UFC Picks: UFC 207

Ring rust is a problem for most fighters, but do the same rules apply to Ronda Rousey? Also, can Dominick Cruz keep his run going? Find out who the RotoWire MMA Staff likes for Friday's UFC 207.

Updated on December 27, 2016 12:15PM EST

By:

Updated on December 27, 2016 12:15PM EST

UFC Picks

Every start/sit, every waiver, every trade. We make the call.

Make no mistake about it -- this rare Friday card is all about the long-anticipated return of Ronda Rousey to the Octagon. Rousey will be fighting for the first time in more than 13 months, and win or lose, you have to hand it to her, as she certainly isn't taking a tune-up fight. Amanda Nunes hits as hard as anyone in the division, and certainly won't be overwhelmed by the moment.

Although this card lost a heavyweight title eliminator bout between Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum, UFC fans will still be treated to an excellent Bantamweight Championship between Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt. There is no shortage of bad blood here, as Garbrandt will come out swinging in search of the early KO, while Cruz will look to rely on the technique that's made him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. See how the RotoWire MMA Staff picks the two aforementioned fights, as well as the rest of the pay-per-view card, below.If you're looking for a fantasy-specific breakdown of these fights on DraftKings, click here for Jon Litterine's UFC 207 preview.

MATCHUP	WEIGHT CLASS	JON	EVAN	JAKE	RICHARD
Amanda Nunes (+120) vs. Ronda Rousey (-140)	Bantamweight	Nunes	~~Rousey~~	Nunes	Nunes
Cody Garbrandt (+180) vs. Dominick Cruz (-210)	Bantamweight	~~Cruz~~	~~Cruz~~	~~Cruz~~	~~Cruz~~
John Lineker (+200) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (-230)	Bantamweight	Dillashaw	Dillashaw	Dillashaw	Dillashaw
Dong Hyun Kim (-140) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (+120)	Welterweight	~~Saffiedine~~	Kim	Kim	Kim
Louis Smolka (+110) vs. Ray Bord (-130)	Welterweight	~~Smolka~~	Borg	~~Smolka~~	Borg
RECORD		2-3	3-2	3-2	4-1
OVERALL (since UFC 200)		30-21	24-27	31-20	14-8

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: New to the RotoWire MMA staff, 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

Strongly disagree with any of our picks? Let us know in the comments!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Evan Dahl

Author @RealEvanDahl

Evan Dahl is a law student who has been a die-hard MMA fan for over a decade. Outside of MMA, he roots for the Broncos, Brewers and Bucks.

Jake Letarski

Author @RotoJake

RotoWire Ops Manager & Senior Editor for College Basketball and MMA. Podcaster, radio and video guest. Follow Jake on X/Twitter at @RotoJake.

Jon Litterine

Author @JonLitterine

Jon Litterine is RotoWire's lead MMA Writer and MMA Editor. He has covered numerous MMA events live. He's also RW's NHL Prospect Analyst. Jon has been writing for RotoWire since 2005. He is a graduate of U Mass-Lowell.

Richard Mann

Author @RichardAMann

Richard is a statistical MMA analyst who regularly appears on ESPN MMA and InterMatWrestle.