UFC Fight Night 44 staff picks: Gastelum, Ellenberger get unanimous nods

Two of the biggest betting favorites on the UFC Fight Night 43 main card are unanimous picks by the MMAjunkie staff for Saturday night’s event.

In the main event between featherweight contenders Cub Swanson (20-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Jeremy Stephens (23-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC), it’s Swanson, a favorite of more than 2.5-to-1, who is the favorite with the MMAjunkie writers and radio hosts. Seven of eight staffers are favoring Swanson over Stephens.

In the co-main event, unbeaten “TUF 17? winner Kelvin Gastelum (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is the unanimous pick over Nicholas Musoke (12-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC). And to open up the main card, making his UFC debut, Joe Ellenberger (14-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) gets all eight picks to beat short-notice opponent James Moontasri (7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

The main card’s three other bouts have some dissension among the ranks, though. Five of our eight pickers believe Andrew Craig (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC), a Texan fighting in his home state, will upset Cezar Ferreira (7-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC). A pair see Hacran Dias (21-2-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) upsetting recent featherweight title challenger Ricardo Lamas (13-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC). And six of eight think Clint Hester (10-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) will pull off a mild upset of Antonio Braga Neto (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC).

UFC Fight Night 44 takes place Saturday at AT&T Center in San Antonio. The main card airs on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Check out the full picks above.

Additionally, leave your main-card picks below. As usual, MMAjunkie reader “IAMMA” is organizing the MMAjunkie Member Picks, where “Shut_The_Fitch_Up” continues to be our leader.

For more on UFC Fight Night 44, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.