After a week away, the UFC returns with an action-packed Pay-Per-View card, bringing twelve bouts to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

In the main event, Islam Makhachev looks to defend his Lightweight belt against the resurgent Dustin Poirier, while Middleweight brawlers Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa lock horns in a fight sure to bring violence.

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Main Card

Islam Makhachev (25-1) vs. Dustin Poirier (30-8) (LW Championship)

I’ve found myself waffling on my pick for this one all week, as both are electric finishers with the style that seems perfectly poised to disrupt the other one. Islam brings the relentless wrestling and submission game that has crippled him in the past and has gone through the fire against legit grapplers on the mat, even submitting some of those names like Charles Oliveira and Thiago Moises. However, I think Poirier’s boxing game will give Islam fits, not just from his hand speed and far superior defense and shot selection, but also because of his southpaw stance. I see Poirier withstanding a tough early storm to come back for the finish.

My Pick: Dustin Poirier via Knockout

Sean Strickland (28-6) vs. Paulo Costa (14-3) (MW)

My Pick: Sean Strickland via Decision

Kevin Holland (25-11) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (19-7) (MW)

My Pick: Kevin Holland via Submission

Niko Price (15-7) vs. Alex Morono (24-9) 2 (WW)

This pick’s going to come with a bit of a caveat: Niko has been my favorite fighter for quite some time now and I am not free from bias in these picks, as much as I would sometimes like to be. This bout is a rematched, though the official result was overturned due to a positive drug test, but the first bout saw Morono largely dominate with his hand speed, before Niko found a KO shot at the end of the second round. I think we see a similar result here as I think Price can still handle the shots of Morono, though my heart and brain are very much at odds.

My Pick: Niko Price via Knockout

Randy Brown (18-5) vs. Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos (24-7-1) (WW)

My Pick: Randy Brown via Decision

Prelims

Roman Kopylov (12-3) vs. Cesar Almeida (5-0) (MW)

My Pick: Cesar Almeida via Decision

Jailton Almeida (20-3) vs. Alexandr Romanov (17-2) (HW)

My Pick: Jailton Almeida via Submission

Grant Dawson (20-2-1) vs. Joe Solecki (13-4) (LW)

My Pick: Grant Dawson via Decision

Phil Rowe (10-4) vs. Jake Matthews (19-7) (WW)

My Pick: Jake Matthews via Decision

Mickey Gall (7-5) vs. Bassil Hafez (8-4-1) (WW)

My Pick: Bassil Hafez via Decision

Joselyne Edwards (13-5) vs. Ailin Perez (9-2) (BW)

My Pick: Ailin Perez via Decision

Andre Lima (8-0) vs. Mitch Raposo (9-1) (FLW)

My Pick: Andre Lima via Decision

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