Even though things deflated a bit on Wednesday with the announcement of Jon Jones getting pulled from the card, UFC 200 still marches on. UFC's biggest event ever is ready to kick off on Saturday with Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes for the women's bantamweight championship as the new main event.
Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt will serve as the co-main event, and Anderson Silva has stepped in as a last-minute replacement for Jon Jones to take on Daniel Cormier.
Here's how the full fight card shakes out on Saturday night with updated odds from Westgate.
UFC 200 Main Card | ||
Favorite | Challenger | Weightclass |
Miesha Tate (c), -250 | Amanda Nunes, +210 | Women's bantamweight |
Mark Hunt, -160 | Brock Lesnar, +140 | Heavyweight |
Daniel Cormier, -450 | Anderson Silva, +375 | Light heavyweight |
Jose Aldo, +100 | Frankie Edgar, -120 | Featherweight |
Cain Velasquez, -280 | Travis Browne, +240 | Heavyweight |
With so much on the line, our team is here to give you some insight in the main card on Saturday.
The team: Bill Reiter (national columnist), Matthew Coca (host/analyst), Lyle Fitzsimmons (writer), Robby Kalland (writer) and Brandon Wise (editor).
UFC 200 Expert Picks | |||||
| Reiter | Coca | Fitzsimmons | Kalland | Wise |
Tate vs. Nunes | Tate | Tate | Tate | Tate | Tate |
Lesnar vs. Hunt | Lesnar | Hunt | Hunt | Lesnar | Hunt |
Cormier vs. Silva | Cormier | Cormier | Cormier | Cormier | Silva |
Aldo vs. Edgar | Aldo | Edgar | Edgar | Aldo | Aldo |
Velasquez vs. Browne | Velasquez | Velasquez | Velasquez | Velasquez | Browne |
Kalland on why Lesnar wins: I'm taking Lesnar with the hopes that he can find a way to take Hunt to the ground. Hunt is the superior stand-up fighter, but Lesnar presents a unique challenge because of his size advantage over Hunt and his insane strength. To strike Lesnar, Hunt will have to close down distance, which could create opportunities for Lesnar to shoot for takedowns, and once on the ground, Lesnar will have the advantage. I also just love Lesnar and want him to be right -- which he claims to be -- and go out in style, if this is indeed his farewell to MMA.
Fitzsimmons on why Hunt wins: Call it a hunch. Lesnar is still a physical specimen and Hunt is a 42-year-old man. But he's a 42-year-old man who's not nearly as far removed from octagonal competition as his foe. Provided he can get through the opening sequences and stay off the mat, look for Hunt's striking to make a difference.
Coca on why Edgar wins: Edgar vs. Aldo I proved to be a great matchup. The unanimous decision loss for Frankie was closer than the result. Edgar was able to absorb most of Aldo's power shots throughout the fight. Frankie, now on a five-fight win streak, has added a superior boxing set to his arsenal to go along with his world class wrestling. Edgar has made drastic improvements to his all around fight game since the two last fought in 2013.
Wise on why Silva wins: Two days' notice. Just recovered from gall bladder surgery. Just flew to Vegas on Thursday night for a Hall of Fame ceremony. So why not? If you look at recent fill-in fighters in the UFC, the odds aren't great. Chad Mendes struggled against Conor McGregor and Ovince Saint Preux couldn't do much against Jon Jones. But, Michael Bisping, on two weeks' notice stepped in and knocked out middleweight champ Luke Rockhold in the first round at 199. Why wouldn't the man considered to be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in UFC history be able to? Give me Silva all day.