Arman Tsarukyan vs Dan Hooker
- Arman Tsarukyan
- Age: 29
- UFC Record: 9-2
- Key Wins: Submitted a 6-0 wrestler and a 17-4 striker. Knocked out Beneil Dariush, Joaquim Silva, Joel Alvarez, Christos Giagos, and a 15-5 striker. Beat Damir Ismagulov, Davi Ramos, Matt Frevola, and a 5-1 wrestler. Split decision over Charles Oliveira.
- Striking: near plus plus (75)
- Power: near plus plus (75)
- Wrestling: plus plus (80)
- Dan Hooker
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 10-4 at 155 lbs. 13-8 overall.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Claudio Puelles and James Vick. Beat Al Iaquinta and Nasrat Haqparast. Split decision wins over Mateusz Gamrot, Jalin Turner, and Paul Felder.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Small sample size, but Tsarukyan out striking Oliveira 23 to 7 is really impressive.
Chris’ Pick: Tsarukyan by 2nd round knockout.
Belal Muhammad vs Ian Machado Garry
- Belal Muhammad
- Age: 37
- UFC Record: 15-4
- Key Losses: Lost to Alan Jouban.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Sean Brady. Beat Leon Edwards, Gilbert Burns, Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson, Demian Maia, Lyman Good, Chance Rencountre, and Randy Brown.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus plus (75)
- Ian Machado Garry
- Age: 27
- UFC Record: 9-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Daniel Rodriguez, Kenan Song, Jordan Williams, a 4-0 grappler, and a 6-2 striker. Beat Carlos Prates, Michael Page, Neil Magny, Gabe Green, Darian Weeks, and a well rounded 17-6 fighter. Split decision over Geoff Neal.
- Striking: near plus plus (75)
- Power: near plus plus (75)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Machado Garry by split decision.
Volkan Oezdemir vs Alonzo Menifield
- Volkan Oezdemir
- Age: 36
- UFC Record: 8-7
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Dominick Reyes.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Johnny Walker, Ilir Latifi, Misha Cirkunov, and Jimi Manuwa. Submitted Bogdan Guskov. Beat Paul Craig. Split decision win over Aleksandar Rakic and Ovince St. Preux.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Alonzo Menifield
- Age: 38
- UFC Record: 12-5-1
- Key Draws: Fought Crute to a majority draw.
- Key Wins: Submitted Jimmy Crute. Knocked out Misha Cirkunov, Paul Craig, a 9-1 grappler, and a well rounded 8-1 fighter. Beat Oumar Sy, Dustin Jacoby. Split decision over Julius Walker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Oezdemir by decision.
Jack Hermansson vs Myktybek Orolbai
- Jack Hermansson
- Age: 37
- UFC Record: 11-7
- 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)
- Myktybek Orolbai
- Age: 27
- Pro Record: 13-2-1
- UFC Record: 2-1
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Mateusz Rebecki.
- Key Wins: Submitted Uros Medic. Knocked out a well rounded 8-1 fighter. Beat Elves Brener, a well rounded 6-1 fighter.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Grappling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Orolbai by 2nd round knockout.
Serghei Spivac vs Shamil Gaziev
- Serghei Spivac
- Age: 30
- UFC Record: 8-6
- Key Losses: Lost to Marcin Tybura.
- Key Wins: Submitted Marcin Tybura, Derrick Lewis, Greg Hardy, Tai Tuivasa, and a 5-1 striker. Knocked out Augusto Sakai and Jared Vanderaa. Beat Alexei Oleinik. Majority decision over Carlos Felipe.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Grappling: plus (70)
- Shamil Gaziev
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 4-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Thomas Petersen, Martin Buday, Darko Stosic, and a 4-0 striker. Submitted a well rounded 6-0 fighter. Beat Don’Tale Mayes. Split decision over a 13-0 striker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Gaziev by 1st round knockout.
Alex Perez vs Asu Almabayev
- Alex Perez
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 8-5
- Key Wins: Knocked out Matheus Nicolau, Jussier Formiga and Jose Torres. Submitted Jordan Espinosa. Beat Mark de la Rosa and Eric Shelton.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Asu Almabayev
- Age: 31
- UFC Record: 5-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 10-1 striker. Submitted Ode Osbourne, a well rounded 6-0 fighter, a well rounded 5-0 fighter and a well rounded 10-2 fighter. Beat Jose Ochoa, Jose Johnson, CJ Vergara, a 4-0 grappler, and a 14-4 wrestler.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Grappling: plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Perez by 2nd round knockout.
Bogdan Grad vs Luke Riley
- Bogdan Grad
- Age: 30
- Pro Record: 15-3
- UFC Record: 2-2
- Key Wins: Knocked out Lucas Alexander and a 4-0 grappler. Submitted a well rounded 6-2 fighter. Beat a well rounded 17-6 fighter. Split decision over a 9-1 striker.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Luke Riley
- Age: 26
- Pro Record: 11-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 9-2 grappler, a 5-0 wrestler, and a well rounded 6-2 fighter. Beat a 10-3 grappler.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: a little above average (55)
Chris’ Pick: Grad by decision.
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev vs Raffael Cerqueira
- Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev
- Age: 24
- Pro Record: 7-0
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 6-1 striker. Submitted a well rounded 5-2 fighter and a 5-1 striker. Beat a 7-0 striker.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Raffael Cerqueira
- Age: 35
- Pro Record: 11-3
- UFC Record: 0-3
- Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 4-1 fighter. Beat a 4-1 striker.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Yahkyaev by 1st round knockout.
Tagir Ulanbekov vs Kyoji Horiguchi
- Tagir Ulanbekov
- Age: 34
- UFC Record: 6-1
- Key Wins: Submitted Cody Durden, Nathan Maness, a 15-2 wrestler and a 13-2 grappler. Knocked out a 4-0 grappler. Beat Azat Maksum, Clayton Carpenter, Bruno Silva, an 8-1 grappler, and a 9-2 wrestler. Split decision over Allan Nascimento.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- 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: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Ulanbekov by decision.
Aleksandre Topuria vs Bekzat Almakhan
- Aleksandre Topuria
- Age: 29
- Pro Record: 6-1
- UFC Record: 1-0
- Key Wins: Beat Colby Thicknesse.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Bekzat Almakhan
- Age: 28
- Pro Record: 12-2
- UFC Record: 1-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Brad Katona, a well rounded 15-5 fighter, a 12-4-1 striker, a 12-4 grappler, a well rounded 9-3 fighter, and a 10-3 wrestler. Submitted a 7-2 grappler. Beat a well rounded 14-1 fighter.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Almakhan by decision.
Ismail Naurdiev vs Ryan Loder
- Ismail Naurdiev
- Age: 29
- UFC Record: 2-3
- Key Wins: Beat Siyar Bahadurzada and Michel Prazeres.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
- Ryan Loder
- Age: 34
- Pro Record: 7-2
- UFC Record: 1-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Robert Valentin and an 8-3 grappler. Beat a 5-0 wrestler.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Naurdiev by decision.
Saygid Izagakhmaev vs Nicolas Dalby
- Saygid Izagakhmaev
- Age: 31
- Pro Record: 22-2
- Key Losses: Submitted by Carlston Harris.
- Key Wins: Submitted a 12-2 wrestler, an 18-3-1 grappler, and a 5-1 wrestler. Beat a 15-4 striker and a well rounded 9-2 fighter.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: average (50)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Nicolas Dalby
- Age: 40
- UFC Record: 6-4-1
- Key Wins: Beat Muslim Salikhov, Claudio Silva, Daniel Rodriguez, and Alex Oliveira. Split decisions over Warlley Alves and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Dalby by decision.
Nurullo Aliev vs Shaqueme Rock
- Nurullo Aliev
- Age: 26
- Pro Record: 10-0
- UFC Record: 3-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 3-0 grappler. Beat Joe Solecki, a 5-1 wrestler and a well rounded 8-2 fighter. Majority decision wins over Rafael Alves and a 5-2 wrestler.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: average (50)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Shaqueme Rock
- Age: 31
- Pro Record: 11-1-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 6-1 fighter. Submitted a 4-1 striker and a 7-1 wrestler. Split decision win over a 15-9 wrestler.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: fringe average (45)
- Grappling: a little above average (55)
Chris’ Pick: Aliev by 2nd round submission.
Marek Bujlo vs Denzel Freeman
- Marek Bujlo
- Age: 33
- Pro Record: 6-0
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: above average (60)
- Denzel Freeman
- Age: 33
- Pro Record: 6-1
- Key Wins: Submitted Steven Asplund. Knocked out a well rounded 8-2 fighter.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Freeman by 2nd round submission.