UFC 196 staff picks: One underdog has a lot more support than you might think

	McGregor vs. Diaz	Holm vs. Tate	Villante vs. Latifi	Anderson vs. Lawlor	Nunes vs. Shevchenko
MMAjunkie readers’ consensus picks 2016 picks: 25-9	McGregor (64%)	Holm (74%)	Latifi (65%)	Anderson (57%)	Nunes (65%)
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2016 picks: 24-10	McGregor	Tate	Villante	Anderson	Shevchenko
Steven Marrocco @MMAjunkieSteven 2016 picks: 24-10	McGregor	Holm	Latifi	Anderson	Nunes
Ben Fowlkes @BenFowlkesMMA 2016 picks: 24-10	McGregor	Holm	Latifi	Anderson	Nunes
Dann Stupp @DannStupp 2016 picks: 23-11 2015 Champion	McGregor	Holm	Latifi	Anderson	Nunes
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2016 picks: 22-12	McGregor	Tate	Villante	Anderson	Nunes
Brent Brookhouse @BrentBrookhouse 2016 picks: 21-13	McGregor	Holm	Latifi	Anderson	Nunes
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2016 picks: 21-13 2014 Champion	McGregor	Holm	Latifi	Anderson	Nunes
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2016 picks: 19-15	McGregor	Holm	Latifi	Anderson	Nunes
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2016 picks: 17-17	McGregor	Tate	Villante	Anderson	Shevchenko

Of the two big fights at the top of Saturday’s UFC 196 card, the MMAjunkie staff members are unanimous with one heavy favorite. 6

All nine of our editors, writers and radio hosts are picking featherweight champion Conor McGregor (19-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) to beat Nate Diaz (18-10 MMA, 13-8 UFC) in their welterweight main event. McGregor is as much as a 5-1 favorite.

In the co-main event, women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), more than a 3-1 favorite, is just a 6-3 choice to top challenger Miesha Tate (17-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in the first defense of her title.

UFC 196 takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

There is one other unanimous choice on the main card. Our staff pickers like Corey Anderson (7-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) to beat Tom Lawlor (10-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) in their light heavyweight fight. To open the pay-per-view, women’s bantamweight Amanda Nunes (11-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is a 7-2 pick to top Valentina Shevchenko (12-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC). And in the middle of the main card, Ilir Latifi (11-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is a 6-3 choice over Gian Villante (14-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in their light heavyweight bout.

In our MMAjunkie readers’ consensus picks, voters went with McGregor, Holm, Latifi, Anderson and Nunes.

Check out all the picks above. Additionally, leave your individual main-card picks below. As usual, MMAjunkie reader “IAMMA” is organizing the MMAjunkie Member Picks.

For more on UFC 196, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

view original article >>