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The UFC is back in China with a rising light heavyweight star at the top of the bill.
UFC Fight Night 257 (ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.
Get pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below.
Kiefer Crosbie vs. Taiyilake Nueraji
- Records: Crosbie (10-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC), Nueraji (11-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
- Division: Welterweight
- Rankings: None
- Odds (as of 08.22.25): Crosbie +385, Nueraji -500
- Junkie pick results: Nueraji 11, Crosbie 0
Kevin Borjas vs. Su Mudaerji
- Records: Borjas (10-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC), Mudaerji (17-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC)
- Division: Flyweight
- Rankings: None
- Odds (as of 08.22.25): Borjas +150, Mudaerji -180
- Junkie pick results: Mudaerji 6, Borjas 5
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Sergei Pavlovich
- Records: Cortes-Acosta (14-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC), Pavlovich (19-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC)
- Division: Heavyweight
- Rankings: Pavlovich No. 5, Cortes-Acosta No. 8
- Odds (as of 08.22.25): Cortes-Acosta +190, Pavlovich -250
- Junkie pick results: Pavlovich 8, Cortes-Acosta 3
Brian Ortega vs. Aljamain Sterling
- Records: Ortega (16-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC), Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC)
- Division: Lightweight
- Rankings: Ortega No. 5, Sterling No. 12
- Odds (as of 08.22.25): Ortega +300, Sterling -375
- Junkie pick results: Sterling 11, Ortega 0
Johnny Walker vs. Zhang Mingyang
- Records: Walker (21-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC), Mingyang (19-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC)
- Division: Light heavyweight
- Rankings: Mingyang No. 15, Walker honorable mention
- Odds (as of 08.22.25): Walker +280, Mingyang -350
- Junkie pick results: Mingyang 10, Walker 1
Individual staff member picks, main card
Readers 120-75: Mingyang (80%), Sterling (68%), Pavlovich (75%), Mudaerji (55%), Nueraji (80%)
- Ken Hathaway 126-69: Mingyang, Sterling, Pavlovich, Mudaerji, Nueraji
- Nolan King 126-69: Mingyang, Sterling, Pavlovich, Mudaerji, Nueraji
- Mike Bohn 126-69: Mingyang, Sterling, Pavlovich, Mudaerji, Nueraji
- Abbey Subhan 122-73: Mingyang, Sterling, Pavlovich, Borjas, Nueraji
- Farah Hannoun 122-73: Mingyang, Sterling, Pavlovich, Borjas, Nueraji
- Simon Samano 119-76: Mingyang, Sterling, Cortes-Acosta, Mudaerji, Nueraji
- Brian Garcia 118-77: Mingyang, Sterling, Pavlovich, Borjas, Nueraji
- Matt Erickson 117-78: Mingyang, Sterling, Cortes-Acosta, Mudaerji, Nueraji
- Danny Segura 115-80: Mingyang, Sterling, Cortes-Acosta, Borjas, Nueraji
- Matthew Wells 113-82: Mingyang, Sterling, Pavlovich, Mudaerji, Nueraji
- George Garcia 107-88: Walker, Sterling, Pavlovich, Borjas, Nueraji
Preliminary card picks
Although they don’t count toward the standings, MMA Junkie staff members still pick the fights on the prelims. Here are the results:
- Hayisaer Maheshate vs. Gauge Young: Maheshate 10, Young 1
- Charles Johnson vs. Lone’er Kavanagh: Kavanagh 9, Johnson 2
- Austin Hubbard vs. Rong Zhu: Zhu 9, Hubbard 2
- Kyle Daukaus vs. Michel Pereira: Pereira 10, Daukaus 1
- Yi Zha vs. Westin Wilson: Zha 6, Wilson 5
- Xiao Long vs. SuYoung You: You 11, Long 0
- Diyar Nurgozhay vs. Uran Satybaldiev: Satybaldiev 7, Nurgozhay 4
