Picking & Grinning: UFC Fight Night ‘Poirier vs. Pettis’

In a division with precious little elbow room, victory trumps all.

Dustin Poirier will meet former champion Anthony Pettis within that 155-pound crucible, as they collide in the UFC Fight Night 120 main event on Saturday at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Meanwhile, Matt Brown in perhaps his final appearance faces Diego Sanchez in the three-round welterweight co-headliner. The rest of the six-fight main draw features a heavyweight clash pairing Andrei Arlovski with Junior Albini, a middleweight scrap pitting Nate Marquardt against Cezar Ferreira, a bantamweight encounter matching Raphael Assuncao with Matthew Lopez and a lightweight tilt slotting Joe Lauzon opposite Clay Guida.

Ahead of UFC Fight Night “Poirier vs. Pettis,” Sherdog.com staff members and contributors swallowed their pride and put their reputations on the line with bold predictions:

THE LINEUP
155: Dustin Poirier vs. Anthony Pettis
170: Matt Brown vs. Diego Sanchez
265: Andrei Arlovski vs. Junior Albini
185: Nate Marquardt vs. Cezar Ferreira
135: Raphael Assuncao vs. Matthew Lopez
155: Joe Lauzon vs. Clay Guida
135: John Dodson vs. Marlon Moraes
115: Tatiana Suarez vs. Viviane Pereira
155: Sage Northcutt vs. Michel Quinones
115: Angela Hill vs. Nina Ansaroff
170: Court McGee vs. Sean Strickland
205: Jake Collier vs. Marcel Fortuna
185: Darren Stewart vs. Karl Roberson

THE STANDINGS
Jordan Breen: 241-115
Tristen Critchfield: 236-120
Brian Knapp: 232-124
Todd Martin: 228-128
Eric Stinton: 220-136
Mike Fridley: 218-138

THE PICKS
Jordan Breen: Pettis, Brown, Albini, Ferreira, Assuncao, Guida, Moraes, Suarez, Northcutt, Hill, Strickland, Fortuna, Roberson

Tristen Critchfield: Poirier, Brown, Albini, Ferreira, Assuncao, Lauzon, Dodson, Suarez, Northcutt, Hill, Strickland, Fortuna, Roberson

Brian Knapp: Poirier, Brown, Albini, Ferreira, Assuncao, Guida, Dodson, Suarez, Northcutt, Hill, Strickland, Fortuna, Roberson

Todd Martin: Poirier, Brown, Albini, Ferreira, Assuncao, Lauzon, Moraes, Suarez, Northcutt, Hill, Strickland, Fortuna, Roberson

Eric Stinton: Pettis, Brown, Albini, Ferreira, Lopez, Lauzon, Moraes, Suarez, Northcutt, Hill, Strickland, Fortuna, Roberson

Mike Fridley: Pettis, Brown, Arlovski, Ferreira, Assuncao, Lauzon, Dodson, Pereira, Northcutt, Hill, Strickland, Fortuna, Roberson