The UFC is back in Las Vegas this week with a special event for Mexican Independence Day, and the women’s flyweight title is on the line.
Noche UFC takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
Get pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below.
Kyle Nelson vs. Fernando Padilla
Records: Nelson (14-5-1 MMA, 2-4-1 UFC), Padilla (15-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Division: Featherweight
Betting odds: Padilla (-250), Nelson (+205)
Junkie pick results: Padilla 11, Nelson 0
Christos Giagos vs. Daniel Zellhuber
Records: Giagos (20-10 MMA, 6-6 UFC), Zellhuber (13-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Betting odds: Zellhuber (-290), Giagos (+235)
Junkie pick results: Zellhuber 9, Giagos 2
Terrence Mitchell vs. Raul Rosas Jr.
Records: Mitchell (14-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC), Rosas (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC)
Division: Bantamweight
Betting odds: Rosas (-750), Mitchell (+525)
Junkie pick results: Rosas 11, Mitchell 0
Jack Della Maddalena vs. Kevin Holland
Records: Maddalena (15-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), Holland (25-9 MMA, 12-6 UFC)
Division: Welterweight
Betting odds: Maddalena (-150), Holland (+125)
Junkie pick results: Maddalena 7, Holland 4
Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Records: Grasso (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), Shevchenko (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC)
Division: Women’s flyweight
Betting odds: Shevchenko (-175), Grasso (+145)
Junkie pick results: Shevchenko 8, Grasso 3
Preliminary card picks
Although fights on the prelims don’t count toward the standings in the MMA Junkie staff picks, we still pick each fight. Here are some key results:
There are three unanimous picks and three blowouts in our picks on the prelims. Loopy Godinez (10-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) pitched a shutout in the picks for her strawweight bout against Elise Reed (7-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC). Roman Kopylov (11-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC), a 3-1 favorite, is an 11-0 pick against Josh Fremd (11-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC). And in a fight between promotional newcomers, Josefine Knutsson (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is a unanimous pick against Marnic Mann (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) to open the card.
Edgar Chairez (10-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has a 9-2 picks lead over Daniel Lacerda (11-5 MMA, 0-4 UFC) at flyweight. Tracy Cortez (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is just a slight favorite, but is a 10-1 pick over Jasmine Jasudavicius (9-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC). And 4-1 favorite Charlie Campbell (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has a 9-2 picks advantage over Alex Reyes (13-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at lightweight.
Check out all the main card picks below.
Noche UFC main card picks
| Grasso vs. Shevchenko |
Della Maddalena vs. Holland |
Mitchell vs. Rosas Jr. |
Giagos vs. Zellhuber |
Nelson vs. Padilla |
|
|
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 157-90 |
 Shevchenko (63%) |
 Holland (60%) |
 Rosas Jr. (73%) |
 Zellhuber (75%) |
 Padilla (73%) |
|
Nolan King @mma_kings 158-89 |
Shevchenko |
Holland |
Rosas Jr. |
Zellhuber |
Padilla |
|
Simon Samano @SJSamano 156-91 |
 Grasso |
 Della Maddalena |
Rosas Jr. |
Zellhuber |
Padilla |
|
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 155-92  |
Shevchenko |
Della Maddalena |
Rosas Jr. |
Zellhuber |
Padilla |
|
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 154-93 |
Shevchenko |
Holland |
Rosas Jr. |
Zellhuber |
Padilla |
|
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 154-93 |
Shevchenko |
Della Maddalena |
Rosas Jr. |
 Giagos |
Padilla |
|
Matt Erickson @MattE 152-95 |
Grasso |
Della Maddalena |
Rosas Jr. |
Zellhuber |
Padilla |
|
Brian Garcia @thegoze 149-98 |
Shevchenko |
Holland |
Rosas Jr. |
Zellhuber |
Padilla |
|
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 148-99 |
Shevchenko |
Della Maddalena |
Rosas Jr. |
Giagos |
Padilla |
|
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 147-100 |
Shevchenko |
Della Maddalena |
Rosas Jr. |
Zellhuber |
Padilla |
|
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 145-102 |
Shevchenko |
Della Maddalena |
Rosas Jr. |
Zellhuber |
Padilla |
|
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 138-109 |
Grasso |
Holland |
Rosas Jr. |
Zellhuber |
Padilla |
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
