UFC Fight Night 98 staff picks: Will former champ Rafael dos Anjos get back on track in Mexico?

After its longest layoff in four years, the UFC returns on Saturday for its latest event in Mexico.

UFC Fight Night 98 takes place at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City, and it airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

In the main event, former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (25-8 MMA, 14-6 UFC) fights for the first time since losing his title to Eddie Alvarez in July when he meets Tony Ferguson (21-3 MMA, 11-1 UFC). But despite being a slight favorite in the bout, seven of our 10 MMAjunkie editors, writers and radio hosts are picking Ferguson for the slight upset.

In the co-main event, a highly touted lightweight makes his UFC debut after signing as a free agent from Bellator. Eight of our 10 staff members think promotional newcomer Marcin Held (22-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will top longtime UFC newcomer Diego Sanchez (26-9 MMA, 15-9 UFC) in the co-feature.

Also on the main card, Ricardo Lamas (16-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) meets Charles Oliveira (21-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in a featherweight bout – and is a near-unanimous pick. Nine of our 10 pickers are taking him to beat the Brazilian in a fight that was made on relatively short notice after Lamas’ UFC Fight Night 97 main event (and the event itself) was scrapped last month in the Philippines.

In the “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3” lightweight tournament final, Martin Bravo (10-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) takes on Claudio Puelles (7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC). Our staff members have it as a close one – Puelles has a 6-4 edge over Bravo. And in another lightweight bout, Beneil Dariush (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) takes on Rashid Magomedov (19-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC). Magomedov, a slight favorite, is the choice of seven of our 10 pickers.

There’s just one unanimous pick on the card. Alexa Grasso (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes her UFC debut when she takes on Heather Jo Clark (7-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a strawweight fight, and all 10 of our staff members are taking the heaviest favorite on the UFC Fight Night 98 card.

In the MMAjunkie reader consensus picks, Ferguson, Held, Lamas, Bravo, Dariush and Grasso are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 98, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.