Picking & Grinning: UFC 200 ‘Tate vs. Nunes’

A whirlwind of chaos, intrigue and disappointment, the most anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship event of 2016 will soon be brought to a boil.

Miesha Tate gets another moment in the sun, as she defends the women’s bantamweight championship against Amanda Nunes in the UFC 200 headliner on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In the co-main event, World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Brock Lesnar and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar returns to the Octagon for the first time in almost five years and takes on 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner Mark Hunt.

The rest of the five-fight main card features an impromptu light heavyweight scrap pairing Daniel Cormier with Anderson Silva, an interim featherweight title tilt pitting Jose Aldo against Frankie Edgar and a heavyweight clash matching onetime champion Cain Velasquez with Travis Browne.

Ahead of UFC 200 “Tate vs. Nunes,” members of the Sherdog.com staff swallowed their pride and put their reputations on the line with bold predictions:

The Lineup

Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes
Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt
Daniel Cormier vs. Anderson Silva
Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo
Cain Velasquez vs. Travis Browne
Cat Zingano vs. Julianna Pena
Johny Hendricks vs. Kelvin Gastelum
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Raphael Assuncao
Sage Northcutt vs. Enrique Marin
Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Lauzon
Gegard Mousasi vs. Thiago Santos
Jim Miller vs. Takanori Gomi

The Picks

Jordan Breen: Tate, Hunt, Cormier, Edgar, Velasquez, Pena, Hendricks, Dillashaw, Northcutt, Sanchez, Mousasi, Miller

Tristen Critchfield: Tate, Hunt, Cormier, Edgar, Velasquez, Zingano, Hendricks, Dillashaw, Northcutt, Sanchez, Mousasi, Miller

Mike Fridley: Nunes, Hunt, Cormier, Edgar, Velasquez, Pena, Gastelum, Assuncao, Northcutt, Lauzon, Mousasi, Miller

Brian Knapp: Nunes, Lesnar, Cormier, Edgar, Velasquez, Pena, Gastelum, Dillashaw, Northcutt, Sanchez, Mousasi, Miller

Mike Sloan: Nunes, Hunt, Cormier, Aldo, Velasquez, Zingano, Hendricks, Dillashaw, Northcutt, Sanchez, Santos, Miller