Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira
- Ilia Topuria
- Age: 28
- UFC Record: 8-0
- Key Wins: Submitted Bryce Mitchell, an 8-1 grappler, and a 7-1 wrestler. Knocked out Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski, Ryan Hall, Damon Jackson, and a 4-1 grappler. Beat Josh Emmett and Youssef Zalal.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: plus (70)
- Charles Oliveira
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 23-10
- 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 Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: near plus plus (75)
Chris’ Pick: Oliveira by 2nd round submission.
Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Kara France
- Alexandre Pantoja
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 13-3
- Key Wins: Knocked out Matt Schnell and Wilson Reis. Submitted Kai Asakura, Alex Perez, Brandon Royval, and Yuta Sasaki. Beat Steve Erceg, Brandon Moreno, and Manel Kape.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: near plus plus (75)
- Kai Kara France
- Age: 32
- UFC Record: 8-4
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Amir Albazi.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Steve Erceg, Cody Garbrandt, and Rogerio Bontorin. Beat Askar Askarov and Tyson Nam. Split decision over Raulian Paiva.
- Striking: near plus plus (75)
- Power: near plus plus (75)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Kara France by 2nd round knockout.
Beneil Dariush vs Renato Moicano
- Beneil Dariush
- Age: 36
- UFC Record: 16-6-1
- Key Losses: Knocked out by Alexander Hernandez.
- Key Draws: Fought Evan Dunham to a draw.
- Key Wins: Submitted Anthony Rocco Martin and Drew Dober. Knocked out Scott Holtzman, Drakkar Klose, and James Vick. Beat Mateusz Gamrot and Tony Ferguson. Split decision over Diego Ferreira.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus plus (75)
- Renato Moicano
- Age: 36
- UFC Record: 7-3 at 155 lbs. 11-6 overall.
- Key Wins: Submitted Brad Riddell, Alexander Hernandez, Jai Herbert, and Cub Swanson. Knocked out Benoit Saint Denis and Jalin Turner. Beat Drew Dober and Calvin Kattar. Split decision over Jeremy Stephens.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: near plus plus (75)
I wasn’t the only one who thought Dariush’s striking had leveled up to a 75 grade as he closed a -150 favorite over Charles Oliveira. Small sample, but after seeing his striking with Oliveira and now Tsarukyan, it’s looking like the numbers from his Gamrot fight are probably an outlier.
Chris’ Pick: Moicano by split decision.
Brandon Royval vs Manel Kape
- Brandon Royval
- Age: 32
- UFC Record: 7-3
- Key Wins: Submitted Matt Schnell, Kai Kara France, Tim Elliott, Joby Sanchez and a 5-1 striker. Knocked out Matheus Nicolau a 7-1 grappler. Beat a well rounded 7-1 fighter. Split decision wins over Tatsuro Taira, Brandon Moreno, and Rogerio Bontorin.
- Striking: near plus plus (75)
- Power: near plus plus (75)
- Grappling: plus (70)
- Manel Kape
- Age: 31
- UFC Record: 6-3
- Key Wins: Knocked out Asu Almabayev, Bruno Silva, Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Ode Osbourne, and a 14-1 striker. Submitted a 14-5 striker. Beat Felipe dos Santos and David Dvorak.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Royval by decision.
Paulo Costa vs Roman Kopylov
- Paulo Costa
- Age: 34
- UFC Record: 6-4
- Key Wins: Knocked out Uriah Hall and Johny Hendricks. Beat Luke Rockhold. Split decision over Yoel Romero.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Roman Kopylov
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 6-3
- Key Wins: Knocked out Chris Curtis, Josh Fremd, Claudio Ribeiro, Punahele Soriano, Alessio di Chirico, out a 7-1 striker in just his 2nd pro fight. Also knocked out a well rounded 8-2 fighter in his 3rd pro fight. Knocked out a 6-2 wrestler and a 9-2 wrestler. Split decision over Cesar Almeida.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Costa by 2nd round knockout.
Tracy Cortez vs Viviane Araujo
- Tracy Cortez
- Age: 31
- UFC Record: 6-1
- Key Wins: Beat Jasmine Jasudavicius, Melissa Gatto, Mariya Agapova, and Stephanie Egger. Split decision wins over Justin Kish and a well rounded 3-0 fighter.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Viviane Araujo
- Age: 38
- UFC Record: 7-5
- Key Wins: Knocked out Talita Bernardo. Beat Karine Silva, Jennifer Maia, Andrea Lee, Roxanne Modefferi, Montana de la Rosa, and Alexis Davis.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Cortez by split decision.
Jack Hermansson vs Gregory Rodrigues
- Jack Hermansson
- Age: 36
- UFC Record: 11-6
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Sean Strickland.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Thales Leites. Submitted Kelvin Gastelum, David Branch, and Gerald Meerschaert. Beat Joe Pyfer, Chris Curtis, Edmen Shahbazyan and Jacare Souza.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: plus (70)
- Gregory Rodrigues
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 7-4
- Key Losses: Lost a split decision to Armen Petrosyan.
- Key Wins: Submitted a 4-1-1 grappler. Knocked out Brad Tavares, Dennis Tiuliulin, Chidi Njokuani, Julian Marquez, Jun Yong Park, an 8-3 striker, a well rounded 7-1 fighter, a well rounded 3-0 fighter, and a 4-1 grappler. Beat Christian Leroy Duncan and Dusko Todorovic.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Hermansson by decision.
Jhonata Diniz vs Justin Tafa
- Jhonata Diniz
- Age: 33
- Pro Record: 8-1
- UFC Record: 3-1
- 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)
- Justin Tafa
- Age: 31
- UFC Record: 4-5
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Carlos Felipe.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Austen Lane, Parker Porter, and Juan Adams.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Diniz by 1st round knockout.
Hyder Amil vs Jose Delgado
- Hyder Amil
- Age: 34
- Pro Record: 11-0
- UFC Record: 4-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out Jeong Yeong Lee and Fernie Garcia. Beat a 14-4 striker. Split decision win over a 9-7 grappler. Split decision over William Gomis.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
- Jose Delgado
- Age: 27
- Pro Record: 9-1
- UFC Record: 2-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out Connor Matthews, a well rounded 7-0 fighter, a well rounded 4-1 fighter, and a 7-2 striker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Amil by 2nd round knockout.
Terrance McKinney vs Slava Borshchev
- Terrance McKinney
- Age: 30
- UFC Record: 6-4
- Key Wins: Knocked out Brendon Marotte, Mike Breeden, Matt Frevola, and an 11-3 grappler. Submitted Fares Ziam.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Grappling: plus (70)
- Slava Borshchev
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 4-4
- Key Draws: Fought Nazim Sadykhov to a majority draw.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Maheshate, Dakota Bush, and a 7-0 striker. Beat a 4-1 wrestler. Split decision over James Llontop.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: McKinney by 1st round submission.