UFC on ESPN 44 predictions: Who’s taking Arnold Allen over ex-champ Max Holloway in mighty K.C.?

	Holloway vs. Allen	Barboza vs. Quarantillo	Jacoby vs. Murzakanov	Boser vs. Cutelaba	Gutierrez vs. Munhoz	Garcia vs. Guida
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 45-33	Holloway (62%)	Quarantillo (54%)	Jacoby (53%)	Boser (63%)	Gutierrez (71%)	Garcia (53%)
Nolan King @mma_kings 48-30	Holloway	Quarantillo	Murzakanov	Boser	Gutierrez	Guida
Matt Erickson @MattE 48-30	Allen	Barboza	Murzakanov	Boser	Gutierrez	Garcia
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 48-30	Holloway	Barboza	Murzakanov	Boser	Gutierrez	Guida
Simon Samano @SJSamano 47-31	Holloway	Barboza	Murzakanov	Boser	Gutierrez	Garcia
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 45-33	Holloway	Quarantillo	Murzakanov	Boser	Gutierrez	Garcia
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 44-34	Holloway	Quarantillo	Murzakanov	Boser	Gutierrez	Guida
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 44-34 2018, 2022 Champion	Allen	Quarantillo	Murzakanov	Cutelaba	Gutierrez	Guida
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 44-34	Holloway	Barboza	Murzakanov	Cutelaba	Gutierrez	Guida
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 43-35 2014 Champion	Holloway	Barboza	Murzakanov	Boser	Gutierrez	Guida
Brian Garcia @thegoze 43-35 2017 Champion	Holloway	Quarantillo	Jacoby	Boser	Gutierrez	Guida
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 41-37	Holloway	Barboza	Murzakanov	Boser	Gutierrez	Garcia

Five years after its first visit, the UFCc is back in an historic Midwest city this week with a former featherweight champion on the top of the card.

UFC on ESPN 44 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, former featherweight champion Max Holloway (23-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC) takes on England’s Arnold Allen (19-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC), who is unbeaten in the UFC. Holloway is nearly a 2-1 favorite at the betting window, and our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have him in a rout at 9-2.

In the co-feature, Edson Barboza (22-11 MMA, 16-11 UFC) meets Billy Quarantillo (17-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in another potential featherweight banger. Quarantillo is a -175 favorite, but it’s elite striker Barboza who has the slimmest possible edge in the picks at 6-5.

Also on the main card, Dustin Jacoby (18-6-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) fights Azamat Murzakanov (12-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at light heavyweight, and even though he’s a -165 favorite, it’s Murzakanov who has a near-shutout in the picks as an underdog at 10-1.

Another fight at 205 pounds sees Tanner Boser (20-9-1 MMA, 4-4 UFC) take on Ion Cutelaba (16-9-1 MMA, 5-8-1 UFC). Cutelaba is a slight favorite at -135, but Boser has a big 9-2 picks lead.

Chris Gutierrez (19-3-2 MMA, 7-1-1 UFC) is more than a 2-1 favorite against Pedro Munhoz (19-7 MMA, 9-7 UFC) in their bantamweight bout, and he’s our lone unanimous pick from our staff members at 11-0.

And to open the main card, Rafa Garcia (15-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) takes on longtime lightweight and UFC Hall of Famer Clay Guida (38-22 MMA, 18-16 UFC). Garcia is the biggest favorite on the entire card at -275, but the picks didn’t play out that way. Underdog Guida has a 7-4 lead from our pickers.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Holloway (62 percent), Quarantillo (54 percent), Jacoby (53 percent), Boser (63 percent), Gutierrez (71 percent), and Garcia (54 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie