UFC Singapore is EARLY tomorrow morning on UFC Fight Pass. First prelim fight is at 430am EST/130am PST. So it’s basically a Netflix, watch it when you can type card haha. Not even I’ll be watching it live. So here’s my picks.
-Holly Holm: Very good matchmaking by the UFC to help Holm get back on the winning track, as she has incredibly lost her last 3 fights since knocking out Ronda Rousey. I’ve never bought into Bethe Correia being an elite fighter. The women’s 135 lb division is just shallow. Perfect stylelistic matchup for Holm as Correia’s best strength is her striking and she’ll want to keep the fight on the feet, but unfortunately for her, Holm’s striking is superior.
-Marcin Tybura: Tybura big here. Arlovski has been finished in his last 4 fights and his career is wrapping up. I picked against Tybura a couple months ago against Luis Henrique and Tybura really won me over with his technical striking. I think Tybura picks Arlovski apart.
-Dong Hyun Kim: UPSET SPECIAL 1: Colby Covington looks to be a possible title contender at 170 lbs. But he’s yet to fight or beat any top welterweights. Plus he has a loss to Warlly Alves. So to me, a fighter doesn’t become an elite fighter until they beat an elite fighter. Lots of fighters can look good finishing competition that doesn’t belong in the UFC. Kim is one of the best fighters, pound for pound in the UFC, to not get a title shot. Kim has beat a lot of top names, but even more importantly, the past few years he’s been finishing fights. Which is something he was notorious for not doing early in his UFC career. Close fight, but look for Kim to get the decision.
-Rafael dos Anjos: When fighters get older, it becomes harder for them to cut weight like they used to. I think that’s what started to happen to dos Anjos in his past couple fights. If the fighter can barely make the weight cut, they’re not going to be 100% in the fight. Now at a more natural weight class of 170 lbs, dos Anjos is going to win big here and probably fight for the welterweight title sometime in the next 1-2 years as I predict he’ll do really well. Tarec Saffiedine is OK, but not on the same championship caliber dos Anjos is.
-Jon Tuck: When this fight was announced, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for an upset pick with the betting public maybe being behind the more well known Takanori Gomi, but that’s not the case as Tuck is a 3 to 1 favorite. Gomi is well past his prime and Tuck is a decent enough fighter to beat him. And probably finish.
-Cyril Asker: UPSET SPECIAL 2: Yes, Walt Harris is quite the athlete and he looks great when he knocks his opponents out. But he has too many flaws and I’ve seen him lose too many times in the UFC. Asker is a pretty good prospect who’s knocked out very good fighters. He’s fought heavyweights like Harris and I’m pretty confident in an upset here.
-Alex Caceres: I like Caceres big in this fight. Rolando Dy is a below average prospect and Caceres is a solid gatekeeper that beats fighters that don’t belong in the UFC.
-Justin Scoggins: Scoggins being a -600 favorite is nuts. I think Scoggins will win this fight but man, what a temptation to bet on Ulka Sasaki. Scoggins should be maybe a -200 or even -150 favorite. Yes, Sasaki has a 2-3 record in the UFC, but his first 3 fights were at 135 lbs. At 125 lbs in his last 2 fights, he’s looked a lot better submitting Willie Gates and losing a close decision to title contender Wilson Reis. Watch out for Sasaki. He’s a live underdog.
-Li Jingliang: Jingliang has improved in every one of his UFC fights and he’s got 3 knockout wins in his last 4 UFC fights. Frank Camacho is a decent opponent, knocking out durable vets on the regional circuit, but he’s coming into this fight on a couple weeks notice, so I got to pick Jingliang.
-Kwan Ho Kwak: Crazy that the oddsmakers have this fight as a pick em. Ho Kwak has beat some very good competition outside the UFC in Kyle Aguon and Alptekin Ozkilic. Sometimes the UFC keeps fighters like Russell Doane (2-4 in UFC) that have a losing record but are exciting to go against fighters the UFC wants to win. Like Ho Kwak. There’s a name for this technique in pro wrestling called “putting them over”. In this case with the UFC’s matchmaking, they want to “put over” Ho Kwak.
-Naoki Inoue: Coin flip of a fight to me. Both prospects are 20 years old which is really, really young to fight in the UFC. Both have fought average to below average competition. I was already leaning towards picking Inoue, but with de Tomas missing weight, I’m more confident in the pick.
-Ji Yeon Kim: I don’t think either prospect is that great. But Lucie Pudilova struggled in split decision wins against below average fighters in the regional circuit. Kim is famous for fighting vet Shizuka Sugiyama to a draw in her pro debut back in 2013. Not a blue chip prospect, but good enough to beat Pudilova.