UFC Fight Night 208 predictions: Who are we picking in big bouts in London?

The UFC is back in London just four months after its highly successful event there in March, and heavyweights are at the top of the lineup.

UFC Fight Night 208 takes place Saturday at The O2 in London. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, Curtis Blaydes (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) takes on Tom Aspinall (12-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) at heavyweight. Aspinall, from England, is a slight -145 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Blaydes is +115. But our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers mostly see it the other way. Blaydes has a big 9-2 advantage in the picks.

In the middleweight co-feature, Jack Hermansson (22-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC) meets short-notice replacement Chris Curtis (29-8 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who stepped in for the injured Darren Till. The fight nearly is a pick’em at the betting window, but it’s Curtis with a 7-4 edge from our staff members.

Also on the main card, rising British star Paddy Pimblett (18-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) fights Jordan Leavitt (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at lightweight. Pimblett is a -270 favorite and has a big 9-2 picks lead.

Three-time light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson (18-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) is back in the division after a one-fight stint at heavyweight in 2020. He is a +160 underdog against -210 favorite Nikita Krylov (27-9 MMA, 8-7 UFC). But despite the betting odds in Krylov’s favor, Gustafsson is a near-unanimous pick at 10-1.

Our lone unanimous pick on the main card is another British fan favorite, Pimblett’s teammate Molly McCann (12-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC). She’s the main card’s biggest favorite at -420 for her women’s flyweight bout against Hannah Goldy (6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC), and she has a shutout in the picks at 11-0.

And to open the main card, Paul Craig (16-4-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) takes on former light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir (17-6 MMA, 5-5 UFC), who is a -155 favorite. But despite that, +120 underdog Craig has a big 9-2 lead in the picks.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Aspinall (65 percent), Curtis (60 percent), Pimblett (76 percent), Gustafsson (63 percent), McCann (83 percent) and Craig (69 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.