
-Kevin Lee: Despite the recent set backs Lee has had, I still see him with champion level upside. It’s just that 155 lbs is to hard of a cut for him to make. He almost beat Tony Ferguson and Al Iaquinta. But he’ll be even better at 170 lbs. And what’s funny is that Lee is almost identical to the same 2 types of opponents Rafael dos Anjos has just lost to in Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. Plus plus wrestling. Plus plus cardio. It’s going to be interesting to see what Lee can do to dos Anjos in comparison to Usman and Covington and it’ll be interesting to see if Lee has more power and better cardio. But this fight is Lee all the way. It’s possible Lee knocks dos Anjos out, but more likely he wins with wrestling, cardio and wins by decision.
-Vicente Luque: I was originally picking Luque to knock Neil Magny out in the 1st round. But now Magny isn’t fighting, which is a shame because when Luque knocks out Derrick Krantz in this fight, he won’t get as much credit. But the betting public knows Luque is a contender even if the casual fans don’t. Some books had Luque favored as high as -500 to beat Magny. So now Krantz comes in on less than 1 week’s notice. 31 years old. 22-10 pro record. Well rounded. When the odds come out, it’s possible Luque could be as heavy as -2000. Luque is better than Krantz everywhere. I predict Luque will knock Krantz down in the 1st round and will then submit him when he’s on the ground.
-Aspen Ladd: Ladd really reminds me of a female Jack Hermansson. Ladd is best known for her take downs and top game ground and pound. Elite prospect. 2-0 in the UFC so far. Only 24 years old. She’s ranked #6, so she’s technically a contender at 135 lbs. Not only do I predict she gets a title shot by next year, I think she has a real chance of beating Amanda Nunes. Against Sijara Eubanks? Eubanks will have nothing for Ladd. Yes, 135 lbs is the right weight class for Eubanks and she’ll look better. But she’ll have no answer for Ladd’s wrestling and striking. I’m going with Ladd by 1st round knockout.
-Antonio Carlos Jr: Ian Heinisch really opened my eyes in beating mid tier gate keeper Cezar Ferreira. I picked Ferreira because Henisch’s 1 career loss was against Markus Perez when Perez was able to take Heinisch down and submitted him. But Heinisch had improved on his take down defense, kept the fight on the feet and out struck Ferreira. But Carlos Jr’s grappling and take downs are on a whole other level. Carlos Jr has plus plus grappling. Plus plus submissions. He looks like a contender because of those tools. I do think Carlos Jr gets Heinisch to the ground and it’ll be academic from there. Carlos Jr by 2nd round submission.
-Charles Oliveira: Oliveira is only 29 years old but he’s already got 22 UFC fights on his resume. 14-8 UFC record. But I think Oliveira could be experiencing a breakthrough in discovering who he is. One, he’s best at 155 lbs, not 145 lbs. And two, he wins way more often when he sticks with his plus plus submission game. He’s more often to lose when he tries to strike or knock someone out. He has the most submissions in UFC history, so it makes sense for him to just attack with his grappling. He’s now won 4 fights in a row. He takes on Nik Lentz who is one of the most under rated fighters in the UFC. 14-6 UFC record. 34 years old. He’s plus wrestling, above average striking and submissions. He’s pesky in how well rounded he is. But this is a rematch and Oliveira was able to submit Lentz in the 1st fight. I’m very convinced he’ll do it again. Oliveira by 1st round submission.
-Davi Ramos: Is Ramos going to be a contender at 155 lbs? He might. He’s looked like it, although, he’s only beaten lower tier gate keepers so far. 32 years old. 3-0 in the UFC at 155 lbs so far. He did lose a short notice fight at 170 lbs to Sergio Moraes. Ramos has plus plus grappling. If he can develop his striking to being at least average, I predict he’ll be a contender in a year or two. His opponent Austin Hubbard will have no chance. Hubbard is an above average prospect. 27 years old. 10-2 pro record. His 2 losses in the past few years to UFC vet Eric Wisely and Sean McMurray don’t look that great, but he has rebounded and beaten a couple really good prospects in his last 2 fights. Hubbard is well rounded and has above average wrestling. But his wrestling won’t be good enough to stop Ramos’ take downs and we’re looking at a 1st round Ramos submission win.
-Felicia Spencer: Macy Chiasson looks like a real contender. Has knockout power. Similar to Megan Anderson. Chiasson’s only career loss? Spencer. Spencer was able to use her plus grappling to take Chiasson down, keep her there and do enough on the ground to win by decision. Anderson does have plus knockout power. Plus striking. But Anderson has never gone against a grappler with the skill level of Spencer. It’s going to be new to her. I see Spencer getting take down after take down and because of this will take the decision win.
-Michael Trizano: Pretty cut and dry fight. Grant Dawson is an average prospect. 25 years old. 13-1 pro record. Won his UFC debut against Julian Erosa. Erosa was probably the best opponent he’s ever gone against which isn’t saying much. Dawson has above average wrestling and an above average submission game. And all that is going to get nullified by Trizano who has plus wrestling to keep the fight on the feet. 27 years old. 2-0 in the UFC so far. 4-0 if you count his wins on TUF. I expect Trizano’s striking to take another step in development from training at Tiger Schulmann. Trizano by decision.
-Desmond Green: Green might have a 3-3 UFC record, but he’s better than that. The 3 losses were against solid mid tier gate keepers in Rustam Khabilov, Michel Prazeres, and Mairbek Taisumov. Green lost because his best tool is his near plus wrestling and all 3 had better wrestling and better striking. But I see Green as a lower tier gate keeper. Which is a successful fighter, ultimately. 29 years old. He takes on an average prospect in Charles Jourdain. 23 years old. 9-1 pro record. Feasted on only tomato cans. Has above average striking. Near average grappling. This is an easy fight for Green. He’s going to take Jourdain down and will TKO him with ground and pound in the 1st round.
-Patrick Cummins: This is going to be a pretty ugly fight. And what I mean by that is both Cummins and Ed Herman are durable and both lack knockout power at this point in their careers. So this is going to be a fight where both are bloodied and take a lot of shots. Unless Cummins can somehow take Herman down, but I don’t think that happens with Herman’s grappling being above average. Both are towards the end of their careers. Both are 38 years old. But Herman has 37 pro fights. Tons of mileage. Cummins has 16 pro fights. I think Cummins has more left in the tank and will out strike Herman for a close decision win.
-Danny Roberts: The UFC wanted to give Roberts a quick turnaround after his controversial loss to Claudio Silva and he gets it here 2 months later against Michel Pereira. And even though Roberts has a loss on his record to Silva, that was by far the best Roberts has ever looked. Roberts’ grappling took a jump and I’d now grade it as above average, to go along with his above average striking. He’s 31 years old now, so close to a finished product. 5-3 in the UFC so he’ll stick around as a mid tier or lower tier gate keeper. Roberts will have no problems with Pereira who’s 25 years old, started his pro career when he was 17 years old, but has a 21-9 pro record to show for it. And he’s not one of these guys who’s been on a big winning streak either. He’s only won 1 fight in a row. And lost a year and a half ago to an opponent with an 11-11 record. Pereira is balanced too, but all his skills are below average. He hasn’t developed. Robers is better everywhere. But I’ll go with Roberts knocking Pereira out in the 1st round.
-Trevin Giles: Giles is an elite prospect at 185 lbs. 26 years old. He’s 3-0 in the UFC so far. 11-0 pro record. The thing that makes him elite is how well rounded he is at such a young age, although his striking is a little bit ahead of his grappling. I’d grade him as having plus striking and power, above average grappling and ground game. And he’s going to develop and get better. And what’s funny is that the 2 wins Giles has in the UFC so far were over submission specialists and now he gets a third in Zak Cummings, although Cummings is a little more balanced than the other 2. Cummings is 34 years old, nearing the end of his prime, but he’s quietly put together a 7-3 UFC record, so he’s a great test for Giles. But I just think Giles will have the take down defense to keep the fight standing up and that Giles will use his cardio and speed especially to out strike Cummings and because of how durable Cummings is, win by decision.
-Julio Arce: This is a gross mismatch. Mainly because Arce is better than Julian Erosa everywhere. Arce is 29 years old. 3-1 in the UFC so far. Has a big win over Dan Ige on his resume. He’s well rounded with above average striking and grappling. Erosa is 2-3 in the UFC. 29 years old. He has average to below average tools. I think the path to least resistance for Arce is to strike with Erosa and Arce knocks him out in the 2nd round.