Picking & Grinning: UFC 206 ‘Holloway vs. Pettis’

The interim Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title hangs in the balance for one man, as Max Holloway faces Anthony Pettis in the UFC 206 main event on Saturday at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Pettis failed to meet the 145-pound threshold for the match, meaning only Holloway can lay claim to the gold.

Meanwhile, Donald Cerrone will take on Matt Brown in a welterweight co-headliner that promises spellbinding violence and much of it. The rest of the five-fight main card features a featherweight clash slotting Cub Swanson opposite Doo Ho Choi, a middleweight affair pitting Tim Kennedy against Kelvin Gastelum and a welterweight confrontation pairing Jordan Mein with Emil Weber Meek.

Ahead of UFC 206 “Holloway vs. Pettis,” members of the Sherdog.com staff swallowed their pride and put their reputations on the line with bold predictions:

THE LINEUP

145: Max Holloway (16-3) vs. Anthony Pettis (19-5)
170: Donald Cerrone (31-7) vs. Matt Brown (20-15)
145: Cub Swanson (23-7) vs. Doo Ho Choi (14-1)
185: Tim Kennedy (18-5) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (12-2)
170: Jordan Mein (29-10) vs. Emil Weber Meek (8-2-1)
205: Nikita Krylov (21-4) vs. Misha Cirkunov (12-2)
155: Olivier Aubin-Mercier (8-2) vs. Drew Dober (17-7)
115: Valerie Letourneau (8-5) vs. Viviane Pereira (11-0)
135: Mitch Gagnon (12-3) vs. Matthew Lopez (8-1)
155: John Makdessi (14-5) vs. Lando Vannata (8-1)
155: Jason Saggo (12-2) vs. Rustam Khabilov (20-3)
125: Zach Makovsky (19-7) vs. Dustin Ortiz (15-6)

STANDINGS

Tristen Critchfield (151-80-4)
Jordan Breen (148-83-4)
Brian Knapp (143-88-4)
Mike Sloan (139-92-4)
Mike Fridley (138-93-4)

THE PICKS

Tristen Critchfield: Holloway, Cerrone, Choi, Kennedy, Mein, Cirkunov, Aubin-Mercier, Letourneau, Lopez, Vannata, Khabilov, Ortiz

Jordan Breen: Holloway, Cerrone, Choi, Kennedy, Meek, Krylov, Aubin-Mercier, Letourneau, Gagnon, Vannata, Khabliov, Makovsky

Brian Knapp: Holloway, Cerrone, Choi, Kennedy, Mein, Cirkunov, Dober, Letourneau, Gagnon, Vannata, Khabilov, Ortiz

Mike Sloan: Holloway, Cerrone, Choi, Gastelum, Meek, Cirkunov, Aubin-Mercier, Pereira, Lopez, Vannata, Khabilov, Makovsky

Mike Fridley: Holloway, Cerrone, Swanson, Kennedy, Mein, Krylov, Aubin-Mercier, Letourneau, Gagnon, Makdessi, Khabilov, Makovsky