Eduardo Neves vs Michael Parkin
- Eduardo Neves
- Age: 22
- Pro Record: 5-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 5-0 wrestler.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: a little above average (55)
- Michael Parkin
- Age: 26
- Pro Record: 5-0
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: average (50)
Parkin took on a well rounded 7-7 fighter, someone who I think has 45 tools. And yes, Parkin won by ground and pound TKO, but it was a back and forth fight on the way to getting there. Parkin winning that fight had some to do with him having 50 wrestling, but a good chunk of it was also from him having better cardio. His striking appears to be a 55. Neves has really fast hands for a heavyweight. Moves well. His last fight was with a 5-0 wrestler with 55 wrestling. Neves stuffed the take downs and showed his striking is a 60. I think this will be a stand up fight. Not sure if Parkin wants to take Neves down but he won’t be able to. I think Neves has the better striking and might be able to mix in a couple take downs too.
Chris’ Pick: Neves by 1st round knockout.
What I think the odds should be: Neves -250
Amiran Gogoladze vs Darrius Flowers
- Amiran Gogoladze
- Age: 24
- Pro Record: 12-2
- Key Wins: Submitted a well rounded 5-1 fighter. Knocked out a 23-7 grappler, 5-2 striker, and a 7-2 striker.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Grappling: average (50)
- Darrius Flowers
- Age: 27
- Pro Record: 11-5
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 4-1 grappler and a well rounded 8-3 fighter.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
Flowers resume might not look that impressive. 11 wins, 5 losses. But if you watch him in his 2 most recent fights, his tools jump off the screen. Took on a 4-1 grappler who I thought had 55 grappling. And Flowers easily took him down and dominating him on the ground. It’s possible Flowers wrestling could be as high as a 65 but I have it as a 60 for now. And it’s also possible Flowers striking is a 60, but I have it as a 55 because I didn’t see too much of it. Every time he’d get into striking exchanges he’d knock his opponent out. Not a lot of footage on Gogoladze. The one fight I did find only lasted a couple minutes, so not a big sample. Pretty sure his striking is a 55. But the problem for Gogoladze will be Flowers’ wrestling which could be a 65 and gives Flowers margin to win.
Chris’ Pick: Flowers by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Flowers -200
Erisson Ferreira da Silva vs Jesus Aguilar
- Erisson Ferreira da Silva
- Age: 31
- Pro Record: 11-1
- Key Wins: Beat Lun Qiu.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: average (50)
- Jesus Aguilar
- Age: 26
- Pro Record: 7-1
- Key Wins: Submitted Edgar Chairez, a well rounded 5-2 fighter, and a well rounded 8-3 fighter. Beat a 6-2 grappler.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: fringe average (45)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Aguilar’s fight with with Edgar Chairez was of UFC quality. And based off of just watching Chairez in The Contender, I know he has 60 striking and 55 wrestling. Aguilar was able to get some take downs showing 60 grappling. But Chairez landed more on the feet with his 60 striking. This is da Silva’s second appearance on The Contender. I thought he had 60 striking and 55 wrestling going into the Lun fight. I also had Lun with 50 striking and 45 wrestling. But the fight was virtually equal in every way. So most likely Lun was better than I thought and da Silva, not so much. Aguilar has the best tool in this fight with his 60 grappling. If he was able to take Chairez down, I see no problem with him doing the same to da Silva.
Chris’ Pick: Aguilar by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Aguilar -150
Josh Wang Kim vs Cameron Saaiman
- Josh Wang Kim
- Age: 29
- Pro Record: 5-1
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Grappling: a little above average (55)
- Cameron Saaiman
- Age: 21
- Pro Record: 5-0
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: average (50)
Wang Kim came into his LFA debut with a lot of hype. He was a -800 favorite against a 7-2 wrestler who I thought had 50 striking and wrestling. But the fight was closer than the odds would suggest. Wang Kim was winning the fight before he got disqualified for illegal elbows to the back of the head. Got some take downs. Landed more strikes on the feet. Didn’t blow me away either. Well rounded 55 tools. Not much video on Saaiman. I know he trains with Dricus du Plessis. His record looks impressive. Problem with grading Saaiman though is all his wins are over tomato cans. He hasn’t fought anybody. So there’s a lot of variance there. I think Wang Kim is a safer pick. He might be able to get some take downs and threaten with a submission. But I wouldn’t be surprised in Saaiman knocks Wang Kim out in the 1st round either.
Chris’ Pick: Wang Kim by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Wang Kim -125
Denise Gomes vs Rayanne dos Santos
- Denise Gomes
- Age: 22
- Pro Record: 5-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 3-0 fighter and a 3-0 striker. Beat a 3-0-1 grappler.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: a little above average (55)
- Rayanne dos Santos
- Age: 27
- Pro Record: 11-5
- Striking: average (50)
- Power: average (50)
- Grappling: average (50)
I watched dos Santos take on a well rounded 3-1 fighter, who I thought had well rounded 50 tools. Dos Santos did okay. Striking in the 1st round was close to equal. In the 2nd, dos Santos was getting the better of the grappling, went too hard going for a finish, got tired, let her opponent take her back and it was all over after that. It’s possible dos Santos has 55 grappling, but I’m not sure how much her cardio played into her losing that one. Looking at Gomes’ resume on paper, it looked like she was going to have 60 striking. I watched her take on a well rounded 3-0 fighter with 50 tools and Gomes did okay. Knocked her opponent out, but it wasn’t a complete blow out. Gomes did get hit a lot. So I’m going to downgrade the striking and power tools to 55 grades until I see more. Gomes should win here, but if dos Santos turns out better than I think, it could be a close fight.
Chris’ Pick: Gomes by 2nd round knockout.
What I think the odds should be: Gomes -175