UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Woodley Predictions, Odds & Picks

• Former teammates turned bitter rivals Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley go head-to-head in a highly anticipated main event this Saturday night
• The co-main event sees the return of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone as he takes on the always exciting Niko Price
• Khamzat Chimaev fights on U.S. soil for the first time in his career and hopes to win his third UFC fight within two months

Odds from DraftKings. Get up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus at DraftKings today or check out more offers and promo codes for the best online sportsbooks.

UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Woodley – Picks & Predictions

Colby Covington vs Tyron Woodley – Welterweight Division

Colby Covington -360

Donald Cerrone vs Niko Price – Welterweight Division

Donald Cerrone +130

Khamzat Chimaev vs Gerald Meerschaert – Middleweight Division

Khamzat Chimaev -500

Johnny Walker vs Ryan Spann – Light Heavyweight Division

Ryan Spann +110

Mackenzie Dern vs Randa Markos – Women’s Strawweight Division

Mackenzie Dern -190

The time for talk has come to an end as two former teammates turned bitter rivals go toe-to-toe in the main event of this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card. Former title challenger Colby Covington takes on the former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in what has been one of the most anticipated fights of the past four years.

The co-main event will see the legendary Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone step into the octagon to take on another rising UFC prospect in Niko Price in a bout that has Fight on the Night written all over it.

After winning two fights in two weeks on Fight Island, Khamzat Chimaev looks to do the same once again in September starting with his opponent Saturday night: Gerald Meerschaert. A fight with Demian Maia is set to already be booked for Chimaev, but is he overlooking Meerschaert?

Top prospects Johnny Walker and Mackenzie Dern also return to the octagon for this exciting Fight Night card – the last show before the UFC returns to Fight Island with the massive UFC 253 event.

How to Watch UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Woodley

Colby “Chaos” Covington (15-2)Colby Covington vs Tyron Woodley – Welterweight Division

Love him or hate him, Colby Covington knows how to fight. The outspoken Trump supporter and professional pot-stirrer piled up a six-fight winning streak before defeating Rafael dos Anjos for the interim UFC welterweight title. After being subsequently stripped of the belt, Covington returned to action to dominate former champion Robbie Lawler last August, setting up an official title fight against champion Kamaru Usman in what would be Usman’s first title defense. Last December, at UFC 245, Covington would come up short, losing by TKO to Usman in the fourth round. It was just his second professional loss.

Covington stands at 5 ft. 11 in. tall and has a reach of 72 inches. After several years spent training with American Top Team, personal quarrels at the gym with fellow fighters led Covington to move his training to MMA MAsters at the start of this year. He has been fighting professionally since 2012 and has NCAA division I wrestling credentials. Ranked as the second-best welterweight in the division, Colby Covington also comes into this bout with the mental edge, as the outspoken fighter is going up against a former champion who is on a losing streak for the first time in his career.

Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley (19-5-1)

As just previously mentioned, for the first time in his professional career, former welterweight champ Tyron Woodley is on a losing streak. After winning six fights in a row (with one draw mixed in) and defending his title three times, Woodley was set to defend against Kamaru Usman. Usman would dominate the fight en route to a five-round unanimous decision victory over a Tyron Woodley who did not look like himself. His last fight, which came against Gilbert Burns earlier this year in May, was much of the same. Burns would outclass Woodley in almost all areas of the game and leave the former champ with a serious cut in another unanimous decision loss.

Woodley stands two-inches shorter than Covington but will enter the cage with a two-inch reach advantage. Training with Roufusport gym, Woodley also boasts NCAA division I wrestling credentials. He also holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Din Thomas. Fighting since 2006, Woodley is currently 38-years-old and ranked as the fifth-best welterweight in the UFC promotion.

Donald Cerrone v. Niko Price – Welterweight Division

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (36-15, 1 no-contest)

The UFC legend is back in action this Saturday night. The UFC leader in wins, finishes, post-fight bonuses, and bouts in the octagon returns to action with the hopes of snapping a four-fight losing streak – albeit one hell of an impressive four-fight losing streak.

While still fighting in the lightweight division, Cerrone would lose back-to-back fights against Tony Ferguson (via doctor’s stoppage TKO) and Justin Gaethje (via TKO). At the start of this year, Cerrone would move back up in weight to the welterweight division to welcome superstar Conor McGregor back to action at UFC 246. Cerrone would suffer another TKO loss just 40 seconds into the fight. His last fight was also in the welterweight division, this time against former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Taking place this past May at UFC 249, Pettis would defeat “Cowboy” via a three-round unanimous decision.

Standing at an even 6 ft. tall, Cerrone has a 73-inch reach. Now training under Joe Schilling at the BMF Ranch, the 37-year-old has been fighting professionally since 2006. A former kickboxer with a pro record of 28-0-1, “Cowboy” holds a black belt in taijutsu. He also holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Eliot Marshall. He is currently unranked in the welterweight division but sits as the 14th-best lightweight under the UFC banner.

Niko “The Hybrid” Price (14-4, 1 no-contest)

Don’t let Niko Price’s UFC record (6-4) fool you: this man is dangerous. Always exciting and charismatic, this fight should see Price and Cerrone sharing some post-fight bonus success. Price has gone just 2-2 over his last two fights but his two wins (over James Vick and Tim Means) both earned him performance bonuses. He lost to top-talent Geoff Neal in-between those wins and most recently lost to Vicente Luque this past May at UFC 249 by TKO due to an unfortunate doctor’s stoppage in round three.

Standing equal to his opponent at 6 ft., Price enters the bout with a three-inch reach advantage in the striking department. Fighting since 2012, Price is seven-years younger than Cerrone. “The Hybrid” trains with both Vickery Jiujitsu and the Syndicate Boxing Club. He holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is currently unranked by the UFC.

Khamzat Chimaev vs Gerald Meerschaert – Middleweight Division

Khamzat “Borz” Chimaev (8-0)

During the UFC’s first stint on Fight Island, Khamzat Chimaev would make his debut for the promotion on July 15, defeating John Phillips with a second-round d’arce choke submission. Just 10 days later (yes, TEN), Chimaev would be back in the cage taking on Rhys McKee. This time Chimaev would use his wrestling to dominate and would eventually TKO McKee in just over three minutes. His fight Saturday night against Meerschaert will be his first on U.S. soil and UFC President Dana White has already said that a fight against Demian Maia could happen as early as next week should Chimaev come out of this upcoming bout unscathed.

Just 26-years-old, Chimaev stands at 6 ft. 2 in. tall and has a 75 inch reach. He is undefeated as a professional in both the middleweight and welterweight divisions. He has finished four of his fights by TKO and the other four of his wins have come by submission. Fighting out of Sweden, Chimaev trains at the Allstars Training Center.

Gerald “GM3” Meerschaert (31-13)

To put it mildly, Gerald Meerschaert has a hell of a lot more fighting experience than Khamzat Chimaev. With 44 professional fights under his belt, Meerschaert has been a staple of the UFC since 2016. However, he has struggled as of late, going just 2-4 across his last six bouts. His most recent bout came back in June at UFC 250 where he lost via first-round TKO to Ian Heinisch. Prior to that loss, he had impressively submitted Deron Winn with a third-round rear-naked choke at UFC 248.

Meerschaert will stand one-inch shorter than Chimaev but will have a two-inch reach advantage over his opponent. Fighting out of Wisconsin with Roufusport, Meerschaert holds a black belt in Roufusport kickboxing under his head coach as well as a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The 32-year-old has been fighting professionally since 2007. Meerschaert was expected to fight last month but was one of several fighters to test positive for COVID-19 over the promotions time spent in the United States.

Johnny Walker vs Ryan Spann – Light Heavyweight Division

Johnny Walker (17-5)

Entering the spotlight on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018, Johnny Walker started his UFC career with three first-round finishes in a row. He was quickly being touted as the “next big thing” and possibly as the man to dethrone Jon Jones. Enter Corey Anderson. Walker fought Anderson last November at UFC 235 and would suffer a first-round TKO loss of his own – his first in the UFC. His most recent fight against Nikita Krylov happened earlier this year in March. Walker would be outwrestled on his way to a unanimous decision loss.

Standing at 6 ft. 6 in. tall, Walker is trouble for anyone to deal with. He also has a reach of 82 inches. Following the loss to Corey Anderson, Walker moved his training to Ireland’s SBG Ireland gym and is now under the tutelage of Conor McGregor coach John Kavanagh. He formerly trained with Tristar in Montreal, made famous by Georges St. Pierre. Walker has been fighting since 2013 and holds a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. At the time of writing, he was ranked as the 11th-best light heavyweight in the promotion.

Ryan “Superman” Spann (18-5)

Like his opponent, Ryan Spann made his presence known while competing on the Dan White’s Contender Series. Unlike his opponent, Ryan Spann is still undefeated under the UFC banner. Spann has four fights under his belt in the UFC, his most notable win being a first-round KO victory over the legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 237. His most recent fight occurred this past May at UFC 249 where he fought Sam Alvey. In what was a very close fight, Spann would walk away with the split-decision victory.

Despite Johnny Walker’s monstrous size, Ryan Spann won’t actually be at much of a physical disadvantage. He stands only one inch shorter than his opponent and will be at only a half-inch reach disadvantage. The 29-year-old fights out of Texas with Fortis MMA and he has been fighting since 2013. He sits just behind Walker in the light heavyweight rankings as number twelve.

Mackenzie Dern vs Randa Markos – Women’s Strawweight Division

Mackenzie Dern (8-1)

One of the best grapplers in the UFC, if not the world, Mackenzie Dern started her transition from jiu-jitsu to MMA in 2016. She debuted for the UFC in 2018, winning her fight over Ashley Yoder via split-decision. She would put her grappling to good use in her next fight, choking out Amanda Cooper. Her undefeated streak would come to an end in her next fight against Amanda Ribas, whom she lost a unanimous decision to. Dern would bounce back into the win column in her last fight, however, defeating Hannah Cifres with a kneebar submission this past May. She was awarded performance of the night bonus.

The highly decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner stands at 5 ft. 4 in. and has a reach of 63 inches. She trains out of California with Black House MMA and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Wellington “Megaton” Dias. She has gold medals at the World level in submission wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and nogi jiu-jitsu. She is currently ranked in the UFC as the 15th-best strawweight.

Randa “Quiet Storm” Markos (10-8-1)

Randa Markos has literally traded wins and losses (with one draw mixed in) throughout her entire UFC career. One win, one loss, one win, one loss, and so on. After defeating Ashley Yoder last October, Markos next took on Amanda Ribas this past March. Markos would lose the bout against Ribas via unanimous decision.

Standing equal to Dern at 5 ft. 4 in. tall, Markos will have just a half-inch reach advantage over her opponent. Known for her wrestling, Markos trains with the Tristar gym in Montreal and holds a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Fabio Lima. Fighting since 2009, Markos is currently unranked by the promotion.