The UFC is back in Brazil this week with a pair of heavyweight bangers at the top of the bill.
UFC Fight Night 231 takes place Saturday at Ginasio Do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo. 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.
Armen Petrosyan vs. Rodolfo Vieira
Records: Petrosyan (8-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC), Vieira (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Betting odds: Petrosyan (-110), Vieira (-110)
Junkie pick results: Petrosyan 9, Vieira 2
Caio Borralho vs. Abus Magomedov
Records: Borralho (14-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), Magomedov (25-5-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Betting odds: Borralho (-290), Magomedov (+240)
Junkie pick results: Borralho 10, Magomedov 1
Don'Tale Mayes vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
Records: Mayes (10-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC), Nascimento (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC)
Division: Heavyweight
Betting odds: Nascimento (-205), Mayes (+170)
Junkie pick results: Nascimento 11, Mayes 0
Gabriel Bonfim vs. Nicolas Dalby
Records: Bonfim (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), Dalby (22-4-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC)
Division: Welterweight
Betting odds: Bonfim (-625),s. Nicolas Dalby (+455)
Junkie pick results: Bonfim 11, Dalby 0
Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis
Records: Almeida (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), Lewis (27-11 MMA, 18-9 UFC)
Division: Heavyweight
Betting odds: Almeida (-485), Lewis (+370)
Junkie pick results: Almeida 10, Lewis 1
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:
Of note, though it was set to open up the main card and not part of the prelims, Ismael Bonfim (19-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was a 10-1 pick from our staff members for his lightweight fight against Vinc Pichel (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC). Bonfim was a heavy favorite in the fight, but the bout was scrapped after he missed weight by 3.5 pounds.
Daniel Marcos (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was a 9-2 pick from our crew for his bantamweight fight against UFC newcomer Victor Hugo (24-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC), but Hugo missed weight by 2.5 pounds and that fight was scrapped, as well.
Our lone unanimous pick on the prelims is Rinat Fakhretdinov (22-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC), more than a 3-1 favorite for his welterweight fight against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (24-7 MMA, 10-3 UFC).
Check out all the main card picks below.
UFC Fight Night 231 main card picks
Almeida vs. Lewis |
G. Bonfim vs. Dalby |
Mayes vs. Nascimento |
Borralho vs. Magomedov |
Petrosyan vs. Vieira |
|
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 179-99 |
Almeida (67%) |
G. Bonfim (84%) |
Nascimento (79%) |
Borralho (79%) |
Petrosyan (63%) |
Nolan King @mma_kings 180-98 |
Almeida |
G. Bonfim |
Nascimento |
Borralho |
Petrosyan |
Simon Samano @SJSamano 178-100 |
Almeida |
G. Bonfim |
Nascimento |
Magomedov |
Petrosyan |
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 177-101 2018, 2022 Champion |
Lewis |
G. Bonfim |
Nascimento |
Borralho |
Vieira |
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 177-101 |
Almeida |
G. Bonfim |
Nascimento |
Borralho |
Vieira |
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 176-102 2014 Champion |
Almeida |
G. Bonfim |
Nascimento |
Borralho |
Petrosyan |
Brian Garcia @thegoze 169-109 2017 Champion |
Almeida |
G. Bonfim |
Nascimento |
Borralho |
Petrosyan |
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 168-110 |
Almeida |
G. Bonfim |
Nascimento |
Borralho |
Petrosyan |
Matt Erickson @MattE 167-111 |
Almeida |
G. Bonfim |
Nascimento |
Borralho |
Petrosyan |
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 166-112 |
Almeida |
G. Bonfim |
Nascimento |
Borralho |
Petrosyan |
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 165-113 |
Almeida |
G. Bonfim |
Nascimento |
Borralho |
Petrosyan |
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 159-120 |
Almeida |
G. Bonfim |
Nascimento |
Borralho |
Petrosyan |
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.