UFC 215 staff picks: Who's picking title change in new Nunes-Shevchenko main event?

	Nunes vs. Shevchenko	Dos Anjos vs. Magny	Cejudo vs. Reis	Latifi vs. Pedro	Melendez vs. Stephens
MMAjunkie readers’ consensus picks 2017: 80-62	Shevchenko (62%)	dos Anjos (56%)	Cejudo (87%)	Pedro (56%)	Melendez (51%)
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2017: 88-53	Shevchenko	Magny	Cejudo	Pedro	Melendez
Dann Stupp @DannStupp 2017: 87-54 2015 Champion	Nunes	dos Anjos	Cejudo	Latifi	Melendez
Steven Marrocco @MMAjunkieSteven 2017: 85-56	Shevchenko	dos Anjos	Cejudo	Pedro	Melendez
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2017: 85-56	Shevchenko	dos Anjos	Cejudo	Pedro	Melendez
Ben Fowlkes @BenFowlkesMMA 2017: 84-57 2016 Champion	Nunes	dos Anjos	Cejudo	Latifi	Melendez
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2017: 82-59	Shevchenko	Magny	Cejudo	Pedro	Melendez
Fernanda Prates @nandaprates_ 2017: 81-60	Shevchenko	dos Anjos	Cejudo	Pedro	Melendez
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2017: 79-62	Shevchenko	dos Anjos	Cejudo	Pedro	Melendez
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2017: 78-63 2014 Champion	Nunes	dos Anjos	Cejudo	Pedro	Melendez
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2017: 77-64	Nunes	dos Anjos	Cejudo	Pedro	Stephens

The UFC is back in Canada this week for its return to pay-per-view – and what was supposed to be a pair of title fights before Thursday’s late scratch of the main event.

UFC 215 takes place Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

The main event was set to feature dominant flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson (26-2-1 MMA, 14-1-1 UFC) against challenger Ray Borg (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC). “Mighty Mouse” was attempting to break Anderson Silva’s record for consecutive UFC title defenses in the fight. But Borg was pulled on Thursday due to an illness, which means Johnson’s shot at history is on hold.

The previous co-feature has been elevated to the main event. Women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes (14-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) puts her belt on the line against Valentina Shevchenko (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in a rematch. Nunes won the first fight by unanimous decision at UFC 196, but is a slight underdog this time around. Shevchenko has a 6-4 edge from our staff.

In the new co-main event, former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (26-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) will try to make it 2-0 as a welterweight when he takes on Neil Magny (19-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC). Dos Anjos is about a 2-1 favorite, and he has an 8-2 rout in our picks.

Also on the main card, a preliminary-card flyweight fight between recent title challengers Henry Cejudo (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Wilson Reis (22-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) has been elevated. Cejudo is more than a 3-1 favorite and is the only unanimous choice from our staff members. Ilir Latifi (12-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) meets unbeaten Tyson Pedro (6-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in a light heavyweight fight, and despite being a slight underdog, Pedro is the 8-2 selection from our staff.

And to open the main card, former Strikeforce champion and two-time UFC lightweight title challenger Gilbert Melendez (22-6 MMA, 1-4 UFC) moves down to featherweight to take on fellow veteran Jeremy Stephens (25-14 MMA, 12-13 UFC). Stephens is a slight favorite, but Melendez is near unanimous at 9-1 from our pickers.

In the MMAjunkie reader consensus picks, Shevchenko, dos Anjos, Cejudo, Pedro and Melendez are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on UFC 215, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.