Picking & Grinning: UFC 213 ‘Romero vs. Whittaker’

Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker hope to settle some of the uncertainty that exists near the top of the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division.

Romero will face Whittaker for the interim middleweight title in the UFC 213 main event on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, longtime heavyweight stalwarts Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum complete their trilogy in the three-round co-headliner. The rest of the five-fight main draw features a lightweight clash matching Anthony Pettis with Jim Miller, a heavyweight tilt pitting Daniel Omielanczuk against Curtis Blaydes and a bantamweight affair pairing Rob Font with Douglas Silva de Andrade.

Ahead of UFC 213 “Romero vs. Whittaker,” Sherdog.com staff members and contributors swallowed their pride and put their reputations on the line with bold predictions:

THE LINEUP

185: Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker
265: Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum
265: Daniel Omielanczuk vs. Curtis Blaydes
155: Anthony Pettis vs. Jim Miller
135: Rob Font vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
265: Travis Browne vs. Alexey Oleynik
170: Chad Laprise vs. Brian Camozzi
185: Thiago Santos vs. Gerald Meerschaert
170: Jordan Mein vs. Belal Muhammad
145: Cody Stamann vs. Terrion Ware
205: Trevin Giles vs. James Bochnovic

THE STANDINGS

Jordan Breen: 145-66-1
Tristen Critchfield: 140-71-1
Brian Knapp: 138-73-1
Todd Martin: 133-78-1
Mike Fridley: 130-81-1
Mike Sloan: 124-87-1
Eric Stinton: 124-87-1

THE PICKS

Jordan Breen: Romero, Blaydes, Overeem, Pettis, Browne, Laprise, Santos, Muhammad, Font, Stamann, Giles

Tristen Critchfield: Whittaker, Blaydes, Overeem, Pettis, Browne, Laprise, Santos, Mein, Font, Stamann, Giles

Brian Knapp: Whittaker, Blaydes, Overeem, Pettis, Browne, Laprise, Santos, Muhammad, Font, Stamann, Giles

Todd Martin: Romero, Blaydes, Werdum, Pettis, Browne, Laprise, Santos, Muhammad, Font, Stamann, Giles

Mike Fridley: Romero, Blaydes, Overeem, Pettis, Browne, Laprise, Santos, Mein, Font, Ware, Giles

Mike Sloan: Whittaker, Blaydes, Werdum, Pettis, Oleynik, Laprise, Meerschaert, Muhammad, Font, Stamann, Giles

Eric Stinton: Romero, Blaydes, Werdum, Pettis, Browne, Laprise, Meerschaert, Muhammad, Font, Stamann, Giles