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WELCOME to the first installment of our new feature, The Fighter v The Writer.

While most could never in a million years compete with UFC athletes inside the Octagon our writer Tom Heffernan might just be able to compete with them outside of it.

Each month, starting with UFC197 on Saturday night, Tom will be going head to head with a UFC athlete in a fight-picking contest to see who really knows their onions, the writer or the fighter.

UFC 197 marks the return of arguably the best man to ever enter the Octagon, Jon 'Bones' Jones who fights late replacement Ovince Saint-Preux in an interim light-heavyweight title fight.

We thought it only fitting to launch the series with a Scottish fighter and the first ever Scot inside the Octagon , Robert Whiteford, has stepped forward to be the first fighter to try and put Tom to shame.

Here are our picks:

Jon Jones v Ovince Saint Preux (Interim Light Heavyweight Title)

Tom Heffernan: Jones is the most naturally talented MMA fighter I have ever seen and rightly sits at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings.

OSP has crisp and powerful striking and matches fairly well physically with Jones but his wrestling defence still needs work and that may be his undoing in this contest. I expect Jones to win this in the first round with some brutal ground and pound.

(Image: 2015 Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC)

Robert Whiteford: I just can’t see Jon Jones losing this fight; he seems to beat every fighter with ease.

He is hungrier and I think he is going to take late replacement Saint Preux apart. It will be a second or third round finish for Jon Jones.

Demetrious Johnson v Henry Cejudo (Flyweight Championship)

Tom: Johnson is a phenomenal fighter and has pretty much cleaned out the rest of the flyweight division since winning the belt back in 2012. He has incredible speed and movement.

Henry Cejudo, however, may just be his toughest test yet. Cejudo is unbeaten in 10 fights but more importantly, he knows how to handle the big stage having won an Olympic gold medal in wrestling.

(Image: Getty)

UFC fans have seen a couple of upsets recently with Ronda Rousey losing to Holly Holm, then Conor McGregor losing to Nate Diaz and I have a feeling there will be another at UFC197.

This pick will probably come back to haunt me but I predict Cejudo will shock the world and win by TKO in round 4.

Robert: I can’t see Demetrious Johnson losing this one.

Demetrious does everything in the Octagon, he has the overall package and it’s as simple as that.

Henry is a good wrestler. He has the Olympic pedigree to back that up and he's also a very good grappler. Johnson is the champ for a reason, and he will win this fight via decision.

Anthony Pettis v Edson Barboza (Lightweight)

Tom: Fans should should be in for a treat as two of the most exciting strikers in the division go toe to toe in a contest that has fight of the night written all over it.

Both men are coming off losses and that means they will be utterly determined to pick up a victory. I think this fight will be won or lost on the canvas and with Pettis being stronger on the ground I am opting for the former champ to win in the third via submission.

Robert: It’s a great match up and they are both great strikers. I think the fight will be won mentally.

But Pettis is a seasoned veteran and he has fought the best and beaten the best. I am predicting that Barboza will get stopped by Pettis in the second round by TKO.

Robert Whittaker v Rafael Natal (Middleweight)

Tom: Both men are currently on a four fight win streak and both have beaten some decent competition along the way. Whittaker has looked great since moving up to middleweight and I believe he has a great future in the division.

Natal’s ground game will come into play in this fight but I think Whittaker has the more diverse set of skills and will score a nice KO victory in the third round.

Robert: Whittaker is maturing into a great fighter. Natal is a good grappler and a decent striker. I think Whittaker’s overall game though will see him win this in fight in a three round decision.

Featherweight: Yair Rodriguez vs. Andre Fili

Tom: I think both guys are well matched in this fight in that they are both good strikers so it may just come down to who wants it more on the night.

Fili is very experienced but has been stop start in his career. Rodriguez has the momentum with 3 wins from 3, which includes winning TUF Latin America so his tail will be up. I expect Fili to give Rodriguez a hard opening round but after that I expect Rodriguez to score a TKO in round 3.

Robert: Rodriquez is still fairly raw; he has just come off TUF (The Ultimate Fighter). I think Fili is training with better people at the moment and I think he has had a tougher run in the UFC, fighting tougher guys. I think the experience will win him this one and I think it will be a decision win for Fili.

Tom: Jones, Cejudo, Pettis, Whittaker and Rodriguez

Robert: Jones, Johnson, Pettis, Whittaker and Fili