RotoWire Staff Picks: UFC 258

RotoWire Staff Picks: UFC 258

This article is part of our UFC Picks series.

The UFC is lined up for a record number of title fights to go down in the first quarter of 2021, starting with a welterweight championship clash between a pair of fighters and former teammates riding a combined 22-fight winning streak.

As a reminder, the following selections are purely picks. If you're looking for a fantasy-specific breakdown of these fights, we have you covered across the board with the following columns:

Multi-Site Preview: https://www.rotowire.com/mma/article.php?id=55266
DraftKings Preview: https://www.rotowire.com/mma/article.php?id=55244 
Fanduel Preview: https://www.rotowire.com/mma/article.php?id=55270

Also, don't forget to tune into Fight IQ live Friday at 8:00 p.m. EST on the RotoWire Youtube Channel, where Chris, Joe and Shaun will break down the card from top to bottom, featuring a more in-depth look at the selections below.
 

MATCHUP

WEIGHT 

CLASS

JONJAKECHRIS
Kamaru Usman (-280) vs.
Gilbert Burns (+240)

Welterweight
Championship

 UsmanUsman Usman
Maycee Barber (+125) vs.
Alexa Grasso (-145)

Women's

Flyweight

BarberGrasso Barber
Kelvin Gastelum (-210) vs.
Ian Heinisch (+175)

Middleweight

GastelumGastelum Gastelum
Maki Pitolo (+150) vs.
Julian Marquez (-170)

Middleweight

MarquezMarquez Marquez
     
UFC 258 RECORD 3-14-03-1
2021 RECORD 4-46-23-5
2021 PERCENTAGE .500.750.375
2020 RECORD 36-1834-2028-26
2020 PERCENTAGE .667.630.519
2019 RECORD 39-1935-2332-26
2019 PERCENTAGE .672.603.552
ALL-TIME  174-103173-104 139-105
ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE .628.625.570

 

MATCHUP

WEIGHT 
CLASS

JOE

"SUNTZU"

SHAUN 
"TheDFSniper"

Kamaru Usman (-280) vs.
Gilbert Burns (+240)

Welterweight
Championship

 Usman Usman
Maycee Barber (+125) vs.
Alexa Grasso (-145)

Women's

Flyweight

GrassoGrasso
Kelvin Gastelum (-210) vs.
Ian Heinisch (+175)

Middleweight

GastelumGastelum
Maki Pitolo (+150) vs.
Julian Marquez (-170)

Middleweight

MarquezPitolo
    
UFC 258 RECORD 4-03-1
2021 RECORD 5-34-4
2021 PERCENTAGE .625.500
2020 RECORD 36-1838-16
2020 PERCENTAGE .667.704
2019 RECORD 34-2434-24
2019 PERCENTAGE .586.586
ALL-TIME 102-64106-60
ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE .614.639

 

MATCHUP

WEIGHT 
CLASS

     COLE     

        AJ             

Kamaru Usman (-280) vs.
Gilbert Burns (+240)

Welterweight
Championship

 UsmanUsman
Maycee Barber (+125) vs.
Alexa Grasso (-145)

Women's

Flyweight

BarberGrasso
Kelvin Gastelum (-210) vs.
Ian Heinisch (+175)

Middleweight

HeinischGastelum
Maki Pitolo (+150) vs.
Julian Marquez (-170)

Middleweight

MarquezPitolo
    
UFC 258 RECORD 2-23-1
2021 RECORD 2-23-1
2021 PERCENTAGE .500.750
ALL-TIME 2-23-1
ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE .500.750

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 of 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.

AJ Schullo: AJ is a long-time sports bettor and DFS player, who placed in the top 50 at the DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship in 2019 and qualified for the 2018 MMA Knockout King. He currently pens the FanDuel MMA column for RotoWire. Follow him on Twitter at @AJMMABetting.

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