UFC 197 staff picks: Anyone brave (crazy?!) enough to pick OSP over Jon Jones?

	Jones vs. Saint Preux	Johnson vs. Cejudo	Pettis vs. Barboza	Whittaker vs. Natal	Rodriguez vs. Fili
MMAjunkie readers’ consensus picks 2016 picks: 35-16	Jones (88%)	Johnson (72%)	Pettis (71%)	Whittaker (77%)	Rodriguez (62%)
Ben Fowlkes @BenFowlkesMMA 2016 picks: 38-17	Jones	Johnson	Pettis	Whittaker	Rodriguez
Steven Marrocco @MMAjunkieSteven 2016 picks: 37-18	Jones	Johnson	Barboza	Whittaker	Rodriguez
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2016 picks: 34-21	Saint Preux	Johnson	Barboza	Whittaker	Fili
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2016 picks: 34-21	Jones	Johnson	Pettis	Whittaker	Rodriguez
Brent Brookhouse @BrentBrookhouse 2016 picks: 33-22	Jones	Johnson	Pettis	Whittaker	Rodriguez
Dann Stupp @DannStupp 2016 picks: 33-22 2015 Champion	Jones	Johnson	Pettis	Whittaker	Rodriguez
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2016 picks: 32-23 2014 Champion	Jones	Cejudo	Pettis	Whittaker	Rodriguez
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2016 picks: 30-25	Jones	Johnson	Barboza	Whittaker	Fili
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2016 picks: 28-27	Jones	Johnson	Barboza	Whittaker	Rodriguez

At long last, former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones returns to action on Saturday, and he’s a sizable favorite to get his belt back – albeit an interim one.

Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC), the former 205-pound champ who was stripped of his belt, takes on Ovince Saint Preux (19-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC) for the interim light heavyweight title in the UFC 197 main event. The winner will move on to fight injured champion Daniel Cormier.

Only one of our nine MMAjunkie editors, writers and radio hosts had the courage to pick against Jones, who is considered one of the greatest fighters of all time. In the video above, that brave sole will fill you in on why.

There’s a second title fight on Saturday’s card in Las Vegas. Flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson (23-2-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) is in pursuit of his eighth straight title defense when he meets Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC). Only one of our nine is picking the challenger.

Also on the main card, former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (18-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) will try to snap his two-fight skid against fellow elite striker Edson Barboza (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC). In a tight race, five of our staffers like the favored Pettis to four for underdog Barboza. In a middleweight clash, Robert Whittaker (15-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) is the lone unanimous pick on the card. All nine of our staff members believe he’ll beat Rafael Natal (21-6-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC). And to open the main card, only two of our nine pickers believe Andre Fili (15-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) will top Yair Rodriguez (6-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC).

UFC 197 takes place Saturday 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.

In the MMAjunkie reader consensus picks, Jones (88%), Johnson (72%), Pettis (71%), Whittaker (77%) and Rodriguez (62%) have the edge.

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, where “Kyle Pineapple,” “D Lip” and “Joseph Johnston” are our leaders.

And for more on UFC 197, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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