Brandon Royval vs Manel Kape
- Brandon Royval
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 7-4
- 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: 32
- 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)
Royval’s striking is a very legit 75 grade after he out struck Joshua Van 205 to 181.
Chris’ Pick: Royval by decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Royval -250
Giga Chikadze vs Kevin Vallejos
- Giga Chikadze
- Age: 37
- UFC Record: 8-4
- Key Wins: Knocked out Edson Barboza and Cub Swanson. Beat Alex Caceres, Omar Morales. Split decision wins over Jamall Emmers and Brandon Davis.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Kevin Vallejos
- Age: 23
- Pro Record: 16-1
- UFC Record: 3-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Seung Woo Choi, Luiz Garagorri, an 8-0 striker, and a well rounded 6-0 fighter. Beat Danny Silva.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Vallejos by split decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Vallejos -135
Cesar Almeida vs Cezary Oleksiejczuk
- Cesar Almeida
- Age: 37
- UFC Record: 4-1
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Roman Kopylov.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Abdul Razak Alhassan and Dylan Budka. Beat Ihor Potieria and a 9-1 striker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
- Cezary Oleksiejczuk
- Age: 25
- Pro Record: 16-3
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 6-0 grappler and a 14-5 striker. Beat a well rounded 8-1 fighter, a well rounded 8-1 fighter, and a well rounded 19-1 fighter.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: a little above average (55)
Chris’ Pick: Almeida by 1st round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Almeida -225
Morgan Charriere vs Melquizael Costa
- Morgan Charriere
- Age: 30
- UFC Record: 3-2
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Chepe Mariscal.
- 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 Nate Landwehr, Gabriel Miranda, Maolo Zecchini, and a 17-4 grappler.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
- Melquizael Costa
- Age: 29
- UFC Record: 4-2
- Key Wins: Submitted Nuerdanbieke Shayilan. Knocked out a 14-2 striker. Beat Julian Erosa, Christian Rodriguez, Austin Lingo, a 4-0 striker, a 9-3 wrestler, and a 13-4 striker.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Costa by decision.
What odds do I think the favorite should be at: Costa -135
Kennedy Nzechukwu vs Marcus Buchecha
- Kennedy Nzechukwu
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 2-1 at heavyweight. 8-6 overall.
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Nicolae Negumereanu.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Chris Barnett, Ion Cutelaba, Karl Roberson, Danilo Marques, and Carlos Ulberg. Submitted Devin Clark.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Marcus Buchecha
- Age: 35
- Pro Record: 5-2
- UFC Record: 0-1
- Key Wins: Submitted a 14-3 striker, a 5-0 striker, and a 5-1 striker.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: average (50)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Nzechukwu by 1st round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Nzechukwu -300
King Green vs Lance Gibson Jr
- King Green
- Age: 39
- UFC Record: 11-12-1
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Rashid Magomedov.
- Key Wins: Submitted Tony Ferguson. Knocked out Grant Dawson and Al Iaquinta. Beat Jim Miller, Nasrat Haqparast, Alan Patrick, Lando Vannata and Erik Koch.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Lance Gibson Jr
- Age: 30
- Pro Record: 9-1
- Key Wins: Submitted a 5-2 striker. Beat a well rounded 6-2 fighter.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Grappling: a little above average (55)
Wasn’t impressed with Gibson Jr in his last fight. Took on a 5-2 striker who’s now 5-6. This is Gibson Jr’s first fight in over a year so he might show up a bit improved.
Chris’ Pick: Green by decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Green -500
Amanda Lemos vs Gillian Robertson
- Amanda Lemos
- Age: 38
- UFC Record: 8-5
- Key Wins: Knocked out Montserrat Ruiz and Livinha Souza. Submitted Michelle Waterson and Miranda Granger. Beat Iasmin Lucindo, MacKenzie Dern, and Mizuki Inoue. Split decision over Angela Hill.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: plus (70)
- Gillian Robertson
- Age: 30
- UFC Record: 5-1 at 115 lbs. 13-7 overall.
- Key Wins: Submitted Piera Rodriguez, Mariya Agapova, Priscila Cachoeira, Cortney Casey, Emily Whitmire, and Molly McCann. Knocked out Marina Rodriguez, Polyana Viana, and Sarah Frota. Beat Luana Pinheiro, Michelle Waterson-Gomez, and Poliana Botelho.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Grappling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Lemos by 2nd round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Lemos -250
Joanderson Brito vs Isaac Thomson
- Joanderson Brito
- Age: 30
- UFC Record: 6-3
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to William Gomis.
- Key Wins: Submitted Jonathan Pearce, Lucas Alexander, a well rounded 5-0 fighter, and a 6-0 grappler. Knocked out Jack Shore, Westin Wilson, Andre Fili, and a well rounded 9-3 fighter. Beat Diego Lopes.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Isaac Thomson
- Age: 23
- Pro Record: 9-2
- Key Losses: Split decision loss against a 7-3 grappler.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Lerryan Douglas. Beat a well rounded 6-2 fighter. Split decision over a well rounded 7-1 fighter.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: average (55)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Brito by 1st round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Brito -300
Neil Magny vs Yaroslav Amosov
- Neil Magny
- Age: 38
- UFC Record: 27-13
- Key Wins: Knocked out Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Mike Malott. Hector Lombard. Submitted Jake Matthews and 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: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Yaroslav Amosov
- Age: 32
- Pro Record: 28-1
- Key Wins: Submitted a well rounded 21-5 fighter, a 4-0 striker, a 6-2 grappler and a 5-0 striker. Beat Douglas Limoa, Erick Silva, a 14-1 wrestler, and an 8-1 striker.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: average (50)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
I thought Amosov had 65 striking and 70 wrestling going into his fight with Jason Jackson, but Jackson easily stuffed most of Amosov’s take downs. And Jackson definitely out struck him. So do I really think Jackson has 70 striking and 70 wrestling? Highly doubt that. And I’m very confident that Magny’s striking is still a 65 after he out struck Matthews 29 to 15.
Chris’ Pick: Magny by decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Magny -225
Steven Asplund vs Sean Sharaf
- Steven Asplund
- Age: 27
- Pro Record: 6-1
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 4-0 striker and a well rounded 3-1 fighter. Beat a 5-1 striker.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: a little above average (55)
- Sean Sharaf
- Age: 32
- Pro Record: 4-1
- UFC Record: 0-1
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
Sharaff made his UFC debut on just 4 days notice. He was close to finishing Junior Tafa in the 1st round, bell rang, end of the round. And by the time the 2nd round started, he was out of gas.
Chris’ Pick: Sharaff by 2nd round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Sharaff -175
Luana Santos vs Melissa Croden
- Luana Santos
- Age: 25
- UFC Record: 4-1
- Key Wins: Submitted Tainara Lisboa and Mairya Agapova. Knocked out Juliana Miller. Beat Stephanie Egger and a well rounded 4-1 fighter.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Melissa Croden
- Age: 34
- Pro Record: 7-2
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out Tainara Lisboa.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
Santos’ grappling could be as high as a 70. Croden out struck Lisboa 57 to 23 showing legit 65 striking.
Chris’ Pick: Croden by split decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Croden -125
Allen Frye Jr vs Guilherme Pat
- Allen Frye Jr
- Age: 27
- Pro Record: 6-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out an 11-3 striker.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: a little above average (55)
- Guilherme Pat
- Age: NA
- Pro Record: 5-0
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: average (50)
I wasn’t impressed by Pat in his last fight in LFA. Sure, his striking looked great, but he took on a 3-4 wrestler and Pat was controlled in the clinch and on the ground for most of the 1st round.
Chris’ Pick: Frye by 1st round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Frye -200
Jamey-Lyn Horth vs Tereza Bleda
- Jamey-Lyn Horth
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 3-2
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Veronica Hardy.
- Key Wins: Submitted a 9-3 grappker. Knocked out a well rounded 3-1 fighter. Beat Vanessa Demopoulos and Hailey Cowan. Split decision over Ivana Petrovic.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
- Tereza Bleda
- Age: 23
- Pro Record: 6-1
- UFC Record: 2-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 9-1 wrestler. Beat Gabriella Fernandes and a well rounded 7-0 fighter.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near (65)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Not Bleda’s last fight, but the fight before that, she lost to Natalia Silva and that L has aged well. Bleda was out struck, but wasn’t completely blown out. Even took Silva down and accrued almost 5 minutes of control time on the ground.
Chris’ Pick: Bleda by split decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Bleda -125