Jared Gooden and Chidi Njokuani meet Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 244 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 3-2
UFC main cards, 2024: 84-74-3

Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani UFC Fight Night 244 preview

Gooden (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) continues his second stint in the UFC with his first fight of 2024, and hopes to keep on the winning track. In December, Gooden submitted Wellington Turman to pick up his first victory since retuning to the promotion in March 2023. … Njokuani (23-10 MMA, 3-3 UFC) enters his second fight of the year, following a split decision victory over Rhys McKee in March. The close result provided Njokuani relief as it snapped a three-fight skid.

Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani UFC Fight Night 244 expert pick, prediction

Serving as a solid offering at 170 pounds is an action fight between Njokuani and Gooden.

Win or lose, both men tend to find themselves in high-action affairs (whenever they’re not paired with strong wrestlers, that is).

Even though I believe Njokuani is the more skilled fighter of the two, I have a hard time relying on the 35-year-old to sustain his offense or overall pacing at this point in his career.

Gooden may have a propensity to get hurt early on in contests, but he’s proven that he can come back and win if his opponent isn’t able to finish the job.

Add in the fact that Njokuani is once again subjecting his body to another hellacious welterweight cut, and I’ll semi-reluctantly side with Gooden to survive an early storm in order to find a finish in Round 2.

Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani UFC Fight Night 244 odds

The oddsmakers and the public favor the more experienced fighter, listing Gooden +148 and Njokuani -184 via FanDuel.

Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani UFC Fight Night 244 start time, how to watch

Gooden and Njokuani are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 8:35 p.m. ET (5:35 p.m. PT). The fight will stream on ESPN+.

Chelsea continue their 100% start to the WSL season under new coach Sonia Bompastor with a 2-1 win at Arsenal, to leave their London rivals with just one win from their opening four matches.

MATCH REPORT: Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea

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Jun Yong Park and Brad Tavares meet Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 244 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 3-2
UFC main cards, 2024: 84-74-3

Jun Yong Park vs. Brad Tavares UFC Fight Night 244 preview

Park (17-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will enter the octagon for the first time in 2024. He will seek to rebound from a heartbreaking split decision loss to Andre Muniz in December, which snapped a four-fight winning streak that included three rear-naked choke submission victories. … Tavares (20-9 MMA, 15-9 UFC) will also look to bounce back from a loss in his previous fight. In February, Gregory Rodrigues stopped Tavares in the third round. Before the setback, Tavares won a unanimous decision over former UFC champ Chris Weidman.

Jun Yong Park vs. Brad Tavares UFC Fight Night 244 expert pick, prediction

The co-main event in the Apex features a re-booked attraction at 185 pounds between Park and Tavares.

Despite my usual stated bias toward Tavares and his camp, this is a fight between two fighters I thoroughly enjoy watching.

It’s hard not to be a fan of Park, and I can see why “The Iron Turtle” is favored to win on the betting lines. That said, I suspect that Tavares quietly presents a tough stylistic test for the Korean.

Not only will Park have the arguable crux of his game stymied by his Hawaiian counterpart’s stellar takedown defense, but Tavares will also be one of the few fighters who can jab with him (something that has troubled Park the few times he’s encountered it in his UFC career).

Add in the calf kicks that I see being ponent on Park’s stance, and I can’t help but side with Tavares to edge out a competitive decision on the scorecards.

Either way, I hope that Tavares finally starts to get more respect than he does for a fighter who has been able to stay afloat for so long in this organization.

Jun Yong Park vs. Brad Tavares UFC Fight Night 244 odds

The oddsmakers and public favor the Korean fighter, listing Park -188 and Tavares +152 via FanDuel.

Jun Yong Park vs. Brad Tavares UFC Fight Night 244 start time, how to watch

Park and Tavares are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 9:05 p.m. ET (6:05 p.m. PT). The fight will stream on ESPN+.

Video Details

The UFC is back on its home turf this week with a pair of flyweight contenders at the top of the lineup in “Sin City.”

UFC Fight Night 244 (ESPN+) takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Get main card pick results from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, as well as additional analysis, below.

Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez

Daniel Rodriguez vs. Alex Morono

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Records: Morono (24-10 MMA, 13-7 UFC), Rodriguez (17-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC)
Past five: Morono 2-3, Rodriguez 2-3
Division: Welterweight
Rankings: None
Odds (as of 10.11.24): Morono +180, Rodriguez -220
Junkie pick results: Rodriguez 6, Morono 5

Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia

Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia

Records: Dawson (12-2-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC), Garcia (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC)
Past five: Dawson 4-1, Garcia 4-1
Division: Lightweight
Rankings: Dawson No. 8
Odds (as of 10.11.24): Dawson -425, Garcia +330
Junkie pick results: Dawson 11, Garcia 0

Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani

Chidi Njokuani vs. Jared Gooden

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Records: Gooden (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC), Njokuani (23-10 MMA, 3-3 UFC)
Past five: Gooden 3-2, Njokuani 2-3
Division: Welterweight
Rankings: None
Odds (as of 10.11.24): Gooden +140, Njokuani -170
Junkie pick results: Njokuani 10, Gooden 1

JunYong Park vs. Brad Tavares

Brad Tavares vs. JunYong Park

Records: Park (17-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC), Tavares (20-9 MMA, 15-9 UFC)
Past five: Park 4-1, Tavares 2-3
Division: Middleweight
Rankings: None
Odds (as of 10.11.24): Park -200, Tavares +165
Junkie pick results: Park 6, Tavares 5

Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira

Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira

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Records: Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC), Taira (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC)
Past five: Royval 4-1, Taira 5-0
Division: Flyweight
Rankings: Royval No. 3, Taira No. 6
Odds (as of 10.11.24): Royval +240, Taira -300
Junkie pick results: Taira 10, Royval 1

Preliminary card picks

Julia Polastri vs. Cory McKenna

Although they don’t count toward the standings, MMA Junkie staff members still pick the fights on the prelims. Here are the results:

• Ramazonbek Temirov vs. CJ Vergara: Temirov 10, Vergara 1
• Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini: Sabatini 9, Pearce 2
• Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price: Gorimbo 11, Price 0
• Sean Sharaf vs. Junior Tafa: Tafa 11, Sharaf 0
• Cory McKenna vs. Julia Polastri: McKenna 9, Polastri 2
• Dan Argueta vs. Cody Haddon: Haddon 10, Argueta
• Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha: Carpenter 6, Rocha 5

Check out all the main card picks below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

Like just about everybody who witnessed UFC 306 at Sphere, flyweight contender Tatsuro Taira marveled at the grand presentation celebrating Mexican Independence Day.

While the show cost over $20 million to produce, UFC CEO Dana White made it his personal mission to put on an unforgettable live event after the $2.3 billion arena featuring massive wraparound LED screens first opened in Las Vegas. Thanks to the UFC’s contract with MGM, White has said that the card as Sphere is a “one and done’ but Taira still holds out hope that one day he could see the UFC put on a show there with a love letter to his home country of Japan.

“That would definitely be a dream, whether that’s a title fight or I’m defending my title,” Taira told MMA Fighting. “Seeing that history of Japanese MMA in the Sphere, presenting that would be my dream.”

Considering how many ties martial arts holds back to Japan, it’s tough to imagine that wouldn’t be a spectacular exploration of history for the UFC to promote.

As much as he would love to see Japanese combat sports get that kind of spotlight, Taira admits he’d do just about anything to get a fight on any UFC card at Sphere.

“It was amazing, Taira said. “The whole event as the night itself was so impressive and amazing. If they come back next year, I definitely want to be on the card.”

First things first, Taira has to take care of his own business on Saturday at UFC Vegas 98 when he faces former title challenger Brandon Royval in the main event.

Despite the fact that nothing has been promised, Taira truly believes a win over an established contender like Royval should probably put him in title contention, especially since reigning UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja still doesn’t have an opponent for his next fight yet.

“Yes, obviously, I’m hoping for the title fight after this,” Taira said. “It will be a good matchup against Pantoja. Of course, focused on this one, get this one and then get Pantoja next.

“First up is this Royval match in October. If I beat him, I’ll be ready to fight any time against the champ.”

Through 16 fights in his career, Taira remains undefeated and he’s currently 6-0 in the UFC with four finishes along the way.

He looks to extend that stream to 17 this weekend and while some fighters shy away from talking about an unblemished record, Taira is proud of his achievement. In fact, Taira hopes to hold unto that undefeated resume all the way through his eventual shot at becoming UFC champion.

“I’m very proud that I’m still undefeated,” Taira said. “Does it give additional pressure? The answer would be yes. But at the same time, that pressure is what brought me here. So I do like the pressure and being undefeated.

“So far I’ve been undefeated but the process is basically one by one. You get this new opponent and you focus on that opponent and keep getting the win. That process has brought me here. Of course if I can get the title shot as an undefeated fighter and get the championship belt the same, it would be a dream of all the fans and fighters, someone to look up to. So I definitely look forward to that.”

When it comes to the Royval fight, Taira was definitely excited when he got the call not only because winning should put him that much closer to the championship but he knows this is the kind of opponent that makes things exciting.

Royval prides himself on being one of the most entertaining fighters on the entire UFC roster and Taira knows that kind of style gives him a lot to work with.

“Royval, I definitely see him as a finisher,” Taira said. “I can see from his fights that he’s always looking for that moment. I think the other thing is his stamina. That’s on the top level of the division.

“I was very excited. Got my last fight against Alex Perez so now I’m here to fight the No. 1 ranked [flyweight]. So I’m very excited. “