Bautista vs Oliveira, Albazi vs Horiguchi, Almeida vs Kuniev Fight Picks – February 7, 2026

Published on by Chris Schweppe

Mario Bautista vs Vinicius Oliveira

  • Mario Bautista
  • Age: 32
  • UFC Record: 10-3
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Miles Johns. Submitted Guido Cannetti, Benito Lopez, and Brian Kelleher. Beat Patchy Mix, Ricky Simon, Da’Mon Blackshear, a well rounded 9-3 fighter and a 7-1-2 wrestler. Split decision over Jose Aldo.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Grappling: plus (70)
  • Vinicius Oliveira
  • Age: 30
  • UFC Record: 5-0
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Bernardo Sopai, a well rounded 15-4 fighter, a 12-3 grappler and a 12-2 wrestler. Beat Kyler Phillips, Said Nurmagoedov, Ricky Simon, a well rounded 12-3 fighter, and a 13-1 wrestler.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)

Yes, Oliveira out striking Phillips 79 to 49 was impressive, but the thing that impressed me even more was the cardio. Oliveira threw hard all 15 minutes, stalked Phillips, pressured the whole fight, didn’t slow down. Normally when a fighter pressures that much and throws that much, they throw with less power, but not Oliveira. I don’t see anywhere Bautista wins.

Chris’ Pick: Oliveira by 2nd round knockout.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Oliveira -200

Amir Albazi vs Kyoji Horiguchi

  • Amir Albazi
  • Age: 32
  • UFC Record: 5-1
  • Key Wins: Submitted Francisco Figueiredo, Malcolm Gordon, a 6-2 wrestler, and a 6-2 striker. Knocked out Alessandro Costa. Beat Zhalgas Zhumagulov and a well rounded 6-1 fighter. Split decision over Kai Kara-France.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Grappling: plus (70)
  • Kyoji Horiguchi
  • Age: 35
  • Pro Record: 34-5
  • UFC Record: 7-1
  • Key Wins: Submitted Manel Kape. Knocked out Ian McCall. Beat Darrell Montague, Chico Camus, Neil Seery, Ali Bagautinov.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)

Very possible Horiguchi’s striking could be as high as a 75.

Chris’ Pick: Albazi by split decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Albazi -125

Jailton Almeida vs Rizvan Kuniev

  • Jailton Almeida
  • Age: 34
  • UFC Record: 9-2
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Alexander Volkov.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Sergei Spivac, Shamil Abdurakhimov, and Danilo Marques. Submitted Alexandr Romanov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Anton Turkalj, Parker Porter, a 9-0 wrestler, and a 19-4 wrestler. Beat Derrick Lewis.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Grappling: near plus plus (75)
  • Rizvan Kuniev
  • Age: 33
  • Pro Record: 12-3-1
  • UFC Record: 2-1
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Curtis Blaydes.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 8-1 fighter, a 12-2 striker, a 5-0 wrestler and an 11-4 striker.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Almeida by 1st round submission.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Almeida -250

Michal Oleksiejczuk vs Marc Andre Barriault

  • Michal Oleksiejczuk
  • Age: 30
  • UFC Record: 5-4 at 185 lbs. 9-7 overall.
  • Key Losses: Submitted by Ovince St. Preux.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Gerald Meerschaert, Sedriques Dumas, Chidi Njokuani, Cody Brundage, Shamil Gamzatov, Gian Villante, Gadzhimurad Antigulov, and a 5-0 striker. Beat a well rounded 4-1 fighter. Split decision over Modestas Bukauskas.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: plus (70)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)
  • Marc-Andre Barriault
  • Age: 35
  • UFC Record: 6-9
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Chris Curtis.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Bruno Silva, Julian Marquez, Abu Azaitar, a 9-3 striker, and a 7-1 striker. Submitted Jordan Wright. Beat Eryk Anders and Dalcha Lungiambula.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Oleksiejczuk by decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Oleksiejczuk -250

Jean Matsumoto vs Farid Basharat

  • Jean Matsumoto
  • Age: 26
  • UFC Record: 4-1
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Rob Font.
  • Key Wins: Submitted Dan Argueta, a 7-0 striker. Beat Brad Katona, 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. Split decision over Miles Johns.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: plus (65)
  • Grappling: near plus (65)
  • Farid Basharat
  • Age: 28
  • UFC Record: 6-0
  • Key Wins: Submitted Kleydson Rodrigues. Beat Chris Gutierrez, Victor Hugo, Taylor Lapilus, Da’Mon Blackshear, a well rounded 7-1 fighter, and a well rounded 4-0 fighter.
  • Striking: plus (70)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Grappling: plus (70)

Matsumoto’s striking is right on the bubble between a 65 and a 70. Closer to a 70 in the Font fight but closer to a 65 in his last fight with Johns. Johns got 5 take downs on Matsumoto and I think Basharat’s wrestling is a level better than Johns.

Chris’ Pick: Basharat by split decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Basharat -135

Dustin Jacoby vs Julius Walker

  • Dustin Jacoby
  • Age: 37
  • UFC Record: 10-4-1 at 205 lbs.
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Khalil Rountree.
  • Key Draws: Fought Ion Cutelaba to a draw.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Bruno Lopes, Vitor Petrino, Kennedy Nzechukwu, Da Un Jung, Darren Stewart, Justin Ledet, a 10-3 grappler and a 7-0 grappler. Beat Michel Oleksiejczuk, Maxim Grishin, and a 7-2 grappler.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)
  • Julius Walker
  • Age: 26
  • Pro Record: 7-1
  • UFC Record: 1-1
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Alonzo Menifield.
  • Key Wins: Submitted a well rounded 6-1 fighter. Beat Raffael Cerqueira.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Jacoby by decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Jacoby -250

Daniil Donchenko vs Alex Morono

  • Daniil Donchenko
  • Age: 24
  • Pro Record: 12-2
  • UFC Record: 1-0
  • Key Losses: Lost to a 13-10 striker.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 8-1 fighter, a 6-0 grappler, a 5-2 striker, and a well rounded 7-2 fighter.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: above average (60)
  • Alex Morono
  • Age: 35
  • UFC Record: 13-9
  • Key Losses: Split decision losses to Daniel Rodriguez and Keita Nakamura.
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Donald Cerrone and Zak Ottow. Beat Court McGee, Tim Means, Matthew Semelsberger, Mickey Gall, David Zawada, Kenan Song, and Max Griffin.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: average (50)
  • Grappling: above average (60)

Chris’ Pick: Donchenko by 1st round knockout.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Donchenko -300

Nikolay Veretennikov vs Niko Price

  • Nikolay Veretennikov
  • Age: 36
  • UFC Record: 1-4
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Anthony Ivy and a 5-2 grappler. Beat an 8-1 wrestler. Split decision over Francisco Prado.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: above average (60)
  • Niko Price
  • Age: 36
  • UFC Record: 8-9
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Alan Jouban, Randy Brown, and Tim Means. Beat Alex Morono.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Wrestling: above average (60)

The market had Punahele Soriano as a near 3 to 1 favorite over Veretennikov. Ok, fine. But the fight turned out to be a total wipeout where Soriano out classed him on the ground. Over 12 minutes of control time. So what happened? Well, I’ve seen Veretennikov fight 5 times in the UFC now. Decently confident I have him graded right, so most plausible is Soriano has taken a step forward in his new weight class at 170 lbs. Slight chance Price’s striking is a 65. He did out strike Jacobe Smith 27 to 22.

Chris’ Pick: Veretennikov by decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Veretennikov -225

Bruna Brasil vs Ketlen Souza

  • Bruna Brasil
  • Age: 32
  • UFC Record: 4-3
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Marnic Mann. Submitted a well rounded 2-0 fighter. Beat Ming Shi, Molly McCann, Shauna Bannon, and a 5-0 grappler.
  • Striking: above average (60)
  • Power: above average (60)
  • Wrestling: above average (60)
  • Ketlen Souza
  • Age: 31
  • UFC Record: 2-3
  • Split decision losses to Piera Rodriguez and Angela Hill.
  • Key Wins: Submitted Yazmin Jauregui. Knocked out a 6-1 grappler. Beat Marnic Mann.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)

Chris’ Pick: Souza by decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Souza -225

Gianni Vazquez vs Javid Basharat

  • Gianni Vazquez
  • Age: 31
  • Pro Record: 13-5
  • Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 5-2 fighter. Split decision over David Martinez.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: a little above average (55)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)
  • Javid Basharat
  • Age: 30
  • UFC Record: 4-2
  • Key Wins: Knocked out a 5-0 grappler. Submitted an 11-1 grappler. Beat Mateus Mendonca, Tony Gravely, and Trevin Jones
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)

Javid is tough for me to figure out. He’s inconsistent. His wrestling could be as low as a 60 but then again when he’s on, I think the striking could be as high as a 70. Based off watching Vazquez against Edgar Chairez, I’d say his striking is close to a 65. Wrestling could be a 65 as well. He’s way better than his record.

Chris’ Pick: Basharat by decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Basharat -135

Eduarda Moura vs Wang Cong

  • Eduarda Moura
  • Age: 31
  • UFC Record: 4-1
  • Key Losses: Split decision loss to Denise Gomes.
  • Key WIns: Submitted a 5-0 striker. Knocked out Montserrat Conejo and a 6-3 striker. Beat Lauren Murphy and Veronica Hardy.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Grappling: plus (70)
  • Wang Cong
  • Age: 32
  • Pro Record: 6-1
  • UFC Record: 2-1
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Victoria Leonardo. Submitted a 5-2 striker. Beat Wu Yanan and a well rounded 3-1 fighter.
  • Striking: near plus plus (75)
  • Power: near plus plus (75)
  • Wrestling: plus (70)
  • Grappling: near plus (65)

I thought Lipski da Silva’s striking was a 70 going into the fight with Cong but Cong out struck her 127 to 55. Now, part of that is due to Cong hurting her with leg kicks and immobilizing her. But the other part is I think Cong’s striking tool is a 75. Her wrestling, I’m cautiously projecting a 70 grade.

Chris’ Pick: Cong by 2nd round knockout.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Cong -225

Jakub Wiklacz vs Muin Gafurov

  • Jakub Wiklacz
  • Age: 29
  • Pro Record: 17-3-2
  • UFC Record: 1-0
  • Key Wins: Submitted a well rounded 4-0 fighter, a well rounded 12-3-1 fighter, and a 5-1 grappler. Beat a 5-1 wrestler and a 10-3 grappler. Split decision over Patchy Mix.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: a little above average average (55)
  • Grappling: near plus (65)
  • Muin Gafurov
  • Age: 29
  • UFC Record: 2-3
  • Key Wins: Knocked out a 15-1 grappler, a 5-1 grappler, and a 10-2-1 grappler. Beat Rinya Nakamura, Kyung Ho Kang, and an 11-3 grappler.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: near plus (65)
  • Wrestling: near plus (65)
  • Grappling: above average (60)

Nakamura was a -625 favorite going into his matchup with Nakamura, being that the market had Gafurov’s wrestling as a 60, and I agreed. But stunningly, Gafurov didn’t allow a single take down. So maybe Nakamura’s wrestling isn’t a 70 after all, probably a 65. And being that the striking was close to equal, I don’t think Gafurov’s wrestling made a leap all the way to a 70.

Chris’ Pick: Gafurov by decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Gafurov -175

Klaudia Sygula vs Priscila Cachoeira

  • Klaudia Sygula
  • Age: 26
  • Pro Record: 7-2
  • UFC Record: 1-1
  • Key Wins: Beat Irina Alekseeva, a well rounded 3-0 fighter, and a 5-2 striker.
  • Striking: near plus (65)
  • Power: a little above average (55)
  • Wrestling: above average (60)
  • Priscila Cachoeira
  • Age: 37
  • UFC Record: 5-7
  • Key Wins: Knocked out Josiane Nunes, 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)

Amazingly Irina Alekseeva came in as a -225 favorite against Sygula. I thought it was a coin flip. But Sygula took a step forward and out struck Alekseeva 93 to 58.

Chris’ Pick: Sygula by split decision.

What odds I think the favorite should be at: Sygula -125

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