UFC Vegas 105: Emmett vs. Murphy picks and predictions

See who we think will win this Saturday at the UFC APEX.

Someone is getting their face mashed… but who? Art by Chris Rini

The UFC is back at the APEX this weekend after some pretty fun trips to the UK and Mexico. This weekend’s main event is a meaningful one for the Featherweight division. And it might be pretty entertaining, too. Lerone Murphy is going try and continue to pad his resume and make a case for a title shot when he meets Josh Emmett. Emmett, who had a shot at the interim 145 lbs. strap, will be fighting to show he deserves to remain near the top of the division.

The co-main sucks on name value. But Pat Sabatini vs. Joanderson Brito is a very fun style match-up. We could see some great, and violent, grappling in that one. I think it’s fair to be down on the rest of the main card, though, with bouts like Cortavious Romious vs. Chang Ho Lee and Ode’ Osbourne vs. Luis Gurule.

The prelims include some relatively well known names, like Davey Grant, Victor Henry and Looma Lookboonmee, but they aren’t in match-ups that are terribly exciting.

As always, we’ve gone over these fights and given our picks and analysis. Scroll down for all of that. If you’re looking to make some money off these picks… good luck! We hope you win. Please bet responsibly, though.

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Josh Emmett (+260) vs. Lerone Murphy (-340)

Miguel Class: This is a fight with a straightforward dynamic but is still a bit hard to predict. Murphy is absolutely vulnerable to getting cracked early by a hard puncher and he probably won’t have an opportunity to recover if Emmett lands on him the way Ige did. While Emmett does carry his power late into fights, Murphy can pare down his game to avoid the pocket and Emmett has limited options for closing distance. …