The UFC is back in the Middle East this week with history at stake – again – at the top of the card.
UFC 294 takes place Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view at a special time of 2 p.m. ET following prelims 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.
Muin Gafurov vs. Said Nurmagomedov
Records: Gafurov (18-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC), Nurmagomedov (17-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC)
Division: Bantamweight
Betting odds: Nurmagomedov -220, Gafurov +180
Junkie pick results: Nurmagomedov 11, Gafurov 0
Ikram Aliskerov vs. Warlley Alves
Records: Aliskerov (14-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Alves (14-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Betting odds: Aliskerov -470, Alves +360
Junkie pick results: Aliskerov 11, Alves 0
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker
Records: Ankalaev (18-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC), Walker (21-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC)
Division: Light heavyweight
Betting odds: Ankalaev -350, Walker +275
Junkie pick results: Ankalaev 8, Walker 3
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman
Records: Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), Usman (20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC)
Division: Middleweight
Betting odds: Chimaev -250, Usman +200
Junkie pick results: Chimaev 10, Usman 1
Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Records: Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC), Volkanovski (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC)
Division: Lightweight
Betting odds: Makhachev -350, Volkanovski +205
Junkie pick results: Makhachev 8, Volkanovski 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 two unanimous picks on the prelims. Javid Basharat (14-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is an 11-0 pick from our staff members in his bantamweight fight against Victor Henry (23-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC). Basharat is the second biggest betting favorite on the card at 6-1. And fellow unbeaten fighter Victoria Dudakova (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), more than a 5-1 favorite against Jinh Yu Frey (11-9 MMA, 2-5 UFC) at strawweight, is a unanimous pick – though she missed weight Friday.
While not 11-0 shutouts, there were some other blowouts on the prelims. Arguably the most interesting is Abu Azaitar (14-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who is a 10-1 pick over Sedriques Dumas (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at middleweight – even though Dumas is a -245 betting favorite.
Mohammad Yahya (12-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has a 9-2 picks edge over Trevor Peek (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC). Muhammad Mokaev (9-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is an 8-3 pick over Tim Elliott (19-12-1 MMA, 8-10 UFC) in the featured prelim, as is India’s Anshul Jubli (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) over Mike Breeden (10-6 MMA, 0-3 UFC) and Shara Magomedov (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) over Bruno Silva (23-9 MMA, 4-3 UFC).
Check out all the main card picks below.
UFC 294 main card picks
| Makhachev vs. Volkanovski |
Chimaev vs. Usman |
Ankalaev vs. Walker |
Aliskerov vs. Alves |
Gafurov vs. Nurmagomedov |
|
|
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 174-95 |
 Volkanovski (61%) |
 Chimaev (63%) |
 Ankalaev (70%) |
 Aliskerov (87%) |
 Nurmagomedov (93%) |
|
Nolan King @mma_kings 176-98 |
 Makhachev |
Chimaev |
Ankalaev |
Aliskerov |
Nurmagomedov |
|
Simon Samano @SJSamano 175-99 |
Volkanovski |
Chimaev |
Ankalaev |
Aliskerov |
Nurmagomedov |
|
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 173-101  |
Makhachev |
Chimaev |
Ankalaev |
Aliskerov |
Nurmagomedov |
|
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 173-101 |
Makhachev |
Chimaev |
Ankalaev |
Aliskerov |
Nurmagomedov |
|
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 172-102 |
Makhachev |
Chimaev |
Ankalaev |
Aliskerov |
Nurmagomedov |
|
Brian Garcia @thegoze 165-109 |
Makhachev |
Chimaev |
Ankalaev |
Aliskerov |
Nurmagomedov |
|
Matt Erickson @MattE 165-109 |
Volkanovski |
 Usman |
 Walker |
Aliskerov |
Nurmagomedov |
|
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 164-110 |
Makhachev |
Chimaev |
Ankalaev |
Aliskerov |
Nurmagomedov |
|
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 162-112 |
Volkanovski |
Chimaev |
Walker |
Aliskerov |
Nurmagomedov |
|
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 162-112 |
Makhachev |
Chimaev |
Walker |
Aliskerov |
Nurmagomedov |
|
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 155-120 |
Makhachev |
Chimaev |
Ankalaev |
Aliskerov |
Nurmagomedov |
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.
