UFC 245 predictions -- Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington: Fight card, expert picks, odds, date - CBS Sports

All of the trash talk has come to an end, so the time for talking has finished and it's time for UFC 245 as the 2019 calendar year reaches its conclusion as well. Saturday night in Las Vegas, UFC 245 will bring us a main event for the welterweight championship featuring the champion Kamaru Usman defending against the polarizing Colby Covington. Not enough? Well, there are two additional title fights on tao as Max Holloway puts his featherweight title on the line against Alexander Volkanovski and Amanda Nunes defends the women's bantamweight championship against Germaine de Randamie. 

The UFC's final pay-per-view of 2019 features a stacked card from the prelims to the main event and we have picks for all the night's main card fights, which include Urijah Faber attempting to battle his way back to a title shot and Jose Aldo's bantamweight debut, both fights the former champions enter as underdogs. Read on to see who the CBS Sports staff are picking to pick up huge wins on one of the biggest cards of the year.

Can't get enough UFC? Subscribe to our podcast State of Combat with Brian Campbell where we break down everything you need to know in the Octagon, including an in-depth preview of UFC 245 below.

Buckle up, it's going to be a wild ride. Let's take a closer look at the rest of the card with the latest odds from MGM.

UFC 245 fight card

Fight	Weight Class
Kamaru Usman (c) -180 vs. Colby Covington +150	Welterweight championship
Max Holloway (c) -180 vs. Alexander Volkanovski +150	Featherweight championship
Amanda Nunes (c) -340 vs. Germaine de Randamie +270	Women's featherweight championship
Marlon Moraes -200 vs. Jose Aldo +160	Bantamweight
Petr Yan -500 vs. Urijah Faber +360	Bantamweight
Geoff Neal -240 vs. Mike Perry +190	Welterweight
Matt Brown -360 vs. Ben Saunders +290	Welterweight
Ian Heinisch -150 vs. Omari Akhmedov +120	Middleweight
Ketlen Vieria -185 vs. Irene Aldana +155	Women's bantamweight
Viviane Araujo -200 vs. Jessica Eye +160	Women's flyweight
Chase Hooper -130 vs. Daniel Teymur +100	Featherweight
Kai Kara France -160 vs. Brandon Moreno +130	Flyweight
Punahele Soriano -115 vs. Oskar Piechota -115	Middleweight

With such a massive main event on tap, the crew at CBS Sports went ahead with predictions and picks for the main card with latest odds from Westgate. Here are your pick makers: Brent Brookhouse (Combat sports writer), Brian Campbell (Combat sports writer), Matthew Coca (producer), Jack Crosby (editor), Michael Mormile (producer) and Brandon Wise (editor).

UFC 245 picks

	Campbell	Brookhouse	Coca	Crosby	Mormile	Wise
Usman (c) vs. Covington	Usman	Usman	Usman	Covington	Usman	Covington
Holloway vs. Volkanovski	Holloway	Holloway	Holloway	Holloway	Holloway	Volkanovski
Nunes vs. De Randime	Nunes	Nunes	Nunes	Nunes	Nunes	Nunes
Moraes vs. Aldo	Moraes	Moraes	Aldo	Moraes	Moraes	Moraes
Yan vs. Faber	Yan	Yan	Yan	Yan	Yan	Yan

Campbell on why Usman will win: Two of the best wrestlers in the entire sport will square off in this grudge match to declare an undisputed champion at 170 pounds. The most important question then becomes what happens if their respective grappling skills cancel each other out and this becomes more of a battle on the feet. That's where Usman should have more success as the harder striker in a fight that could very well be a 25-minute track meet. Covington has speed and relentlessness in his favor, but Usman's killer instinct is the difference.

Crosby on why Covington will win: Pushing to the side the controversial nature of his character during promotion, Covington has proven time and time again that he's in the upper echelon when it comes to not only wrestling in UFC, but being loaded with a full arsenal. We saw during his systematic breakdown of Robbie Lawler in his last outing that he can be outstanding defensively while avoiding trouble, and while it may not be his calling card, he can bring it with the strikes when necessary. To the dismay of many, Covington likely comes out of this one doing just enough to hold Usman's takedown attempts at bay to walk out with the welterweight title on points.

Campbell on why Holloway will win: In the six years since we last saw him lose at 145 pounds, it has become increasingly difficult to bet against it ever happening against as Holloway continues to build an almost legendary resume. As far as difficult tests on paper go, Volkanovski is about as tough as they get. He can punch and he's equally smart and tough. Holloway appears to just be a different breed, however, and a fighter who controls distance so well while virtually removing his opponent's chances of bringing the fight to the ground. This one will feature plenty of action but Holloway's output will be enough via decision.

Wise on why Volkanovski will win: This is almost more of standing by your man pick than anything else. I've been on the Volkanovski train since he made the jump into the UFC and will ride this into the ground. With his elite cardio and wrestling ability, Volkanovski is a nightmarish matchup for just about anyone. Despite being just 5-foot-6, the former Australian rugby player who once tipped the scales at over 200 pounds will be able to get inside the length of Holloway and be one of the first successful fighters to take him to the ground and force him to fight off his back. The size difference may be a peculiar one for a title fight, but don't let that fool you in this high speed chess match.

Brookhouse on why Nunes will win: While I wouldn't curse her with the "invincible" tag, Nunes is certainly special. What's more important than anything in this fight is that nothing has really changed since the two women met the first time. Nunes has more avenues to victory than de Randamie and the difference on the ground tilts heavily in her favor. I don't expect Nunes to look to engage on the feet as much as normal, much like the first fight. Instead, she'll likely wait for the opening to present itself to take de Randamie to the mat and overwhelm her defenses for another stoppage win.

Brookhouse on why Moraes will win: We've all seen the pictures of Aldo in camp, right? The man looks skeletal. He looks to be bordering on malnourished. It was already a rough cut for Aldo to make 145 pounds. Dipping even further seems dangerous and I don't expect him to benefit from trying to fight against his body in the drop. Moraes will be more comfortable at the weight, likely have more energy and strength and that will be key in this fight from the opening bell to the final second.

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UFC 245 predictions -- Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington: Fight card, expert picks, odds, date - CBS Sports
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