Jones vs Miocic, Oliveira vs Chandler, Nickal vs Craig Fight Picks – UFC 309 – November 16, 2024

Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic

  • Jon Jones
  • Age: 37
  • UFC Record: 1-0 at heavyweight. 21-1 overall.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Alexander Gustafsson. Submitted Ciryl Gane, Lyoto Machida and Rampage Jackson. Beat Dominick Reyes, Anthony Smith, Daniel Cormier, and Glover Teixeira. Split decision over Thiago Santos.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Grappling: plus (70)
  • Stipe Miocic
  • Age: 42
  • UFC Record: 14-4
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Daniel Cormier, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, and Fabricio Werdum. Beat Francis Ngannou.
  • Striking: near plus plus (75)
  • Power: near plus plus (75)
  • Wrestling: wrestling (70)

Chris’ Pick: Miocic by 2nd round knockout.


Charles Oliveira vs Michael Chandler

  • Charles Oliveira
  • Age: 35
  • UFC Record: 22-10
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Armen Tsarukyan.
  • Key Wins: Submitted Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Kevin Lee, Jim Miller, and David Teymur. Knocked out Beneil Dariush, Michael Chandler and Nik Lentz. Beat Tony Ferguson.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Grappling: near plus plus (75)
  • Michael Chandler
  • Age: 38
  • UFC Record: 2-3
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Eddie Alvarez. Knock out loss and split decision loss to Will Brooks.
  • Key Wins: Submitted Eddie Alvarez and a 14-1 wrestler. Knocked out Tony Ferguson, Dan Hooker, a well rounded 14-1 fighter, and a 14-3 grappler.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)

Chris’ Pick: Oliveira by 2nd round submission.


Karine Silva vs Viviane Araujo

  • Karine Silva
  • Age: 30
  • UFC Record: 5-0
  • Key Wins: Submitted Maryna Moroz, Ketlen Souza, Poliana Botelho, a well rounded 20-3 fighter, well rounded 7-2 fighter and a well rounded 8-1 fighter. Beat Ariane da Silva.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Grappling: plus (70)
  • Viviane Araujo
  • Age: 37
  • UFC Record: 6-5
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Talita Bernardo. Beat Jennifer Maia, Andrea Lee, Roxanne Modefferi, Montana de la Rosa, and Alexis Davis.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Grappling: plus (70)

Chris’ Pick: Araujo by decision.


Bo Nickal vs Paul Craig

  • Bo Nickal
  • Age: 28
  • UFC Record: 5-0
  • Key Wins: Submitted Cody Brundage, Jamie Pickett, a well rounded 7-1 fighter, and a 4-0 striker. Knocked out Valentine Woodburn.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Grappling: plus (70)
  • Paul Craig
  • Age: 36
  • UFC Record: 1-2 at 185 lbs. 9-8-1 overall.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Andre Muniz, Jamahal Hill, and Shogun Rua. Submitted Nikita Krylov, Kennedy Nzechukwu, and Magomed Ankalaev.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: a little above average (55)
  • Grappling: plus (70)

Chris’ Pick: Nickal by 2nd round knockout.


Chris Weidman vs Eryk Anders

  • Chris Weidman
  • Age: 40
  • UFC Record: 12-6 UFC at 185 lbs.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort. Submitted Kelvin Gastelum. Beat Bruno Silva, Omari Akhmedov and Lyoto Machida.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: a little above average (55)
  • Grappling: plus (70)
  • Eryk Anders
  • Age: 37
  • UFC Record: 8-6 at 185 lbs.
  • Key Losses: Split decision losses to Jun Yong Park, Lyoto Machida, and Elias Theodorou.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Kyle Daukaus and Rafael Natal. Beat Jamie Pickett, Darren Stewart and Markus Perez. Split decision over Gerald Meerschaert. 
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: average (50)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Weidman by decision.


James Llontop vs Mauricio Ruffy

  • James Llontop
  • Age: 25
  • Pro Record: 14-4
  • UFC Record: 1-2
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Slava Borshchev.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out a 5-1 grappler and a well rounded 5-0 fighter. Beat Malik Lewis and a well rounded 8-1-1 fighter.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: a little above average (55)
  • Wrestling: above average (60)
  • Mauricio Ruffy
  • Age: 28
  • Pro Record: 10-1
  • UFC Record: 2-0
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Jamie Mullarkey, a well rounded 10-1 fighter, Ronys Torres, and a well rounded 11-4 fighter.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Ruffy by 1st round knockout.


Marcin Tybura vs Jhonata Diniz

  • Marcin Tybura
  • Age: 38
  • UFC Record: 11-8
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Walt Harris and Greg Hardy. Submitted Tai Tuivasa. Beat Blagoi Ivanov, Andrei Arlovski, and Sergei Spivac. Majority decision over Alexandr Romanov.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)
  • Jhonata Diniz
  • Age: 33
  • Pro Record: 8-0
  • UFC Record: 3-0
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Austen Lane and a 7-1 striker. Beat Karl Williams.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)

It’s been recently revealed that Austen Lane has very good wrestling. He was able to take Diniz down and control him on the ground. So I shouldn’t have graded Diniz’s wrestling a 50. But then Diniz levels up even more to stuff Williams’ take downs for most of the fight.  

Chris’ Pick: Diniz by 1st round knockout.


Nikita Krylov vs Azamat Murzakanov

  • Nikita Krylov
  • Age: 32
  • UFC Record: 10-6
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Alexander Gustafsson, Ed Herman, and Walt Harris. Submitted Ryan Spann, Marcos Rogerio de Lima, Francimar Barroso, and Ovince St. Preux. Beat Volkan Oezdemir.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Wrestling: near plus plus (75)
  • Azamat Murzakanov
  • Age: 35
  • Pro Record: 13-0
  • UFC Record: 4-0
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Devin Clark, Tafon Nchukwi, Andre Muniz, Matheus Scheffel, and a 13-3 striker.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Krylov by 2nd round submission.


Jonathan Martinez vs Marcus McGhee

  • Jonathan Martinez
  • Age: 30
  • UFC Record: 10-3
  • Key Losses: Controversial split decision loss to Andre Ewell. Lost to Andre Soukhamthath.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Adrian Yanez, Cub Swanson, Frankie Saenz, and Pingyuan Liu. Beat Said Nurmagomedov, Vince Morales, Alejandro Perez, Thomas Almeida, and Zviad Lavishvili.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)
  • Marcus McGhee
  • Age: 34
  • Pro Record: 9-1
  • UFC Record: 3-0
  • Key Wins: Submitted Journey Newson. Knocked out Gaston Bolanos, JP Buys, and a 4-1 grappler.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: above average (60)

Chris’ Pick: Martinez by decision.


Jim Miller vs Damon Jackson

  • Jim Miller
  • Age: 41
  • UFC Record: 26-17
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Nik Motta. Submitted Gabriel Benitez, Donald Cerrone, Roosevelt Roberts, and Clay Guida.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Grappling: above average (60)
  • Damon Jackson
  • Age: 36
  • UFC Record: 5-6-1
  • 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. Split decision over Alexander Hernandez.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: a little above average (55)
  • Grappling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Jackson by decision.


David Onama vs Lucas Almeida

  • David Onama
  • Age: 30
  • UFC Record: 4-2
  • Key Losses: Majority decision loss to Nate Landwehr.
  • Key Wins: Submitted Garrett Armfield. Knocked out Gabriel Santos, a well rounded 3-0 fighter. Beat Jonathan Pearce and Gabriel Benitez.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)
  • Lucas Almeida
  • Age: 33
  • UFC Record: 2-3
  • Key Wins: Submitted a 4-1 striker. Knocked out Michael Trizano, a well rounded 9-3 fighter, a 7-1 wrestler, a 12-3 grappler, and a well rounded 9-2 fighter. Beat Timothy Cuamba.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Grappling: above average (60)

Chris’ Pick: Onama by decision.


Mickey Gall vs Ramiz Brahimaj

  • Mickey Gall
  • Age: 32
  • UFC Record: 5-6
  • Key Losses: Knocked out by Diego Sanchez. Lost to Mike Perry
  • Key Wins: Submitted Sage Northcutt.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: average (50)
  • Grappling: above average (60)
  • Ramiz Brahimaj
  • Age: 31
  • UFC Record: 2-3
  • Key Losses: Lost to an 8-3 grappler and a 10-4 wrestler.
  • Key Wins: Submitted Sasha Palatnikov and a 9-3 striker.
  • Striking: a little above average (55)
  • Power: fringe average (45)
  • Grappling: above average (60)

Chris’ Pick: Gall by decision.


Oban Elliott vs Bassil Hafez

  • Oban Elliott
  • Age: 26
  • Pro Record: 11-2
  • UFC Record: 3-0
  • Key Wins: Beat Preston Parsons, Valentine Woodburn and a well rounded 6-2 fighter. Majority decision over a 17-4 striker.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: average (50)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)
  • Bassil Hafez
  • Age: 32
  • Pro Record: 9-4-1
  • UFC Record: 1-1
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Jack Della Maddalena.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out a 15-5 grappler. Submitted an 8-0 striker. Beat Mickey Gall. Split decision over Anthony Ivy.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: a little above average (55)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)

Chris’ Pick: Hafez by decision.


Veronica Hardy vs Edaurda Moura

  • Veronica Hardy
  • Age: 28
  • UFC Record: 4-4
  • Key Wins: Submitted Polyana Viana. Beat JJ Aldrich and Juliana Miller. Split decision over Jamey Lyn Horth.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: average (50)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)
  • Grappling: a little above average (55)
  • Eduarda Moura
  • Age: 30
  • Pro Record: 10-1
  • UFC Record: 2-1
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Denise Gomes.
  • Key WIns: Submitted a 5-0 striker. Knocked out Montserrat Conejo and a 6-3 striker.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Grappling: plus (70)

Chris’ Pick: Moura by decision.

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