Luis Saldana (Striker) vs Bruno Souza (Striker/Grappler)
Both of these guys aren’t great at all. I think it’ll be a snoozefest decision to start the night. I think Saldana gasses late in this fight and Souza sneaks away with a decision.
David Dvorak (Striker) vs Matheus Nicolau (Striker)
Solid fight between two ranked flyweights early in the night. I’ve been really impressed with Dvorak so far. He hasn’t lost a fight since 2012 and Nicolau barely pulled out wins in his last two.
Manon Fiorot (Striker) vs Jennifer Maia (Striker/Grappler)
It’s really hard seeing Fiorot losing this fight. She is the far superior fighter and should even score a finish. It may get interesting if Maia gets her to the ground though.
Aliaskhab Khizriev (Grappler) vs Denis Tiuliulin (Striker)
-1100 favorites…… Khizriev opened up as a -350 favorite and has gone all the way up to 1100. That is insane! With that being said, Denis needs to get a KO quick before this fight hits the ground.
Chris Gutierrez (Striker) vs Danaa Batgerel (Striker)
I’m a huge Gutierrez fan. This is by far his toughest test in the UFC. This fight should be a really good one. If Chris can take some shots and keep going after the legs, I think he has a good chance.
Sara McMann (Grappler) vs Karol Rosa (Striker)
We’ll get to see how good Rosa is at grappling in this one. I think this one stays on the ground for the most part. One of these ladies is going to get a submission too. If Rosa can keep McMann from going to the ground, she can easily win the striking battle though.
Neil Magny (Striker/Grappler) vs Max Griffin (Striker/Wrestler)
This is an interesting one! Neil is the gatekeeper of this division. Max is going to need to KO Neil to win this one because Neil is going to do what he does and get a decision victory if you don’t.
Viecheslav Borshchev (Striker) vs Marc Diakiese (Striker)
Diakiese had so much potential at 12-0 and has looked horrible recently. He needs a victory in the worst way. Diakiese may go to his wrestling to try and get the victory he deeply needs.
Alexey Oleinik (Grappler) vs Ilir Latifi (Striker/Wrestler)
I want to pick Oleinik for his 60th win so badly, but Latifi just doesn’t get submitted. I mean look at that man's neck. Ilir wins by a left hand.
Kai Kara-France (Striker) vs Askar Askarov (Well Rounded)
By far the best fight of the night. I am super excited for this one. Kai has looked really good and pieced up Cody G pretty bad last time. The problem is Cody doesn’t wrestle and that’s exactly what Askar is going to do. He should control the wrestling game and win this one.
Matt Brown (Striker) vs Bryan Barberena (Striker/Grappler)
This one is one of those fights that if it ends early, Brown wins and if it goes late, Bryan wins. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. I like Bryan, but I could see Matt ending this one early.
Joanne Calderwood (Striker) vs Alexa Grasso (Striker/Grappler)
This one is going to the judges' scorecards for sure. And it will most likely be Grasso taking the dub. Don’t see anything crazy happening in this one.
Curtis Blaydes (Striker/Wrestler) vs Christopher Daukaus (Striker)
Curtis needs to do what he does best and wrestle here. I am worried about him thinking he is a striker now and getting KO’d. It’s happened before with him. If he wrestles, this one isn’t close. If he can’t get this to the ground, we may be looking at an upset!
BETS:
Grasso -250
Barberena -110
Diakiese +135
Gutierrez +115
Dvorak -115
Souza -125