UFC on ESPN Hall vs Strickland Odds, Predictions, Picks

• It’s a showcase of the middleweights Saturday night as veteran Uriah Hall takes on fast-rising talent Sean Strickland in the main event of this weekend’s ESPN card
• Originally set to take on Mounir Lazzez in the co-main event, Niklas Stolze now has finds himself with a new opponent in Jared Gooden as Lazzez was forced off the card
• Two strawweight rookies are both looking for their first UFC win as Cheyanne Buys takes on Brazil’s Gloria de Paula on the main card

UFC on ESPN: Hall vs Strickland

The odds for this match are provided by DraftKings sportsbook. Click on the odds below to head to DraftKings and place a bet.

UFC on ESPN: Hall vs Strickland Picks and Predictions

Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland – Middleweight division

Our Pick: Uriah Hall (+180)

Jared Gooden vs. Niklas Stolze – Welterweight division

Our Pick: Niklas Stolze

Cheyanne Buys vs. Gloria de Paula – Women’s strawweight division

Our Pick: Gloria de Paula (+150)

Kyung Ho Kang vs. Rani Yahya – Bantamweight division

Our Pick: Kyung Ho Kang (-135)

Zarrukh Adashev vs. Ryan Benoit – Flyweight division

Our Pick: Ryan Benoit (-135)

Bryan Barberena vs. Jason Witt – Welterweight division

Our Pick: Bryan Barberena (-265)

How to Watch UFC on ESPN: Hall vs Strickland

Uriah Hall vs Sean Strickland Middleweight Division

Uriah “PrimeTime” Hall

Despite being a mainstay in the UFC since 2013 (he lost the Ultimate Fighter tournament final to Kelvin Gastelum), Uriah Hall didn’t really seem to get things going for him until recent years.

He mixed wins and losses over his first few years in the UFC and, at one point, suffered three consecutive losses to Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson, and Gegard Mousasi.

His last loss came against Paulo Costa at UFC 226 in 2018, which he lost via TKO.

Since then, Hall has gone on to win four fights in a row. He defeated Bevon Lewis via KO and Antonio Carlos Junior by decision before earning back-to-back TKO wins over former middleweight champions Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman – the latter of which gave Hall the title as the only UFC fighter to win a fight without throwing a single strike as Weidman seriously injured his leg throwing a kick.

Born in Jamaica, the former two-time ROC middleweight champion currently trains in the United States with Fortis MMA.

Hall holds a second-degree black belt in karate under Tiger Schulmann and a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Jason Manly.

Competing in mixed martial arts since 2005, Uriah Hall is currently ranked as the eighth-best middleweight in the division.

He is six-years older than his opponent and will enter the cage Saturday night boasting a 3.5-inch reach advantage.

Sean Strickland

A UFC fighter since 2014, Sean Strickland has spent much of his UFC career flying under the radar and being set back by losses to rising contenders in the past such as Santiago Ponzinibbio and current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

But Strickland has been getting noticed ever since he returned to the middleweight division. Following a win in 2018 over Nordine Taleb, Strickland suffered from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. Upon returning in 2020, Strickland made his presence known as a middleweight.

He defeated Jack Marshman by decision in his return to action and followed that performance with a TKO win over Brendan Allen. His most recent fight took place this past May, where he beat Krzysztof Jotko via unanimous decision.

Strickland is now riding a four-fight winning streak – just like Uriah Hall.

Born in Carolina, Strickland spends much of his time training in California and splitting his time between Millennia MMA Gym and Syndicate MMA.

Competing since 2008, he holds the rank of brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is also a former King of the Cage middleweight champion.

He currently sits just outside the top-ten as he is ranked as the number-11 middleweight in the division.

He will stand one-inch taller than his opponent.

Jared Gooden vs Niklas Stolze Welterweight Division

Jared “Nitetrain” Gooden

Jared Gooden steps into this bout as a last-minute replacement for Mounir Lazzez.

Entering the UFC riding a three-fight professional winning streak, Gooden has fought for the promotion twice so far but has yet to earn his first win.

Gooden debuted in late-2020 against Alan Jouban and was defeated via unanimous decision.

He would lose his second UFC contest in a row in early-2021 against Abubakar Nurmagomedov – again by unanimous decision.

The American-born fighter currently trains out of Atlanta, Georgia with the X3 Sports team.

He will enter the cage Saturday night with a two-inch reach advantage over his opponent.

Niklas “Green Mask” Stolze

Like his opponent, Miklas Stolze has yet to earn a victory inside the octagon.

Stolze was riding a four-fight professional winning streak when he signed with the UFC in 2020. He debuted last July against Ramazan Emeev and was ultimately defeated via unanimous decision.

This will be his first fight of 2021.

Born in Germany, Stolze trains with his head coach Sascha Poppendieck. Known for his kickboxing, he works out with the La Onda Fight Club.

He is one-year older than his opponent and will stand one-inch taller.

Cheyanne Buys vs Gloria de Paula Women’s Strawweight Division

Cheyanne “The Warrior Princess” Buys

Cheyanne Buys was on a three-fight professional winning streak when she appeared on the Contender Series in 2020.

On the show she fought Hilarie Rose and defeated her via unanimous decision.

She made her UFC debut earlier this year, in March, against Montserrat Ruiz but was ultimately defeated via judges’ decision. Saturday night will mark just her second appearance in a UFC octagon.

Buys was born in Florida but trains out of Las Vegas. She is affiliated with the Gracie team and trains with coach Ray Sefo.

She will be at a two-inch height disadvantage and will have a shorter reach Saturday night by 4.5-inches.

Gloria “Glorinha” de Paula

The career of Gloria de Paula has taken a similar path as her opponent’s. De Paula appeared on the Contender Series in 2020 following a big TKO win. She won her Contender Series appearance over Pauline Macias via unanimous decision.

Also like her opponent, she has only one UFC fight under her belt and it was a decision loss. De Paula debuted in March against Jinh Yu Frey and was defeated.

The Brazilian fighter , as mentioned earlier, comes into this bout with significant physical advantages.

She currently trains out of her home country with the Chute Boxe Diego Lima team.

Kyung Ho Kang vs Rani Yahya Bantamweight Division

Kyung “Typhoon” Ho Kang

Fans may not know this, but Kyung Ho Kang has actually been a member of the UFC roster since 2013 – he just hasn’t been the most active fighter. Since March 2013, Kang has fought only nine times.

Beginning his UFC journey with a no-contest debut, Kang now holds a 6-2, 1 no-contest record with the promotion.

Curiously enough, he currently finds himself on a three-fight winning streak but all of those bouts took place in 2019. He submitted Teruto Ishihara before winning back-to-back split-decisions over Brandon Davis and Liu Pingyuan. He has not fought in the octagon since December 2019.

Born in South Korea, Kang trains out of Busan with the Busan Team M.A.D.

He has been competing in MMA since 2007 and currently holds the rank of blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Kang was the first-ever Road FC bantamweight champion.

He will stand three-inches taller than his opponent Saturday night and will have a four-inch advantage in the reach department.

Rani Yahya

Rani Yahya is another fighter that has been a member of the UFC roster for quite some time, debuting for the promotion back in 2011 and fighting for the WEC before that.

Yahya has had relative success recently – a run that included a three-fight winning streak throughout 2018.

However he has seen it all across his last three fights. He had his winning streak snapped by Ricky Simon in 2019. His lone fight of 2020 came against Enrique Barzola in which the two fought to a draw. His most recent contest took place earlier this year in March when he defeated Ray Rodriguez via second-round submission.

The Brazilian fighter splits his training between Brazil’s Constrictor Team as well as with Florida’s American Top Team.

Active since 2002, he holds a black belt in muay thai and a second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Athaide Junior.

He is a gold medal-winning submission grappling and jiu-jitsu practitioner representing Brazil.

Zarrukh Adashev vs Ryan Benoit Flyweight Division

Zarrukh “The Lion” Adashev

Zarrukh Adashev isn’t just new to the UFC – he’s new to the entire sport of mixed martial arts.

After losing his professional debut in 2015, Adashev fought (and won) three times under the Bellator banner from 2018 to 2019.

He debuted in the UFC last June. Not only did he lose his debut by knock out to Tyson Nam, he also missed weight. Adashev fought again this past January and lost to Su Mudaerji via unanimous decision.

Born in Uzbekistan, Adashev lives and trains in the United States with the Lions Fight team in New York. He trains with coaches Artyom Sahakyan and Evgene Eremeev.

He has been competing since 2013 and has a professional kickboxing record of 16-3.

He is three years younger than his opponent Ryan Benoit.

Ryan “Baby Face” Benoit

With a 10-7 record, Ryan Benoit has more losses than his opponent has total fights!

Benoit joined the UFC roster in 2013 and, although he was submitted in the second round, put on a fight of the night performance. Since then, he has seen mixed results.

Currently, Benoit finds himself on a two-fight losing streak, having suffered back-to-back decision losses – the most recent of which took place last July. He has yet to fight in 2021.

His fight against Adashev was originally set to take place in May but Benoit missed weight and the fight was cancelled and rebooked.

Born in California, Benoit fights out of Dallas, Texes, working with Janjira Muay Thai. He has been competing since 2009 and holds a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

He will have a 3.5-inch reach advantage over his opponent Saturday night.

Bryan Barberena vs Jason Witt Welterweight Division

Bryan “Bam Bam” Barberena

Bryan Barberea looks to win his second in a row this Saturday in what will be his first fight of 2021.

Barberena went 0-2 in 2019, losing via TKO in back-to-back fights to Vicente Luque and Randy Brown – the former of which was deemed the fight of the night.

Last year Barberena fought only once, against Anthony Ivy, but got the win via unanimous decision in September.

Born in California, Barberena trains out of North Carolina with the Gym-O team after spending several years with the MMA Lab.

The southpaw fighter holds a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under John Crouch. He is currently unranked in the welterweight division and he has been fighting since 2009.

He will be two-years younger than his opponent and will also have a two-inch height and two-inch reach advantage Saturday night.

Jason “The Vanilla Gorilla” Witt

Jason Witt is still very new to the UFC, signing with the promotion in 2020.

He debuted against Takashi Sato in June but suffered a TKO loss just 48-seconds into the first round.

He fared better in his second fight, submitting Cole Williams in the second-round of their October matchup.

Witt fought once more this past March against Matthew Semelsberger and was knocked out in 16 seconds.

Born in Kansas City, Witt still lives and trains in his hometown with Glory MMA & Fitness. He has been competing professionally since 2013.

He has fought for other promotions such as Titan FC, LFA, and Bellator before signing with the UFC.