UFC Vegas 102 Picks for Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues and Other Fights

UFC Fight Night 251 a.k.a. UFC Vegas 102 is on the program on Saturday, February 15, 2025, at UFC Apex in Vegas. You might not be a huge fan of Apex events, but this one is almost guaranteed to deliver.

There are some very interesting matchups on the fight card, starting with the headliner bout – Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues – which we predict will win the Fight of the Night award.

For more UFC Vegas 102 picks and predictions, just keep on reading this preview!

Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues – Killa Gorilla’s Decisive Fight

In one month, Jared Cannonier will celebrate his 41^st birthday – he’s currently the 6^th-oldest fighter on the UFC roster.

Still, this doesn’t mean it’s time for retirement. On the contrary, The Killa Gorilla fought two fights last year, putting on a decent performance in each of those, despite facing two really tough opponents – Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho. He lost both of those, but he did not embarrass himself.

However, if he loses a third fight in a row, it could be a signal that the time has come for him to wrap up his UFC career. But if he wins on Saturday, he will return to the spotlight. So, can he beat Gregory Rodrigues?

While Robocop is favored by bookies with UFC Vegas 102 odds of -190, the Brazilian fighter simply doesn’t have too much experience fighting at the top level. He just hasn’t fought against such a tough guy as Cannonier.

Calvin Kattar vs. Youssef Zalal – The Boston Finisher to Get Finished?

Calvin Kattar a.k.a. The Boston Finisher is 23-8 overall, which seems pretty good, but there is a problem. Three of those eight losses happened in his last three fights.

To be fair to the guy, he did lose to three really amazing opponents – Josh Emmett, Arnold Allen, and Aljamain Sterling.

Unfortunately for him, he’s locking horns with another amazing fighter this coming Saturday. The man in question is Youssef Zalal, who’s one of the best grapplers in the UFC.

He’s 16-5-1, with 9 wins by submission. The best thing? Four of those nine submission wins happened in his last four fights. Will he get another win this way? Our prediction is that he will.

UFC Vegas 102 Picks for All Other Fights

• Edmen Shabazyan (-350) vs. Dylan Budka (+295) – Edmen Shabazyan
• Ismael Bonfim (-350) vs. Nazim Sadykhov (+300) – Ismael Bonfim
• Rodolfo Vieira (-235) vs. Andre Petroski (+210) – Rodolfo Vieira
• Jose Delgado (-290) vs. Connor Matthews (+255) – Jose Delgado
• Jared Gordon (-180) vs. Kaue Fernandes (+155) – Jared Gordon
• Rafael Estevam (-360) vs. Jesus Aguilar (+295) – Rafael Estevam
• Gabriel Bonfim (-210) vs. Khaos Williams (+181) – Gabriel Bonfim
• Jacqueline Cavalcanti (-425) vs. Julia Avila (+400) – Jacqueline Cavalcanti

We’re going heavy on favorites with our UFC Vegas 102 picks. We’re almost certain that Edmen Shabazyan will beat Dylan Budka, probably by knockout/technical knockout. We also think the brothers Bonfim will win on February 15.

Still, our favorite UFC Vegas 102 pick is Jacqueline Cavalcanti in the first preliminary fight of the day. We think she will literally beat up Julia Avila and win either by KO/TKO or by a unanimous decision.