
Sean Strickland vs Dricus du Plessis
- Sean Strickland
- Age: 32
- UFC Record: 15-5
- Key Wins: Knocked out Abus Magomedov, Brendan Allen and Nordine Taleb. Beat Israel Adesanya, Nassourdine Imavov, Uriah Hall, Krzysztof Jotko, and Court McGee. Split decision wins over Jack Hermansson and Tom Breese.
- Striking: plus plus (80)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Dricus du Plessis
- Age: 29
- UFC Record: 6-0
- Key Wins: Submitted Darren Till, a well rounded 7-2-2 fighter, and a well rounded 8-1 fighter. Knocked out Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson, Trevin Giles, Markus Perez, a 13-2 striker, and a well rounded 30-7 fighter. Beat Brad Tavares.
- Striking: near plus plus (75)
- Power: near plus plus (75)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Everybody was shocked when Strickland upset Adesanya. I wasn’t. Adesanya doesn’t have the top of the scale 80 grade striking that the narrative says he has. What I was surprised by was that Strickland got better. Adesanya does have 75 striking for sure. And Strickland amazingly out struck him 121 to 94. How’d he get it done? It was his defense. He might be the pound for pound best defensive striker in the UFC. It’s possible his wrestling could’ve leveled up too but we never saw it with Adesanya. Yes, du Plessis will have more power. But he’s a big muscular guy who’s never gone 5 rounds before. Add in the pace and pressure Strickland puts on, I think this fight plays out similar to Strickland vs Magomedov. Du Plessis probably wins the 1st round but I think Strickland takes over after that.
Chris’ Pick: Strickland by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Strickland -200
Mayra Bueno Silva vs Raquel Pennington
- Mayra Bueno Silva
- Age: 32
- UFC Record: 6-2-1
- Key Draws: Fought Montana de la Rosa to a draw.
- Key Wins: Submitted Lina Lansberg, Stephanie Egger, and a 7-0 striker. Knocked out a well rounded 5-0 fighter in her 1st pro fight. Beat Yanan Wu. Split decision over a well rounded 7-1 fighter.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: near plus plus (75)
- Raquel Pennington
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 14-6
- Key Wins: Submitted Macy Chiasson. Beat Aspen Ladd, Pannie Kianzad, Miesha Tate and Marion Reneau. Split decision wins over Ketlen Vieira, Irene Aldana, and Bethe Correira.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: average (50)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
I might be grading Bueno Silva’s grappling too high. Holm was getting the better of the clinch work for most of their fight. But I think Bueno Silva was fine with where she was at, maybe figuring out how she could get a choke in. I could be wrong. But she definitely leveled her striking up to a 70, which also makes me think the grappling is a 75 now.
Chris’ Pick: Bueno Silva by 2nd round submission.
What I think the odds should be: Bueno Silva -200
Mike Malott vs Neil Magny
- Mike Malott
- Age: 32
- Pro Record: 10-1-1
- UFC Record: 4-0
- Key Draws: Fought a 5-4 striker to a majority draw.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Mickey Gall, a well rounded 6-1 fighter. Submitted Adam Fugitt, Yohan Lainesse, a 8-0 striker, a 6-0 wrestler, and a 3-0 grappler.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Grappling: plus (70)
- Neil Magny
- Age: 36
- UFC Record: 24-11
- Key Wins: Knocked out Hector Lombard. Submitted Daniel Rodriguez. Beat Geoff Neal, Robbie Lawler, Anthony Rocco Martin, Jingliang Li and Tim Means. Split decision wins over Phil Rowe and Max Griffin.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: average (50)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Malott by 1st round submission.
What I think the odds should be: Malott -600
Chris Curtis vs Marc Andre Barriault
- Chris Curtis
- Age: 36
- UFC Record: 5-2
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to a 12-6 striker.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Joaquin Buckley, Brendan Allen, Phil Hawes, a well rounded 13-3 fighter. a 10-1 striker, an 8-2 striker and an 18-5 wrestler. Beat Rodolfo Vieira, a 9-3 grappler, a well rounded 5-0 fighter, and a well rounded 18-4 fighter. Majority decision win over an 11-4 striker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Marc-Andre Barriault
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 5-5
- Key Losses: Lost to Jun Yong Park.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Julian Marquez, Abu Azaitar, a 9-3 striker, and a 7-1 striker. Submitted Jordan Wright. Beat Eryk Anders and Dalcha Lungiambula.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
I’ve been going back and forth the past few of Barriault’s fights to hammer out how good I think his striking is. And the reality is that for him, it depends on the cardio of his opponent. It’s no secret Barriault’s biggest weapon is his cardio and he can really run away with the fight in the second half. But if the opponent’s cardio holds up, then he’s usually in trouble. Thus, I’m going to settle on grading his striking a 60.
Chris’ Pick: Curtis by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Curtis -250
Arnold Allen vs Movsar Evloev
- Arnold Allen
- Age: 29
- UFC Record: 10-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Calvin Kattar and Dan Hooker. Beat Sodiq Yusuff, Nik Lentz, and Gilbert Melendez. Split decision over Makwan Amirkhani.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Movsar Evloev
- Age: 29
- UFC Record: 7-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 12-2 fighter and a 15-5 wrestler. Submitted an 11-3 striker. Beat Diego Lopes, Dan Ige, Hakeem Dawodu, Mike Grundy, Enrique Barzola, a 7-1 striker, a well rounded 6-2 fighter, and a 14-2 wrestler. Split decision win over Nik Lentz.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus plus (75)
Chris’ Pick: Allen by 2nd round knockout.
What I think the odds should be: Allen -135
Brad Katona vs Garrett Armfield
- Brad Katona
- Age: 31
- UFC Record: 3-2
- Key Wins: Submitted an 8-0 grappler. Beat Cody Gibson and an 8-1 wrestler. Split decision over an 11-2 grappler.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: average (50)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Garrett Armfield
- Age: 27
- Pro Record: 9-3
- UFC Record: 1-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 10-3 fighter and a well rounded 4-1-1 fighter.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: a little above average (55)
It’s possible Katona’s striking could be a 65. But he’s coming off a narrow win over Gibson, which I had Gibson’s striking as a 55 going into the fight. Striking between Katona vs Gibson was close to equal. So I highly doubt Gibson has 65 grade striking.
Chris’ Pick: Armfield by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Armfield -300
Charles Jourdain vs Sean Woodson
- Charles Jourdain
- Age: 28
- UFC Record: 6-5-1
- Key Losses: Majority decision loss to Shane Burgos.
- Key Draws: Split draw to an 8-1 strike
- Key Wins: Knocked out Doo Ho Choi. Submitted Ricardo Ramos, Lando Vannata and a 9-3 striker. Beat Kron Gracie and Andre Ewell.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
- Sean Woodson
- Age: 31
- UFC Record: 5-1-1
- Key Losses: Submitted by Julian Erosa.
- Key Draws: Fought Luis Saldana to a draw.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Collin Anglin and a 6-1 grappler. Beat Dennis Buzukja, Kyle Bochniak. Split decision over Youssef Zalal.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Jourdain by 2nd round knockout.
What I think the odds should be: Jourdain -250
Serhiy Sidey vs Ramon Taveras
- Serhiy Sidey
- Age: 27
- Pro Record: 10-1
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out Ramon Taveras and a 4-1 grappler. Beat a well rounded 3-0 fighter.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: average (50)
- Ramon Taveras
- Age: 29
- Pro Record: 9-2
- UFC Record: 1-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 5-1 fighter.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Grappling: average (50)
Chris’ Pick: Sidey by 1st round knockout.
What I think the odds should be: Sidey -125
Gillian Robertson vs Polyana Viana
- Gillian Robertson
- Age: 28
- UFC Record: 1-1 at 115 lbs. 9-7 overall.
- Key Wins: Submitted Piera Rodriguez, Mariya Agapova, Priscila Cachoeira, Cortney Casey, Emily Whitmire, and Molly McCann. Knocked out Sarah Frota. Beat Poliana Botelho.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: average (50)
- Grappling: plus (70)
- Polyana Viana
- Age: 31
- UFC Record: 4-5
- Key Losses: Submitted by Veronica Macedo. Split decision loss to Hannah Cifers.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Jinh Yu Frey and Amanda Ribas back in 2015. Submitted Mallory Martin and Emily Whitmire.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: a little above (55)
Despite losing to Iasmin Lucindo, that was the best version of Viana I’ve seen yet. Her skills had stalled out a bit. Also possible the grappling is a 60 tool. I’m not sure if Robertson’s grappling is a 70 or not, but I’m very certain it’s at least a 65. But either way, if Lucindo was able to get a submission on Viana, Robertson should be able to as well.
Chris’ Pick: Robertson by 2nd round submission.
What I think the odds should be: Robertson -225
Yohan Lainesse vs Sam Patterson
- Yohan Lainesse
- Age: 30
- Pro Record: 9-2
- UFC Record: 2-2
- Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 6-0 fighter and a 12-4 grappler. Beat a 4-0 wrestler. Split decision over Darian Weeks.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
- Sam Patterson
- Age: 27
- Pro Record: 10-2-1
- UFC Record: 1-1
- Key Wins: Submitted an 8-1 grappler and a 14-1 grappler. Knocked out a 9-3 striker. Beat an 18-6 grappler.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Lainesse by 1st round knockout.
What I think the odds should be: Lainesse -225
Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Priscila Cachoeira
- Jasmine Jasudavicius
- Age: 34
- UFC Record: 4-2
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to a 4-0 striker.
- Key Wins: Beat Miranda Maverick, Gabriella Fernandes, Kay Hansen, and an 8-2 striker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Priscila Cachoeira
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 4-5
- Key Wins: Knocked out Ariane Lipski, Gina Mazany, and Shana Dobson. Beat Ji Yeon Kim.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: a little above average (55)
If Cachoeira wasn’t able to get back up after Miranda Maverick took her down, it’s going to be even worse for her with Jasudavicius, who beat Maverick.
Chris’ Pick: Jasudavicius by 1st round ground and pound TKO.
What I think the odds should be: Jasudavicius -450
Malcolm Gordon vs Jimmy Flick
- Malcolm Gordon
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 2-4
- Key Losses: Knocked out by an 11-8 striker.
- Key Wins: Submitted a well rounded 11-3 fighter, a 4-0 grappler, and an 8-1 striker. Beat Francisco Figueiredo, a 6-0 wrestler, and a 4-0 grappler.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
- Grappling: a little above average (55)
- Jimmy Flick
- Age: 33
- Pro Record: 16-7
- UFC Record: 2-2
- Key Losses: Knocked out by a well rounded 4-2 fighter and a 12-5 grappler. Lost to a 4-3 wrestler.
- Key Wins: Submitted Cody Durden, a 6-0 grappler, a 10-1 grappler and a 5-2 grappler. Beat a 6-2 grappler.
- Striking: average (50)
- Power: below average (40)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Gordon by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Gordon -200