Picking & Grinning: UFC 214 ‘Cormier vs. Jones 2’

Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones will bring their rivalry to a boil once more on Saturday, when they battle over the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight crown in the UFC 214 main event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. They first met in January 2015 at UFC 182, where Jones took a unanimous decision and handed Cormier his only professional defeat. Their dislike for one another has only grown since.

UFC 214 features two other title bouts, as welterweight champion Tyron Woodley collides with Demian Maia and Cristiane Justino faces Tonya Evinger for the vacant women’s featherweight belt. High-stakes showdowns at welterweight and light heavyweight round out the five-fight main draw, as Robbie Lawler locks horns with Donald Cerrone and Jimi Manuwa zeroes in on Volkan Oezdemir.

Ahead of UFC 214 “Cormier vs. Jones 2,” Sherdog.com staff members and contributors swallowed their pride and put their reputations on the line with bold predictions:

THE LINEUP

205: Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones
170: Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia
145: Cristiane Justino vs. Tonya Evinger
170: Robbie Lawler vs. Donald Cerrone
205: Jimi Manuwa vs. Volkan Oezdemir
145: Ricardo Lamas vs. Jason Knight
140: Aljamain Sterling vs. Renan Barao
145: Brian Ortega vs. Renato Carneiro
145: Andre Fili vs. Calvin Kattar
115: Kailin Curran vs. Aleksandra Albu
125: Eric Shelton vs. Jarred Brooks
155: Joshua Burkman vs. Drew Dober

THE STANDINGS

Jordan Breen: 171-76
Tristen Critchfield: 166-81
Brian Knapp: 162-85
Todd Martin: 155-92
Mike Fridley: 152-95
Mike Sloan: 148-99
Eric Stinton: 146-101

THE PICKS

Jordan Breen: Jones, Woodley, Justino, Lawler, Manuwa, Lamas, Barao, Carneiro, Fili, Albu, Shelton, Dober

Tristen Critchfield: Jones, Woodley, Justino, Lawler, Manuwa, Knight, Sterling, Carneiro, Fili, Albu, Brooks, Dober

Brian Knapp: Jones, Woodley, Justino, Lawler, Manuwa, Lamas, Barao, Carneiro, Kattar, Albu, Brooks, Dober

Todd Martin: Jones, Woodley, Justino, Lawler, Manuwa, Knight, Sterling, Ortega, Fili, Albu, Brooks, Dober

Mike Fridley: Jones, Woodley, Justino, Cerrone, Manuwa, Lamas, Barao, Carneiro, Kattar, Albu, Brooks, Dober

Mike Sloan: Jones, Woodley, Justino, Cerrone, Manuwa, Lamas, Sterling, Ortega, Fili, Albu, Brooks, Dober

Eric Stinton: Jones, Woodley, Justino, Lawler, Manuwa, Lamas, Barao, Ortega, Kattar, Curran, Shelton, Dober