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

UFC Fight Night 221 predictions: Petr Yan or Merab Dvalishvili in heated rivalry?

Yan
vs.
Dvalishvili
Romanov
vs.
Volkov
Krylov
vs.
Spann
Lingo
vs.
Ramos
Martinez
vs.
Nurmagomedov
Petrino
vs.
Turkalj
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
23-14

Yan
(56%)

Romanov
(53%)

Spann
(59%)

Ramos
(75%)

Nurmagomedov
(84%)

Petrino
(71%)
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
27-13

Yan

Romanov

Krylov

Ramos

Nurmagomedov

Petrino
Nolan King
@mma_kings
26-14/em>

Yan

Volkov

Spann

Ramos

Nurmagomedov

Petrino
Matt Erickson
@MattE
26-14

Dvalishvili

Romanov

Spann

Ramos

Nurmagomedov

Petrino
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
26-14

Dvalishvili

Romanov

Spann

Lingo

Nurmagomedov

Petrino
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
25-15
2018, 2022 Champion

Yan

Romanov

Spann

Lingo

Nurmagomedov

Petrino
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
24-16

Yan

Romanov

Spann

Ramos

Nurmagomedov

Petrino
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
24-16

Yan

Volkov

Krylov

Ramos

Nurmagomedov

Petrino
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
24-16

Dvalishvili

Volkov

Krylov

Ramos

Nurmagomedov

Petrino
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
23-17
2014 Champion

Dvalishvili

Romanov

Spann

Ramos

Nurmagomedov

Petrino
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
22-18
2017 Champion

Yan

Romanov

Krylov

Ramos

Nurmagomedov

Petrino
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
22-18

Dvalishvili

Romanov

Spann

Lingo

Nurmagomedov

Petrino

The UFC stays in Las Vegas this week with a heated bantamweight rivalry atop the card.

UFC Fight Night 221 takes place Saturday at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

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

In the main event, former bantamweight champion Petr Yan (16-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on Merab Dvalishvili (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC). Yan is a -260 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Dvalishvili is +210. But it’s not a blowout. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have Yan ahead by the smallest possible margin at 6-5.

In the co-feature, Alexandr Romanov (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) meets Alexander Volkov (35-10 MMA, 9-4 UFC) at heavyweight. Romanov is a slight favorite at -150, but he has a big 8-3 lead in the picks.

Also on the main card, Nikita Krylov (29-9 MMA, 10-7 UFC) takes on Ryan Spann (21-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in a fight rescheduled from two weeks ago when Krylov fell ill on fight day at UFC Fight Night 220. Krylov and Spann were set to headline that card. Krylov is a -170 favorite in the light heavyweight rebooted bout, but it’s Spann with a 7-4 picks lead.

Austin Lingo (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Ricardo Ramos (16-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) are set to tangle at featherweight. Ramos is the biggest favorite on the main card at -370 and he has a big 8-3 lead from our staff members.

Said Nurmagomedov (17-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) is a -270 favorite against Jonathan Martinez (17-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) at bantamweight and is one of our two 11-0 unanimous picks on the main card.

And to open the main card, Vitor Petrino (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Anton Turkalj (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) have pick’em odds in their light heavyweight matchup. Despite that, Petrino is our second unanimous pick.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Yan (56 percent), Romanov (53 percent), Spann (59 percent), Ramos (75 percent), Nurmagomedov (84 percent) and Petrino 71 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 221.

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