Jiri Prochazka vs Carlos Ulberg
- Jiri Prochazka
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 6-2
- Key Draws: Fought a well rounded 6-1 fighter to a draw.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Khalil Rountree Jr, Jamahal Hill, Aleksandar Rakic, Dominick Reyes, Volkan Oezdemir, a well rounded 6-0 fighter, a well rounded 13-4 fighter, an 8-2 striker, a 14-4-1 grappler, a 5-0 striker, a well rounded 6-1 fighter, and a 12-4 wrestler. Submitted Glover Teixeira. Beat a 5-1 wrestler.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Carlos Ulberg
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 10-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Dominick Reyes, Alonzo Menifield, Ihor Potieria, Nicolae Negumereanu, Tafon Nchukwi, an 8-2 striker, and a 5-1 grappler. Submitted Da Woon Jung. Beat Jan Blachowicz and Volkan Oezdemir.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Toss up type fight but I give Prochazka an edge with his durability and experience in big fights.
Chris’ Pick: Prochazka by 2nd round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Prochazka -135
Paulo Costa vs Azamat Murzakanov
- Paulo Costa
- Age: 34
- UFC Record: 7-4
- Key Wins: Knocked out Uriah Hall and Johny Hendricks. Beat Roman Kopylov and Luke Rockhold. Split decision over Yoel Romero.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Azamat Murzakanov
- Age: 36
- UFC Record: 7-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out Aleksandar Rakic, Brendson Ribeiro, Alonzo Menifield, Devin Clark, Tafon Nchukwi, Andre Muniz, Matheus Scheffel, and a 13-3 striker.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Murzakanov by 2nd round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Murzakanov -135
Curtis Blaydes vs Josh Hokit
- Curtis Blaydes
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 14-5
- Key Wins: Knocked out Jailton Almeida, Alexey Oleinik, Alistair Overeem, Shamil Abdurakhimov, and Junior dos Santos. Beat Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Volkov, Mark Hunt, and Justin Willis. Split decision over Rizvan Kuniev.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Josh Hokit
- Age: 28
- Pro Record: 8-0
- UFC Record: 3-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out Denzel Freeman, Max Gimenis, and a 6-1 striker.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
Hokit’s last fight with Freeman was stunning because it revealed he’s got plus plus cardio for a heavyweight, something we hadn’t seen before because his other opponents he put them away so quickly.
Chris’ Pick: Hokit by 3rd round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Hokit -175
Dominick Reyes vs Johnny Walker
- Dominick Reyes
- Age: 36
- UFC Record: 9-5
- Key Wins: Knocked out Nikita Krylov, Anthony Smith, Dustin Jacoby, Jared Cannonier, Ovince St. Preux, and Chris Weidman. Split decision over Volkan Oezdemir.
- Striking: near plus plus (75)
- Power: near plus plus (75)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Johnny Walker
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 9-5
- Key Wins: Knocked out Mingyang Zhang, Paul Craig, Ryan Spann, Khalil Rountree, Justin Ledet, and Misha Cirkunov. Submitted Ion Cutelaba. Beat Anthony Smith.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: plus (70)
Very real chance that I’m over rating Reyes’ striking and it could very well be a 70. It’s hard to tell because 4 of his last 5 fights have lasted about 4 minutes. So small samples. Despite Walker’s win over Zhang, I still question his chin as he’s been knocked out in 2 out his last 3 fights.
Chris’ Pick: Reyes by 2nd round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Reyes -200
Cub Swanson vs Nate Landwehr
- Cub Swanson
- Age: 42
- UFC Record: 15-10
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Andre Fili.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Billy Quarantillo, Darren Elkins, and Daniel Pineda. Beat Hakeem Dawodu, Doo Ho Choi, and Kron Gracie.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Nate Landwehr
- Age: 37
- UFC Record: 5-5
- Key Wins: Submitted Austin Lingo and Ludovit Klein. Knocked out Jamall Emmers, a well rounded 6-1 fighter, a 13-2 grappler, and a well rounded 10-1 fighter. Beat Darren Elkins, a 6-2 grappler, a 9-2 grappler, and a 15-3 grappler (twice). Majority decision over David Onama.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
This is Swanson’s retirement fight so who know where his skills are at when he shows up.
Chris’ Pick: Landwehr by split decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Landwehr -125
Patricio Pitbull vs Aaron Pico
- Patricio Pitbull
- Age: 38
- Pro Record: 37-7
- UFC Record: 1-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Michael Chandler, Jeremy Kennedy, Diego Nunes, and Justin Wilcox. Submitted Emmanuel Sanchez and Daniel Straus. Beat Dan Ige, Juan Archuleta, and Pat Curran.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: plus (70)
- Aaron Pico
- Age: 29
- Pro Record: 13-5
- UFC Record: 0-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 9-1 fighter, a well rounded 12-3 fighter and an 18-4 grappler. Beat a 12-0 wrestler.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Pico by 2nd round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Pico -125
Kevin Holland vs Randy Brown
- Kevin Holland
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 6-5 at 170 lbs. 15-11 overall.
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Jack Della Maddalena.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Alex Oliveira, Jacare Souza, Joaquin Buckley and Anthony Hernandez. Submitted Vicente Luque, Michal Oleksiejczuk, Michael Chiesa and Tim Means. Beat Gunnar Nelson and Alessio Di Chirico. Split decisions over Gerald Meerschaert and Darren Stewart.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Randy Brown
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 14-7
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Bryan Battle.
- Key Wins: Submitted Alex Oliveira and Warlley Alves. Knocked out Nicolas Dalby, Muslim Salikhov, and Bryan Barbarena. Beat Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, Wellington Turman, Francisco Trinaldo, and Mickey Gall. Split decision over Khaos Williams.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: near plus (70)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Holland by 2nd round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Holland -135
Mateusz Gamrot vs Esteban Ribovics
- Mateusz Gamrot
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 8-4
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Dan Hooker.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Diego Ferreira, Scott Holtzman, Norman Parke, a well rounded 9-1-1 fighter, a 16-0-1 grappler, and a 15-3 striker. Submitted Jeremy Stephens and a 9-1 grappler. Beat Ludovit Klein, Rafael dos Anjos, Arman Tsarukyan, a 12-3-1 wrestler, a 24-4 grappler, a 21-7 grappler, and a 12-3 grappler. Split decision over Jalin Turner.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Esteban Ribovics
- Age: 29
- UFC Record: 4-2
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Nasrat Haqparast.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Terrance McKinney, an 11-3 striker, a 5-1 grappler, a well rounded 17-6 fighter, and a well rounded 21-6 fighter. Beat Kamuela Kirk. Split decision over Daniel Zellhuber.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Gamrot by 2nd round submission.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Gamrot -200
Tatiana Suarez vs Loopy Godinez
- Tatiana Suarez
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 8-1
- Key Wins: Submitted Jessica Andrade, Montana de la Rosa, and Alexa Grasso. Knocked out Carla Esparza. Beat Amanda Lemos and Nina Nunes.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus plus (75)
- Loopy Godinez
- Age: 32
- UFC Record: 9-2 at 115 lbs. 9-3 overall
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Jessica Penne.
- Key Wins: Submitted Elise Reed and Silvana Juarez. Beat Jessica Andrade, Julia Polastri, Emily Ducote, Ariane Carnelossi, and Loma Lookboonmee. Split decision wins over Tabatha Ricci and Cynthia Calvillo. Majority decision over Vanessa Demopoulos.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Suarez by decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Suarez -250
Chris Padilla vs MarQuel Mederos
- Chris Padilla
- Age: 30
- Pro Record: 16-6
- UFC Record: 3-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out Rongzhu and Justin Jaynes. Submitted James Llontop and a 4-0 grappler. Beat a well rounded 8-1 fighter. Split decision over Jai Herbert.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- MarQuel Mederos
- Age: 29
- Pro Record: 11-1
- UFC Record: 4-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 12-3 fighter and a well rounded 5-1 fighter. Beat Landon Quinones and a 5-0 wrestler. Split decision over Austin Hubbard.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: a little above average (55)
Padilla’s cardio makes his striking really close to a 70.
Chris’ Pick: Padilla by decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Padilla -400
Vicente Luque vs Kelvin Gastelum
- Vicente Luque
- Age: 34
- UFC Record: 15-7
- Key Wins: Knocked out Randy Brown, Belal Muhammad, Chad Laprise, and Bryan Barbarena. Submitted and knocked out Niko Price. Also submitted Themba Gorimbo, Michael Chiesa, and Tyron Woodley. Beat Rafael dos Anjos.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Kelvin Gastelum
- Age: 34
- UFC Record: 13-10
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Darren Till.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Michael Bisping. Beat Dustin Stoltzfus, Daniel Rodriguez, Chris Curtis and Ian Heinisch. Split decision win over Jacare Souza.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Luque’s striking is right on the bubble between a 65 and a 70 grade. He’s not the most consistent fighter.
Chris’ Pick: Luque by decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Luque -200
Charles Radtke vs Francisco Prado
- Charlie Radtke
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 4-2
- Key Wins: Knocked out Matthew Semelsberger and Gilbert Urbina. Submitted Daniel Frunza and a 6-0 striker. Beat Blood Diamond. Split decision over a 3-1 grappler.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Francisco Prado
- Age: 23
- Pro Record: 12-4
- UFC Record: 1-4
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Nikolay Veretennikov.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Ottman Azaitar, a well rounded 6-2 fighter, a 9-3 striker, and a 5-0 striker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Radtke by 2nd round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Radtke -135