire Expert Picks: UFC 277
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Likely the GOAT in women's MMA, Amanda Nunes had a 12-fight winning steak snapped at the hands of Julianna Pena last December. She'll look to regain that belt in Saturday's main event, with the card also featuring a men's flyweight title fight between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France

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 or our DraftKings MMA preview courtesy of Jon Litterine. 

MATCHUP

WEIGHT 

CLASS

JONJAKE
(C) Julianna Pena (+225) vs.
Amanda Nunes (-265)

Women's
Bantamweight
Championship

NunesNunes
Brandon Moreno (-210) vs.
Kai Kara-France (+180)

Interim
Flyweight
Championship

MorenoMoreno
Derrick Lewis (+105) vs.
Sergei Pavlovich (-125)

Heavyweight

PavlovichLewis
Alex Perez (+140) vs.
Alexandre Pantoja (-165)

Flyweight

PantojaPantoja
Anthony Smith (+390) vs.
Magomed Ankalaev (-490)

Light
Heavyweight

AnkalaevAnkalaev
    
UFC 277 RECORD 5-04-1
2022 RECORD 24-1227-9
2022 PERCENTAGE .667.750
2021 RECORD 35-2842-21
2021 PERCENTAGE .556.667
2020 RECORD 36-1834-20
2020 PERCENTAGE .667.630
2019 RECORD 39-1935-23
2019 PERCENTAGE .672.603
ALL-TIME  229-139236-132
ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE .622.641

 

MATCHUP

WEIGHT 
CLASS

JOE

"SUNTZU"

SHAUN 
"TheDFSniper"

(C) Julianna Pena (+225) vs.
Amanda Nunes (-265)

Women's
Bantamweight
Championship

NunesNunes
Brandon Moreno (-210) vs.
Kai Kara-France (+180)

Interim
Flyweight
Championship

MorenoMoreno
Derrick Lewis (+105) vs.
Sergei Pavlovich (-125)

Heavyweight

PavlovichLewis
Alex Perez (+140) vs.
Alexandre Pantoja (-165)

Flyweight

PantojaPerez
Anthony Smith (+390) vs.
Magomed Ankalaev (-490)

Light
Heavyweight

AnkalaevAnkalaev
    
UFC 277 RECORD 5-03-2
2022 RECORD 26-1023-13
2022 PERCENTAGE .722.639
2021 RECORD 38-2536-27
2021 PERCENTAGE .603.571
2020 RECORD 36-1838-16
2020 PERCENTAGE .667.704
2019 RECORD 34-2434-24
2019 PERCENTAGE .586.586
ALL-TIME 161-96161-96
ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE .626.626

 

MATCHUP

WEIGHT 
CLASS

COLE     

DRAKE

(C) Julianna Pena (+225) vs.
Amanda Nunes (-265)

Women's
Bantamweight
Championship

NunesNunes
Brandon Moreno (-210) vs.
Kai Kara-France (+180)

Interim
Flyweight
Championship

MorenoKara-France
Derrick Lewis (+105) vs.
Sergei Pavlovich (-125)

Heavyweight

LewisPavlovich
Alex Perez (+140) vs.
Alexandre Pantoja (-165)

Flyweight

PantojaPantoja
Anthony Smith (+390) vs.
Magomed Ankalaev (-490)

Light
Heavyweight

AnkalaevAnkalaev
    
UFC 277 RECORD 4-14-1
2022 RECORD 24-1225-11
2022 PERCENTAGE .667.694
2021 RECORD 43-2117-14
2021 PERCENTAGE .672.548
2020 RECORD N/AN/A
2020 PERCENTAGE N/AN/A
2019 RECORD N/AN/A
2019 PERCENTAGE N/AN/A
ALL-TIME 64-3142-25
ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE .674.627

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.

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RotoWire Editor for College Basketball and MMA. Frequent podcaster, plus radio and video guest. Follow Jake on Twitter at @RotoJake.
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