UFC on FOX 23 staff picks: Valentina Shevchenko, Julianna Pena neck and neck – who has the edge?

The UFC returns to the city it got its start in this weekend with UFC on FOX 23.

UFC on FOX 23 takes place Saturday at Pepsi Center in Denver, the city that played host to UFC 1. The main card airs on FOX following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

In the main event, Valentina Shevchenko (13-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on Julianna Pena (8-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in a crucial women’s bantamweight fight that may just determine the next challenger for the title held by Amanda Nunes. Shevchenko comes in as a slight favorite in the fight and is the slight favorite from our MMAjunkie editors, writers and radio hosts at a 5-4 clip.

In the co-feature, Donald Cerrone (32-7 MMA, 19-4 UFC) looks to continue his perfect run at welterweight since moving up from 155 pounds when he takes on fellow veteran Jorge Masvidal (31-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC). Cerrone is the favorite, and seven of our nine pickers are taking “Cowboy” to move to 5-0 at 170 pounds.

By far the heaviest favorite on Saturday’s card at 4-1, France’s Francis Ngannou (9-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will try to stay perfect in the UFC when he meets former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (25-13 MMA, 14-7 UFC). Only two of our nine staff members like Arlovski in a big upset.

And to open up the main card on FOX, Alex Caceres (12-9 MMA, 7-7 UFC) takes on Jason Knight (15-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in a featherweight tilt. Caceres is a slight underdog, but has a 5-4 edge over Knight in the picks.

In the MMAjunkie reader consensus picks, Shevchenko, Cerrone, Ngannou and Knight are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on UFC on FOX 23, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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