The UFC is back in Southern California, and the featherweight title is on the line at the top of the bill.
UFC 298 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim for what is expected to be the first of three shows at the venue this year in a newly announced five-year deal with the arena.
(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.
Anthony Hernandez vs. Roman Kopylov
Records: Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), Kopylov (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC)
Past five: Hernandez 4-1, Kopylov 4-1
Division: Middleweight
Rankings: None
Odds (as of 02.16.24): Hernandez -245, Kopylov +200
Junkie pick results: Hernandez 7, Kopylov 4
Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili
Records: Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC), Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC)
Past five: Cejudo 4-1, Dvalishvili 5-0
Division: Bantamweight
Rankings: Dvalishvili No. 2, Cejudo No. 9
Odds (as of 02.16.24): Dvalishvili -240, Cejudo +195
Junkie pick results: Dvalishvili 7, Cejudo 4
Ian Machado Garry vs. Geoff Neal
Records: Garry (13-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), Neal (15-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC)
Past five: Garry 5-0, Neal 2-3
Division: Welterweight
Rankings: Neal No. 11, Garry No. 13
Odds (as of 02.16.24): Garry -230, Neal +190
Junkie pick results: Garry 7, Neal 4
Paulo Costa vs. Robert Whittaker
Records: Costa (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), Whittaker (24-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC)
Past five: Costa 3-2, Whittaker 3-2
Division: Middleweight
Rankings: Whittaker No. 5, Costa No. 11
Odds (as of 02.16.24): Whittaker -240, Costa +195
Junkie pick results: Whittaker 9, Costa 2
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria
Records: Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC), Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC)
Past five: Volkanovski 3-2, Topuria 5-0
Division: Featherweight
Rankings: Volkanovski No. 1, No. 3 pound-for-pound; Topuria No. 4
Odds (as of 02.16.24): Volkanovski -125, Topuria +105
Junkie pick results: Volkanovski 7, Topuria 4
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:
The featured prelim between Mackenzie Dern (13-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and Amanda Lemos (13-3-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is a close one at women’s strawweight. Lemos is just a -135 favorite, and she’s got the smallest possible picks lead at 6-5.
There are two unanimous picks on the prelims. The biggest favorite on the card, and one of the biggest UFC favorites in history at this number, is Rinya Nakamura (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who is around -1400 at the betting window against Carlos Vera (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC). Not surprisingly, Nakamura is an 11-0 pick from our staff members. And so is Miranda Maverick (12-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in her event-opening women’s flyweight bout against Andrea Lee (13-8 MMA, 5-6 UFC).
Check out all the main card picks below.
UFC 298 main card picks
| Volkanovski vs. Topuria |
Costa vs. Whittaker |
Garry vs. Neal |
Cejudo vs. Dvalishvili |
Hernandez vs. Kopylov |
|
|
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 11-10 |
 Volkanovski (73%) |
 Whittaker (79%) |
 Garry (65%) |
 Dvalishvili (69%) |
 Kopylov (65%) |
|
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 14-7 |
Volkanovski |
Whittaker |
Garry |
Dvalishvili |
Kopylov |
|
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 14-7  |
Volkanovski |
Whittaker |
Garry |
Dvalishvili |
 Hernandez |
|
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 14-7 |
Volkanovski |
Whittaker |
Garry |
 Cejudo |
Hernandez |
|
Nolan King @mma_kings 13-8 |
Volkanovski |
Whittaker |
 Neal |
Dvalishvili |
Hernandez |
|
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 13-8 |
 Topuria |
Whittaker |
Garry |
Cejudo |
Kopylov |
|
Brian Garcia @thegoze 12-9 |
Volkanovski |
Whittaker |
Garry |
Cejudo |
Hernandez |
|
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 12-9 |
Topuria |
Whittaker |
Neal |
Dvalishvili |
Kopylov |
|
Ken Hathaway @1khathaway 12-9 |
Volkanovski |
 Costa |
Garry |
Dvalishvili |
Hernandez |
|
Simon Samano @SJSamano 11-10 |
Topuria |
Whittaker |
Garry |
Dvalishvili |
Hernandez |
|
Matt Erickson @MattE 11-10 |
Topuria |
Costa |
Neal |
Dvalishvili |
Kopylov |
|
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 8-13 |
Volkanovski |
Whittaker |
Neal |
Cejudo |
Hernandez |
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
