The UFC is back in its desert home base with bantamweight contenders at the top of the lineup, plus a pair of “Ultimate Fighter” finals.
UFC Fight Night 289 (Paramount+) takes place Saturday at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
Get pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below.
Melissa Amaya vs. Valesca Machado
- Records: Amaya (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), Machado (15-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
- Division: Women’s strawweight
- Rankings: None
- Odds (as of 09.26.26): Amaya +170, Machado -205
- Junkie pick results: Machado 6, Amaya 5
Mehemmedeli Osmanli vs. Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu
- Records: Osmanli (12-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), Akylbek Uulu (10-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
- Division: Bantamweight
- Rankings: None
- Odds (as of 09.26.26): Osmanli -300, Akylbek Uulu +240
- Junkie pick results: Osmanli 11, Uulu 0
Sedriques Dumas vs. Luis Hernandez
- Records: Dumas (10-5 MMA, 3-5 UFC), Hernandez (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
- Division: Welterweight
- Rankings: None
- Odds (as of 09.26.26): Dumas +205, Hernandez -250
- Junkie pick results: Hernandez 11, Dumas 0
Norma Dumont vs. Ailin Perez
Norma Dumont threw CONDOMS (and money) at Ailin Perez during a spicy faceoff between the two top-ranked women’s bantamweights. 👀 #UFCVegas121 pic.twitter.com/ZHWg7hhxi3
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 25, 2026
- Records: Dumont (13-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC), Perez (13-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC)
- Division: Women’s bantamweight
- Rankings: Perez No. 3; Dumont No. 5, honorable mention women's pound-for-pound
- Odds (as of 09.26.26): Dumont +140, Perez -165
- Junkie pick results: Dumont 7, Perez 4
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Raoni Barcelos
- Records: Rosas Jr. (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), Barcelos (22-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC)
- Division: Bantamweight
- Rankings: Barcelos No. 14, Rosas Jr. honorable mention
- Odds (as of 09.26.26): Rosas Jr. -155, Barcelos +130
- Junkie pick results: Rosas Jr. 7, Barcelos 4
Individual staff member picks, main card
Readers 157-82: Rosas (54%), Perez (55%), Hernandez (73%), Osmanli (77%), Amaya (54%)
- Danny Segura 173-66: Rosas, Perez, Hernandez, Osmanli, Machado
- Matthew Wells 161-78: Rosas, Dumont, Hernandez, Osmanli, Machado
- Ken Hathaway 158-81: Barcelos, Dumont, Hernandez, Osmanli, Machado
- Nolan King 159-80: Barcelos, Perez, Hernandez, Osmanli, Machado
- Simon Samano 156-83: Rosas, Dumont, Hernandez, Osmanli, Amaya
- Farah Hannoun 157-82: Rosas, Dumont, Hernandez, Osmanli, Amaya
- Mike Bohn 155-84: Barcelos, Dumont, Hernandez, Osmanli, Machado
- Brian Garcia 152-87: Rosas, Dumont, Hernandez, Osmanli, Amaya
- Matt Erickson 147-92: Rosas, Dumont, Hernandez, Osmanli, Amaya
- George Garcia 146-93: Barcelos, Perez, Hernandez, Osmanli, Amaya
- Jero Guerra 60-43: Rosas, Perez, Hernandez, Osmanli, Machado
Preliminary card picks
Although they don't count toward the standings, MMA Junkie staff members still pick the fights on the prelims. Here are the results:
- Brady Hiestand vs. Rinya Nakamura: Nakamura 8, Hiestand 3
- Robert Bryczek vs. Rodolfo Vieira: Vieira 9, Bryczek 2
- Rodolfo Bellato vs. Christian Edwards: Bellato 11, Edwards 0
- Elves Brener vs. Josiah Harrell: Brener 8, Harrell 3
- Montel Jackson vs. Ricky Simon: Jackson 6, Simon 5
- Heili Alateng vs. John Castaneda: Castaneda 6, Alateng 5
- Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Yazmin Jauregui: Jauregui 8, Demopoulos 3
This article originally appeared
on MMA Junkie: UFC predictions for Rosas-Barcelos, Dumont-Perez, Cop-Criminal, more
