Picking & Grinning: UFC Fight Night ‘Rockhold vs. Branch’

More than a year after he surrendered the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title in an upset loss to Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold will step back in the cage and into the main event spotlight.

Rockhold will meet former two-division World Series of Fighting champion David Branch in the UFC Fight Night 116 headliner on Saturday at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Mike Perry takes on short-notice fill-in Alex Reyes in the welterweight co-main event. The rest of the six-fight main card features a middleweight clash pairing Hector Lombard with Anthony Smith, a lightweight affair pitting Gregor Gillespie against Jason Gonzalez, a welterweight confrontation matching Kamaru Usman with Sergio Moraes and a heavyweight battle slotting Justin Ledet opposite Azunna Anyanwu.

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

THE LINEUP

185: Luke Rockhold vs. David Branch
170: Mike Perry vs. Alex Reyes
185: Hector Lombard vs. Anthony Smith
155: Gregor Gillespie vs. Jason Gonzalez
170: Kamaru Usman vs. Sergio Moraes
265: Justin Ledet vs. Azunna Anyanwu
155: Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Tony Martin
265: Anthony Hamilton vs. Daniel Spitz
185: Krzysztof Jotko vs. Uriah Hall
155: Jason Saggo vs. Gilbert Burns

THE STANDINGS

Jordan Breen: 199-95
Tristen Critchfield: 196-98
Brian Knapp: 191-103
Todd Martin: 187-107
Mike Fridley: 182-112
Eric Stinton: 178-116

THE PICKS

Jordan Breen: Rockhold, Perry, Lombard, Gillespie, Usman, Ledet, Aubin-Mercier, Hamilton, Jotko, Burns

Tristen Critchfield: Rockhold, Perry, Smith, Gillespie, Usman, Ledet, Aubin-Mercier, Hamilton, Jotko, Burns

Brian Knapp: Rockhold, Perry, Lombard, Gillespie, Usman, Ledet, Aubin-Mercier, Hamilton, Jotko, Burns

Todd Martin: Rockhold, Perry, Lombard, Gillespie, Usman, Ledet, Martin, Hamilton, Jotko, Saggo

Mike Fridley: Rockhold, Perry, Lombard, Gillespie, Usman, Ledet, Aubin-Mercier, Hamilton, Jotko, Burns

Eric Stinton: Rockhold, Perry, Smith, Gillespie, Usman, Ledet, Aubin-Mercier, Spitz, Jotko, Burns