-Jon Jones: I say this all the time, but when rematches happen, whoever wins the first fight wins the vast majority of rematches. But stylistically, this matchup still favors Jones. In Jones’ last fight against Daniel Cormier, I thought we saw the best striking we’ve ever seen from him. And it’s been shown that Gustafsson can be out struck when he lost to Anthony Johnson and Cormier. Gustafsson is really good. He’s probably the second best light heavyweight in the division. But Jones is a once in a generation fighter who’s just better than Gustafsson everywhere. I see Jones knocking Gustafsson out in the 3rd round.
-Amanda Nunes: UPSET SPECIAL 1: I’m just not convinced Cris Cyborg is as good as the hype she gets because of the lack of competition there’s been for her at 145 lbs. Yes, the Holly Holm win was good for her, but was also the toughest opponent Cyborg has ever fought. And Holm hasn’t been the same since she lost the title to Miesha Tate. Holm even went into the Cyborg fight having lost 3 of her last 4. And Cyborg barely beat Holm. Meanwhile, Nunes has taken off since greatly improving her take down defense. And Nunes has beaten a who’s who of the best at 135 lbs. Cyborg has never fought anyone at Nunes’ level, with Nunes’ level of confidence. I think Cyborg will strike with Nunes aggressively, but will be out struck by the much faster and more technical Nunes. I’m going with Nunes by 2nd round knockout.
-Michael Chiesa: Carlos Condit isn’t the fighter he used to be. 34 years old. Lost 4 in a row. Lost 7 of his last 9 fights. Chiesa moves up to 170 lbs for the first time and I think it’ll be great for him. This is going to be a quick fight. Chiesa will be stronger. Will have no problem grappling Condit to the ground. And will submit him in the 1st round. Chiesa could become a contender at welterweight.
-Ilir Latifi: At 29 years old, Corey Anderson is pretty young for the light heavyweight division. Amazingly, he’s already had 12 UFC fights under his belt. 8-4 UFC record. 11-4 if you count his TUF fights. He has been getting better, but the main problem in his game I think is lack of knockout power. His biggest tool is his cardio and pace. But he struggles to finish fights. 11 pro wins. Only 4 finishes. All by knockout. He uses his wrestling and volume punching to win decisions. His biggest weakness? Getting knocked out when he can’t take his opponent down. And he runs into a nightmare matchup against Latifi who’s hard to take down. Tyson Pedro found that out. And has massive knockout power. I see Latifi knocking out Anderson quick. 1st round.
-Alexander Volkanovski: UPSET SPECIAL 2: Changing of the guard fight. Volkanovski is now 5-0 in the UFC and is coming off his most impressive win, beating Darren Elkins. And it was his most impressive win because he was able to stuff Elkins’ takedowns. Which is a gigantic deal for a striker. Yes, Mendes did look great in his comeback fight, knocking out an, in his prime, Myles Jury. And I do believe Mendes can still be a great upper tier gate keeper. But stylistically, Volkanovski will have the advantage. I think Volkanovski is able to keep the fight on the feet. And Mendes has been knocked out in 2 of his last 3 fights. And one of those knockout losses was against Frankie Edgar who doesn’t knock too many opponents out. Volkanovski by 2nd round knockout.
-Walt Harris: Since losing to Soa Palelei in 2014, Harris has been showing pretty good improvement. He lost a close split decision to mid tier gate keeper Shamil Abdurakhimov. He got submitted by Fabricio Wedum. No shame there. And the other 4 opponents he fought, Harris knocked them out. That’s a 4-2 UFC record since 2015. 4-5 UFC record, overall. 35 years old. But he only has 18 pro fights and heavyweights have been known to stick around in the UFC in their prime more than fighters in lighter weight classes. Andrei Arlovski is even older. 39 years old. Had been making a bit of a comeback lately in the past couple years out pointing Junior Albini and Stefan Struve by decision. But is coming off 2 losses to Tai Tuivasa and Abdurakhimov. For this fight, it’s possible Arlovski could out point Harris and out strike him. But Harris has the fight ending knock out power and I just think that if Harris gets a full 15 minutes to stand and trade, at some point, he’s going to knock Arlovski out. So I’m going with a Harris knockout in the 2nd round.
-Cat Zingano: Sometimes I forget how good Zingano is. She’s the last fighter to not only beat champion Amanda Nunes, but also knock her out. Zingano also has wins over Miesha Tate, Raquel Pennington. And her last win over Marion Reneau is impressive considering the run Reneau was on. The 3 losses she has is against Ronda Rousey, Julianna Pena and barely lost a split decision to Ketlen Vieira. And I’d say Pena and Vieira are the #2 and #3 best bantamweights in the UFC. So, Zingano is really good. She moves up to 145 lbs to take on Megan Anderson. Which, by the way, 145 lbs might be better for Zingano anyway, considering she’s 36 years old. Anderson is a solid prospect. 28 years old. Pretty well rounded, but her best tool is her striking. I just think it’s not fair for Anderson to have to take on the very elite at 135 lbs and 145 lbs because the division is so thin. Anderson could be a quality contender over time, but going against Holly Holm and now Zingano is way too much, too soon. Zingano by 2nd round knockout.
-Petr Yan: Really good fight between two possible contenders. Douglas de Andrade is a striker. 33 years old. 3-2 in the UFC so far. Got out struck by Zubaira Tukhugov. Got out grappled by striker Rob Font. He was impressive and seemed to have bulked up in his last fight, a win over Marlon Vera. He takes on elite prospect Petr Yan. He’s got plus wrestling. Almost plus striking. But Yan is 25 years old and I’m sure will come into this fight improved. I’d even say it’s possible he out strikes de Andrade. But even if he can’t, I’m pretty confident Yan will be able to take de Andrade down. So either way, I like Yan by decision.
-Ryan Hall: I’m not really sold on Ryan Hall as being some top prospect just because he won the Ultimate Fighter. He’s 33 years old. He’s not that active. He’s only fought once in the last 3 years. 6-1 pro record. I just don’t know how serious he is about his career. But I do know that BJ Penn is 39 years old. Retired and came out of retirement. Has lost 5 in a row. Has only won once in his last 9 fights. So however good Hall is, it’s likely his skills are better than Penn’s at this point. Hall is decently well rounded but more of a grappler. I think he’s going to use his strength to take Penn down and do enough on the ground to cruise to a decision win.
-Nathaniel Wood: I’m not sold on Andre Ewell. Yes, Ewell did beat a former UFC champion in his debut in Renan Barao. But Barao has been a shell of his former self. Barao has now lost 6 of his last 8 fights. He’s never been the same since getting upset by TJ Dillashaw back in 2014. And Ewell barely beat Barao by split decision. Ewell has does have a decent win over 8-2 Gustavo Lopez before signing with the UFC, but overall he has a 14-4 pro record and he usually loses to top prospects like Wood. Ewell is somewhat well rounded, but more of a striker. Wood has a reputation for being a striker but surpirsed eveyone by winning his UFC debut by submission. Against a decent mid tier gate keeper in Johnny Eduardo. I see Wood being better than Ewell everywhere. I’ll go with Wood by 1st round submission.
-Bevon Lewis: I think this is a pick em fight and it’s hard to predict because Lewis only has 6 pro fights. So me picking him largely has to do with his tools and projection. Uriah Hall is 6-7 in the UFC. He’s now 34 years old. He’s lost 4 out of his last 5 fights. 3 of those 4 losses came from being knocked out. Hall is a known commodity and he’s clearly on the decline phase of his career. Yes, it’s possible Hall could beat Lewis in the stand up. And yes, it is possible Hall stuffs Lewis’ take down attempts. But it’s more likely Lewis could out strike Hall or take him down and if he’s able to do 1 of the 2, he’ll win the fight. Lewis by decision.
-Curtis Millender: This is the first time Siyar Bahadurzada has fought twice in the same year since 2013. He doesn’t fight that often because he’s injured quite often. He’s 34 years old. Has 31 pro fights. Well rounded, although his striking is ahead of his other skills. But he can be out struck and he can be taken down as shown in his 2013 losses to Dong Hyun Kim and John Howard. Millender is a bad style matchup for Bahadurzada because Milleneder’s striking is probably better. But just in case it’s not, he has the wrestling to take Bahadurzada down. Because of this, I’m going with Millender by decision.
-Brian Kelleher: UPSET SPECIAL 3: Too much, too soon for Montel Jackson. Jackson’s got a 6-1 pro record. 26 years old. Coming off a loss to Ricky Simon and the UFC actually gives Jackson a step up in competition. Probably says more about what they think of him and that they just needed an opponent for Kelleher. I don’t see a problem for Kelleher here. Jackson is pretty one dimensional at this point. A striker. Kelleher is very well rounded and will probably take the path of least resistance. Grapple with Jackson. Take him down. And will likely submit him in the 2nd round.