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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matt Erickson

UFC Fight Night 209 predictions: Gane or Tuivasa, Whittaker or Vettori at historic Paris event?

Gane
vs.
Tuivasa
Vettori
vs.
Whittaker
Di Chirico
vs.
Kopylov
Haqparast
vs.
Makdessi
Errens
vs.
Gomis
Jourdain
vs.
Wood
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
140-89

Gane
(52%)

Whittaker
(82%)

Kopylov
(58%)

Haqparast
(70%)

Gomis
(79%)

Jourdain
(58%)
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
156-78
2018 Champion

Gane

Whittaker

Di Chirico

Haqparast

Errens

Jourdain
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
150-84

Gane

Whittaker

Di Chirico

Haqparast

Errens

Wood
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
148-86
2014 Champion

Gane

Whittaker

Di Chirico

Haqparast

Gomis

Jourdain
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
145-89

Gane

Whittaker

Di Chirico

Haqparast

Gomis

Jourdain
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
143-91

Gane

Whittaker

Di Chirico

Haqparast

Errens

Wood
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
141-93

Gane

Whittaker

Kopylov

Haqparast

Gomis

Wood
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
141-93

Gane

Whittaker

Kopylov

Haqparast

Gomis

Wood
Nolan King
@mma_kings
138-96

Gane

Whittaker

Di Chirico

Haqparast

Gomis

Jourdain
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
137-97
2017 Champion

Gane

Vettori

Di Chirico

Makdessi

Gomis

Wood
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
127-107

Tuivasa

Vettori

Di Chirico

Makdessi

Gomis

Wood
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
113-121

Gane

Whittaker

Di Chirico

Makdessi

Errens

Wood

The UFC has touched down in France this week for the first time, and heavyweight and middleweight title contenders are atop the card.

UFC Fight Night 209 takes place Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the heavyweight main event, Paris’ own Ciryl Gane (10-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC), a former interim champion, takes on the streaking Tai Tuivasa (15-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC), who has won five straight by knockout. Despite Tuivasa’s great run of late, Gane is a huge -650 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Tuivasa is +420. All but one of our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are taking Gane to get back on track after his loss to champ Francis Ngannou in January. (Despite that, our readers’ picks have the fight as the most contentious.)

The co-main event features the return of former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker (23-6 MMA, 14-4 UFC) after a loss to champ Israel Adesanya. He’ll take on recent title challenger Marvin Vettori (18-4-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC). Whittaker is a -230 favorite at the betting window and has a big 9-2 picks lead.

Also on the main card, Alessio Di Chirico (13-6 MMA, 4-6 UFC) meets Roman Kopylov (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in a middleweight bout. The fight nearly is a pick’em at Tipico, but our staff members have Di Chirico with a hefty 9-2 lead in the picks.

Nasrat Haqparast (13-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) takes on John Makdessi (18-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) in a lightweight bout that is one of those pre-ordained Fight of the Night-type matchups. Haqparast is a -240 favorite and has a big 8-3 edge from our pickers.

UFC newcomers Jarno Errens (13-3-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and William Gomis (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) meet in a featherweight bout that has Gomis as a -230 favorite. He doesn’t have a blowout in the picks, but still has a 7-4 nod from our staff members.

And to open the main card, Charles Jourdain (13-5-1 MMA, 4-4-1 UFC) takes on Nathaniel Wood (18-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at featherweight in Wood’s second fight in the weight class. Jourdain is a -155 favorite, but our staff pickers have Wood bucking the odds with a 7-4 lead.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Gane (52 percent), Whittaker (82 percent), Kopylov (58 percent), Haqparast (70 percent), Gomis (79 percent) and Jourdain (58 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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