Brendan Allen vs Chris Curtis 2
- Brendan Allen
- Age: 28
- UFC Record: 11-2
- Key Wins: Knocked out Tom Breese. Submitted Paul Craig, Bruno Silva, Andre Muniz, Krzysztof Jotko, Sam Alvey, Kevin Holland, a 9-1 striker, a well rounded 7-0 fighter, and a 6-1 striker. Beat Jacob Malkoun, Punahele Soriano, and an 8-1 striker.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: near plus plus (75)
- Chris Curtis
- Age: 36
- UFC Record: 6-2
- 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. Split decision over Marc Andre Barriault. Majority decision win over an 11-4 striker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Allen’s grappling is getting ridiculous with how he handled Craig on the ground. Could be approaching a top of the scale 80 grade. Curtis still has a quality 6-2 UFC record, but his skills seem to have plateaued. I just think if Allen is able to beat Allen on the ground, he’ll do the same with Curtis.
Chris’ Pick: Allen by 2nd round submission.
What I think the odds should be: Allen -350
Alexander Hernandez vs Damon Jackson
- Alexander Hernandez
- Age: 31
- UFC Record: 6-6
- Key Wins: Knocked out Beneil Dariush and Chris Greutzemacher. Beat Jim Miller, Oliver Aubin-Mercier, and Francisco Trinaldo.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Damon Jackson
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 4-5-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Pat Sabatini and a 12-3 grappler. Submitted Mirsad Bektic, a well rounded 6-1 fighter, and a 20-3 grappler.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Hernandez by split decision.
What I think the odds should be: Hernandez -175
Morgan Charriere vs Jose Mariscal
- Morgan Charriere
- Age: 28
- Pro Record: 19-9-1
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Draws: Fought a 9-2 grappler to a split draw.
- Key Wins: Submitted William Gomis and a well rounded 9-3 fighter. Knocked out Maolo Zecchini and a 17-4 grappler.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: above average (60)
- Jose Mariscal
- Age: 30
- Pro Record: 14-6
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Beat Trevor Peek and a well rounded 5-0 fighter. Beat Youssef Zalal. Split decision over Pat Sabatini.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Mariscal’s striking could be a 60 still. Jenkins did out strike him 35 to 23. But based on seeing how Mariscal was able to clinch with Jenkins and ultimately get the better of him there, I have his wrestling as a 65 and projecting the striking to being a 65 too.
Chris’ Pick: Mariscal by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Mariscal -200
Ignacio Bahamondes vs Christos Giagos
- Ignacio Bahamondes
- Age: 26
- UFC Record: 4-2
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to John Makdessi.
- Key Wins: Submitted Zhu Rong. Knocked out Roosevelt Roberts and a 6-1 striker. Beat Trey Ogden and a well rounded 5-1 fighter. Split decision over a well rounded 5-2 fighter.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus: (70)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Christos Giagos
- Age: 34
- UFC Record: 5-7
- Key Losses: Lost to Chris Wade.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Ricky Glenn. Beat Damir Hadzovic and a 10-2 striker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
I’ve seen so many Giagos fights that it’s hard to believe he’s finally showing improvement, but that seems to be the case. I know Daniel Zellhuber has 65 striking and the strikes were close to equal when they fought. And I’m projecting his wrestling to being a 60. I’m confident Bahamondes’ striking is a 70 based on how he did with Ogden. So despite the loss to Klein, Bahamondes skills remain intact.
Chris’ Pick: Bahamondes by 2nd round knockout.
What I think the odds should be: Bahamondes -400
Trevor Peek vs Charlie Campbell
- Trevor Peek
- Age: 29
- Pro Record: 9-1
- UFC Record: 3-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Erick Gonzalez, Khama Worthy, a 5-0 striker, and a well rounded 7-0 fighter. Beat Mohammad Yayha.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
- Charlie Campbell
- Age: 28
- Pro Record: 8-2
- UFC Record: 1-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 5-2 striker and a well rounded 3-1 wrestler.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: a little above average (55)
Peek’s fight with Yahya was closer than I thought but that’s probably because I was under rating Yahya. Peek has proven his 65 striking with Mariscal. Campbell has a lot of hype right now, but let’s remember he got knocked out by Chris Duncan in less than 2 minutes. I question his chin.
Chris’ Pick: Peek by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Peek -200
Alex Morono vs Court McGee
- Alex Morono
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 12-6
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Keita Nakamura.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Donald Cerrone and Zak Ottow. Beat Tim Means, Matthew Semelsberger, Mickey Gall, David Zawada, Kenan Song, and Max Griffin.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Grappling: above average (60)
- Court McGee
- Age: 39
- UFC Record: 10-11
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Dhiego Lima. Lost to Ben Saunders.
- Key Wins: Beat Ramiz Brahimaj and Claudio Silva.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: fringe average (45)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: a little above average (55)
Chris’ Pick: Morono by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Morono -175
Lukas Brzeski vs Valter Walker
- Lukasz Brzeski
- Age: 31
- Pro Record: 8-4
- UFC Record: 0-3
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Martin Buday.
- Key Draws: Fought an 18-10 striker to a draw.
- Key Wins: Submitted a well rounded 6-1 fighter. Beat a 20-5 striker.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: a little above average (55)
- Grappling: average (50)
- Valter Walker
- Age: 26
- Pro Record: 11-0
- Key Wins: Beat a well rounded 7-2 fighter. Split decision over an 8-3 striker.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Even though Brzeski got knocked out in 3 minutes with Waldo Cortes Acosta, it is possible he improved his striking. He landed 14 shots to 12. Small sample though. Walker’s last fight was close to a year ago. He looks like a potential title contender, would’ve liked to have seen better cardio. Decent chance he shows up improved.
Chris’ Pick: Walker by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Walker -250
Germaine de Randamie vs Norma Dumont
- Germaine de Randamie
- Age: 39
- Pro Record: 10-4
- UFC Record: 7-2
- Key Wins: Submitted Juliana Pena. Beat Holly Holm, Raquel Pennington, and Aspen Ladd.
- Striking: near plus plus (75)
- Power: near plus plus (75)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Norma Dumont
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 6-2
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Macy Chiasson.
- Key Wins: Beat Chelsea Chandler, Karol Rosa, Danyelle Wolf, Aspen Ladd and Ashlee Evans-Smith. Split decision win over Felicia Spencer.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
De Randamie is 39 years old and hasn’t fought in over 3 and a half years. And she’s also unique in that since 2015, she’s fought only once a year. Except for 2019, when she fought twice. But. She does have a history of showing rust isn’t a factor for her. Although, this is the longest lay off of her career.
Chris’ Pick: de Randamie by decision.
What I think the odds should be: de Randamie -135
Victor Hugo vs Pedro Falcao
- Victor Hugo
- Age: 31
- Pro Record: 24-4
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Submitted a well rounded 16-1 fighter. Knocked out an 18-4 striker. Beat a well rounded 5-1 fighter and a 6-0-1 grappler.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Pedro Falcao
- Age: 31
- Pro Record: 16-3
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Beat a 14-4 grappler.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: average (50)
- Grappling: above average (60)
I know Hugo’s opponent on the Contender had wrestling that’s at least a 55. Which means I’m confident Hugo’s grappling is a 65. But the 60 striking grade is more of a projection. Falcao steps in on 3 days notice. Last time I watched him was on Contender almost 3 years ago. Very possible he’s improved since then. I think Falcao is a live underdog.
Chris’ Pick: Hugo by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Hugo -135
Dan Argueta vs Jean Matsumoto
- Dan Argueta
- Age: 30
- Pro Record: 9-1
- UFC Record: 1-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 12-0 striker. Beat a well rounded 4-1 fighter. Split decision over a 14-6 grappler.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
- Jean Matsumoto
- Age: 24
- Pro Record: 14-0
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Submitted a 7-0 striker. Beat a well rounded 6-0 fighter, a 9-1 wrestler, a well rounded 9-2 fighter, a well rounded 4-0 fighter, and a well rounded 10-3 fighter.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Argueta by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Argueta -175
Dylan Budka vs Cesar Almeida
- Dylan Budka
- Age: 24
- Pro Record: 6-2
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to a well rounded 15-3 fighter.
- Key Wins: Submitted a 4-1 striker. Beat a well rounded 9-2 fighter and a 3-0 grappler.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: fringe average (45)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
- Cesar Almeida
- Age: 35
- Pro Record: 4-0
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Beat a 9-1 striker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Almeida by 1st round knockout.
What I think the odds should be: Almeida -250
Melissa Mullins vs Nora Cornolle
- Melissa Mullins
- Age: 32
- Pro Record: 6-0
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 7-0 striker. Beat Irina Alekseeva and a 3-1 striker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Nora Cornolle
- Age: 34
- Pro Record: 7-1
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Beat Joselyne Edwards.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: a little above average (55)
Mullin’s wrestling and cardio were really impressive in her UFC debut. True 70 tool. And I’ll admit, grading her striking a 65 is more projection, could be a 60. But that shouldn’t matter against Cornolle who repeatedly got taken down by 60 wrestler Edwards.
Chris’ Pick: Mullins by decision.
What I think the odds should be: Mullins -300