-Darren Till: If Till makes weight, he’s going to become champion. I think it’s that simple. Tyron Woodley is 36 years old. There’s a bunch of elite, young welterweights coming up and I think he’s known for awhile that his time as champion is coming to an end, doesn’t matter if it’s Till or Colby Covington or Kamaru Usman. I think Woodley loses to all 3. Till would have looked way better against 35 year old Stephen Thompson if his weight cut had gone smooth, but he was depleted and didn’t look like he did against Donald Cerrone. Woodley’s only chance of winning this fight would be to take Till down and keep top control. And if this was a younger Woodley, I think he’d be able to. But he is 36 years old. And Till is 25 years, much bigger and most importantly I think much stronger. Plus if Woodley wasn’t able to take Thompson down, I don’t expect him to take Till down either. So because of that, I’m picking Till to become champion with a decision win.
-Valentina Shevchenko: Pretty crazy that Shevchenko on some books is as high as a -1700 favorite over champion Nicco Montano. I think Montano is much better than the general public thinks she is, but I just don’t see any path to her winning. You could say Shevchenko was small for the 135 lb weight class and barely lost to dominant champion Amanda Nunes twice. Meanwhile, just last year Montano lost to a 135 lb fighter named Julia Avila who’s 30 years old and has a 4-1 record. I don’t expect this fight to last long. Shevchenko by 1st round knockout and new champion.
-Zabit Magomedsharipov: Shame that Yair Rodriguez got hurt. And the fact that the best the UFC could do in a short notice fight in Brandon Davis showed how no one in the top 15 wants any part of Zabit. Zabit is going to dominate this fight and will win by 1st round submission.
-Karolina Kowalkiewicz: UPSET SPECIAL 1: There will be a lot of people saying that Andrade is going to win here by knockout, due to the ferocious striking and power that Andrade has. But I see Kowalkiewicz winning by being faster and more technical with strikes. Getting in and out and using her sizable reach advantage to tire Andrade out and really pour it on in the 3rd round. So I’m going with Kowalkiewicz by decision.
-Niko Price: UPSET SPECIAL 2: The UFC booked this fight with Price vs Adul Razak Alhassan in the hopes of having an exciting stand up fight kicking off the pay per view. But I think Price goes for the path of least resistance. Alhassan is pure stand up. He’s one dimensional. Striking is the main thing he does and all his other skills are below average. Price has under rated grappling chops and is going to take advantage of that. He’ll grapple Alhassan to the ground and will submit him in the 1st round.
-Tatiana Suarez: Not only do I predict that Suarez will be fighting for the 115 lb title at some point next year, I’ll also go out on a limb and say she has a very good chance of beating champion Rose Namajunas due to Suarez’s wrestling. Esparza’s best tool is wrestling and she doesn’t do well when going against an opponent with superior wrestling. This fight is actually really similar to the Cody Stamann vs Aljamain Sterling fight in that one wrestler takes on a superior wrestler. Suarez’s wrestling is so world class, she’s going to take Esparza down and submit her in the 2nd round.
-Cody Stamann: UPSET SPECIAL 3: Aljamain Sterling’s best tool is his wrestling. But it’s not elite. He’s got plus submissions. Average striking. Problem Sterling is going to run into in this fight is that Stamann’s wrestling is better. I think this fight stays on the feet. Stamann out points Sterling with strikes and wins by decision.
-Jimmie Rivera: Love this fight. John Dodson is still top notch. At 135 lbs, he’s only lost split decisions to contenders Marlon Moraes and John Lineker. But this is a nightmare matchup for Dodson. Dodson has solid standup, but the power he had at 125 lbs doesn’t translate to 135 lbs as well. He’s elite in scrambling and getting back to his feet while taken down. But this is a bad matchup because Rivera’s wrestling is elite and I think Rivera will use the clinch and will push Dodson against the fence using his size advantage to make this an ugly fight. Rivera might try and stand up but because he’s coming off a knockout loss to Moraes and knows Dodson has some knockout power, I think Rivera plays it safe to win by decision in a chess match of a fight.
-Charles Byrd: Darren Stewart’s game in the current moment is easy to figure out. If he can keep the fight on the feet, he has a great chance of knocking his opponent out. But if he gets taken down, he’s still weak there and is likely to be submitted. Byrd is a bad matchup for Stewart. I see Byrd being able to take Stewart down and submitting him in the 1st round.
-Diego Sanchez: UPSET SPECIAL 4: I do think Sanchez’s days of being an elite fighter is over. But the move up to 170 lbs will prolong his career. And he’s taking on Craig White who isn’t exactly a top prospect with a 14-7 pro record before signing with the UFC. And he’s more of a submission specialist than a striker. I think White will try and take Sanchez to the ground but will fail and Sanchez will outslug White and knock him out in the 2nd round.
-Alex White: Jim Miller is done. Lost 4 in a row. 35 years old. He hasn’t won any significant fights since 2014. White is 3-4 in the UFC. And I don’t think White is that great either, but he’s a decent lower tier gatekeeper. He’s well rounded and I think is stronger than Miller at this point to keep the fight on the feet and will out point Miller in strikes to win via decision.
-Lucie Pudilova: Pudilova is one of the best prospects at 135 lbs. 24 years old. Is well rounded but more well known for her striking. Irene Aldana has quality boxing, but she can be out struck as shown in her losses to Leslie Smith and a smaller Katlyn Chookagian. Pudilova is going to be too fast, too in and out and will out point Aldana in a decision win.
-Jarred Brooks: Really interesting matchup and a much better fight than the original Roberto Sanchez vs Ryan Benoit. That matchup was tailor made for a 1st round Sanchez submission special. But Brooks is a nightmare matchup for Sanchez. Sanchez’s game depends on his ability to grapple his opponent to the ground. But Brook’s wrestling is elite and I see him taking Sanchez down and having enough strength to land punches and be in top control, while at the same time avoiding Sanchez’s submission attempts. Because of that, Brooks wins by decision.
-Geoff Neal: Neal really impressed me in his UFC debut against Brian Camozzi, who’s better than what his record says. Neal doesn’t have the most impressive resume coming into the UFC but he’s beat 2 legit prospects in his last 2 fights and whatever his upside is, he’s currently got better skills than Frank Camacho. Camacho is a stand up guy. Smaller welterweight. I just don’t see Camacho having the power to pose any kind of threat to Neal. I think Neal takes the path of least resistance. Stands for a bit. Takes Camacho down. Ground and pound TKO in the 2nd round.