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The UFC is back in the APEX this weekend with a card that is, frankly, not much to write home about. Of course there could be some exciting fights here, but it’s hard to get too amped when a lot of the fighters. names involved don’t immediately throw a past highlight or a soundbite into your head.
Even so, we’ve done our staff picks for this event and now it’s time to see what the Bloody Elbow readers think.
The readers petitioned for this piece (all of whom support the site with subscriptions on Substack) think Marvin Vettori is going to win out in his main event with Jared Cannonier. Roughly 75% of them are picking the Italian Dream.
It’s far more decisive in the co-main event. Every single one of the readers is on Arman Tsarukyan to defeat Jaoquim Silva.
You can check out the rest of the readers picks below.
This week we have extra analysis provided by reader Tequila Sunrise, who went 7-3 last week at UFC 289.
Reader picks are an exclusive perk for Substack subscribers. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to the Bloody Elbow Substack. Paid subscriptions on Substack are the best way to support Bloody Elbow and make sure we can keep doing what we’re doing. In addition to making reader picks (which could earn prizes), paid subscribers also receive premium content directly in their email inboxes. That premium content includes editorials by Karim Zidan and Jonathan Snowden and investigative pieces from John S. Nash.
UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Cannonier picks
Marvin Vettori (76.5%) vs. Jared Cannonier (23.5%)
Readers’ pick: Marvin Vettori.
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: Cannonier. They’re both talented but he’s the more consistent of the two.
Arman Tsarukyan (100%) vs. Joaquim Silva (0%)
Readers’ pick: Arman Tsarukyan.
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: Tsarukyan. Silva gets into exchanges he can’t win or gets caught.
Armen Petrosyan (35.3%) vs. Christian Leroy Duncan (64.7%)
Readers’ pick: Christian Leroy Duncan.
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: It’s a coin flip to me but Duncan is on a win streak so I’ll go with him.
Pat Sabatini (58.8%) vs. Lucas Almeida (41.2%)
Readers’ pick: Pat Sabatini.
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: Almeida has only lost once and it was by decision so if his cardio holds and he pours it on he’ll overwhelm Sabatini.
Manuel Torres (82.4%) vs. Nikolas Motta (17.6%)
Readers’ pick: Manuel Torres.
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: I feel like Torres has more upside. No real reason, just a hunch.
Raoni Barcelos (70.6%) vs. Miles Johns (23.5%)
Readers’ pick: Raoni Barcelos.
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: Barcelos feels like he peaked and he’s on the way back down. I don’t get that from Johns.
Nicolas Dalby (23.5%) vs. Muslim Salikhov (76.5%)
Readers’ pick: Muslim Salikhov.
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: Another coin flip to me but I believe Salikhov could hump his way to a decision and would probably prefer to do so to avoid Dalby’s power.
Jimmy Flick (41.2%) vs. Alessandro Costa (58.8%)
Readers’ pick:
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: Let’s just say Costa because he’ll be motivated by having a seven fight win streak snapped his last time out.
Kang Kyung-ho (17.6%) vs. Christian Quinonez (82.4%)
Readers’ pick: Christian Quinonez.
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: Kyung-ho I guess. I don’t have a good reason, we’re in the weeds here.
Carlos Hernandez (47.1%) vs. Denys Bondar (52.9%)
Readers’ pick: Denys Bondar.
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: Hernandez for almost the same reason as Costa.
Who gets a Performance of the Night award?
Readers’ pick: Arman Tsarukyan (47.1%), Marvin Vettori (29.4%).
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: Duncan and Petroysan.
Which fight wins Fight of the Night?
Readers’ pick: Marvin Vettori vs. Jared Cannonier (35.3%)
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: Vettori and Cannonier because they each bring it.
Which fight are you most excited for?
Readers’ pick: Marvin Vettori vs. Jared Cannonier (58.8%)
Tequila Sunrise’s pick: Vettori and Cannonier for the same reason.
Leader board
It’s very very tight at the top with Adam Law now leading Christophe on bonus points. The pack behind those two is pretty tightly bunched, so it will be interesting to see if someone from there can go on a run and challenge that top two. I wonder who will be on top after UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Cannonier.
| Position | Community Member | Correct | Incorrect | Total Picks | % | Week 11 Record | Bonus Points |
| 1 | Adam Law | 82 | 57 | 139 | 0.590 | 6-4 | 6 |
| 2 | Christophe | 82 | 57 | 139 | 0.590 | 5-5 | 4 |
| 3 | Jeremy | 72 | 67 | 139 | 0.518 | 3-7 | 7 |
| 4 | ZeistPriest | 70 | 59 | 129 | 0.543 | 4-6 | 4 |
| 5 | Just Simon | 68 | 71 | 139 | 0.489 | 0-0 | 5 |
| 6 | Luke G | 67 | 60 | 127 | 0.528 | 4-6 | 5 |
| 7 | NickyBonz | 64 | 50 | 114 | 0.561 | 5-5 | 5 |
| 8 | GirlCasual | 63 | 55 | 118 | 0.534 | 0-0 | 5 |
| 9 | BearHands | 60 | 56 | 116 | 0.517 | 7-3 | 5 |
| 10 | Sensei Scott | 53 | 64 | 117 | 0.453 | 4-6 | 3 |
| 11 | Mark S | 45 | 51 | 96 | 0.469 | 0-0 | 5 |
| 12 | DJNi | 43 | 45 | 45 | 0.956 | 3-7 | 4 |
| 13 | Tommy | 42 | 27 | 69 | 0.609 | 6-4 | 2 |
| 14 | Kaan | 36 | 43 | 79 | 0.456 | 7-3 | 2 |
| 15 | mklip2001 | 31 | 31 | 62 | 0.500 | 0-0 | 6 |
| 16 | Arran D | 30 | 18 | 48 | 0.625 | 7-3 | 5 |
| 17 | Fishtown Simon | 30 | 20 | 50 | 0.600 | 0-0 | 3 |
| 18 | Benjamin Thornton | 29 | 35 | 64 | 0.453 | 0-0 | 1 |
| 19 | Khabib “The Seagull” Nurmagomedov | 24 | 13 | 37 | 0.649 | 0-0 | 3 |
| 20 | Keyon Talieh | 23 | 27 | 50 | 0.460 | 0-0 | 2 |