Rafael Fiziev vs Manuel Torres
- Rafael Fiziev
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 7-5
- Key Losses: Majority decision loss to Justin Gaethje.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Rafael dos Anjos, Brad Riddell, and Renato Moicano. Beat Ignacio Bahamondes, Bobby Green and Marc Diakiese.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Manuel Torres
- Age: 31
- UFC Record: 6-1
- Key Losses: Submitted by a well rounded 7-6 fighter.
- Key Wins: Submitted Chris Duncan, a well rounded 14-5 fighter, and a 12-2 striker. Knocked out Grant Dawson, Drew Dober, Nik Motta, Frank Camacho, a well rounded 9-3 fighter. Split decision over a 5-2 striker.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Torres by 1st round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Torres -175
Shara Magomedov vs Michel Pereira
- Shara Magomedov
- Age: 32
- UFC Record: 5-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Armen Petrosyan, Antonio Trocolli, a 16-4 striker, a 4-1 striker, and a well rounded 9-2 fighter. Beat Marc Andre Barriault, Bruno Silva, and a 21-5 wrestler.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
- Michel Pereira
- Age: 32
- UFC Record: 4-3 at 185 lbs. 10-5 overall.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Andre Petroski, Danny Roberts. Submitted Ihor Potieria, Michel Oleksiejczuk and an 8-2 striker. Beat Andre Fialho, Niko Price, and Khaos Williams. Split decision wins over Zachary Reese and Santiago Ponzinibbio.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Pereira by split decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Pereira -135
Nazim Sadykhov vs Matheus Camilo
- Nazim Sadykhov
- Age: 32
- UFC Record: 5-1
- Key Wins: Submitted Terrence McKinney. Knocked out Nikolas Motta, Ismael Bonfim, and a well rounded 8-1 fighter.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Matheus Camilo
- Age: 25
- Pro Record: 10-3
- UFC Record: 1-1
- Key Wins: Submitted a 9-3 wrestler and a well rounded 6-1 fighter. Knocked out a well rounded 4-0 fighter. Beat Viacheslav Borshchev and an 8-0 wrestler.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Chris’ Pick: Camilo by decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Camilo -225
Asu Almabayev vs Charles Johnson
- Asu Almabayev
- Age: 32
- UFC Record: 6-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 10-1 striker. Submitted Alex Perez, 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)
- Grappling: plus (70)
- Charles Johnson
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 8-6
- Key Losses: Split decision loss to Ode Osbourne.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Lone’er Kavanagh, Joshua Van, Jimmy Flick and a well rounded 6-0 fighter. Submitted a well rounded 6-0 fighter. Beat Sumudaerji, Jake Hadley and Azat Maksum. Split decision wins over Bruno Silva, Zhulgas Zhumagulov, a well rounded 7-2 fighter and a 5-1 wrestler.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus plus (65)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Almabayev by decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Almabayev -225
Ikram Aliskerov vs Brunno Ferreira
- Ikram Aliskerov
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 5-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out Andre Muniz, Warlley Alves, Phil Hawes, and a well rounded 13-2 fighter. Submitted Mario Sousa, Dennis Tiuliulin, and an 11-3 wrestler. Beat Jun Yong Park and a well rounded 4-0 fighter.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Brunno Ferreira
- Age: 33
- UFC Record: 7-3
- Key Wins: Submitted Jackson McVey, Armen Petrosyan, and a 3-1 striker. Knocked out Dustin Stoltzfus, Phil Hawes, Gregory Rodrigues, a well rounded 10-1 fighter, and a well rounded 10-3 fighter. Beat Marvin Vettori.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Aliskerov by 1st round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Aliskerov -225
Michal Oleksiejczuk vs Abus Magomedov
- 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)
- Abus Magomedov
- Age: 35
- UFC Record: 4-3
- Key Wins: Knocked out Dustin Stolztfus, Jessin Ayari, an 11-2 striker, a well rounded 15-5 fighter, and a 10-3 grappler. Submitted Brunno Ferreira and a 12-0 striker. Beat Michel Pereira and Warlley Alves.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
Chris’ Pick: Magomedov by decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Magomedov -135
Eric Nolan vs Farman Hasanov
- Eric Nolan
- Age: 28
- Pro Record: 8-4
- UFC Record: 0-1
- Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 7-2 fighter and a 9-2 grappler.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
- Farman Hasanov
- Age: 30
- Pro Record: 4-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 6-0 grappler. Beat a 4-0-1 grappler.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Nolan by decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Nolan -135
Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev vs Julius Walker
- Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev
- Age: 25
- Pro Record: 9-0
- UFC Record: 3-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 6-1 striker. Submitted Brendson Ribeiro, a well rounded 5-2 fighter, and a 5-1 striker. Beat a 7-0 striker.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Julius Walker
- Age: 26
- Pro Record: 7-2
- UFC Record: 1-2
- 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: Yahkyaev by 1st round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Yakhyaev -350
Andrey Pulyaev vs Nursulton Ruziboev
- Andrey Pulyaev
- Age: 28
- Pro Record: 10-4
- UFC Record: 2-2
- Key Wins: Knocked out Nick Klein. Beat a well rounded 6-2 fighter.
- Striking: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Nursulton Ruziboev
- Age: 32
- UFC Record: 4-1
- Key Losses: Lost to an 8-4 wrestler and a well rounded 17-11 fighter.
- Key Draws: Fought a 3-2 grappler to a draw.
- Key Wins: Knocked out Eric McConico, Sedriques Dumas, Brunno Ferreira, a well rounded 8-0 fighter, a well rounded 8-1 fighter, and a well rounded 14-5 fighter. Submitted a well rounded 14-4 fighter. Beat Dustin Stoltzfus anda well rounded 40-9 fighter.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
Despite losing his last fight, he still out struck Ateba Gautier 57 to 30.
Chris’ Pick: Pulyaev by decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Pulyaev -225
Javier Reyes vs Kaan Ofli
- Javier Reyes
- Age: 32
- Pro Record: 23-5
- UFC Record: 2-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out Douglas Silva de Andrade, a 12-3 striker, and a well rounded 7-2 fighter.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: near plus (65)
- Grappling: above average (60)
- Kaan Ofli
- Age: 32
- Pro Record: 12-4
- UFC Record: 2-2
- Key Wins: Submitted Ricardo Ramos and a 6-1 striker. Beat a 5-2 wrestler and another 5-2 wrestler. Majority decision over Zha Yi.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: average (50)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
Chris’ Pick: Reyes by split decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Reyes -135
Daniil Donchenko vs Theodor Berggren
- Daniil Donchenko
- Age: 24
- Pro Record: 13-2
- UFC Record: 2-0
- 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. Beat Alex Morono.
- Striking: near plus (65)
- Power: near plus (65)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
- Theodor Berggren
- Age: 26
- Pro Record: 8-3
- Key Wins: Knocked out a 3-1 striker and an 8-2 striker.
- Striking: a little above average (55)
- Power: a little above average (55)
- Grappling: a little above average (55)
Chris’ Pick: Donchenko by 1st round knockout.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Donchenko -300
Bekzat Almakhan vs Jean Matsumoto
- Bekzat Almakhan
- Age: 28
- Pro Record: 12-3
- UFC Record: 1-2
- 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: near plus (65)
- Jean Matsumoto
- Age: 26
- UFC Record: 4-2
- Key Losses: Split decision losses to Farid Basharat and 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: plus (70)
- Power: plus (70)
- Wrestling: plus (70)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
Matsumoto might have lost his last fight to Farid Basharat but his skills leveled up as previously I thought his striking was on the border between a 65-70, but no more as the striking with Basharat was close to equal. And Matsumoto even showed off 70 wrestling as he accrued more control time in the wrestling as well.
Chris’ Pick: Matsumoto by split decision.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Matsumoto -135
Tahir Abdullaev vs Jefferson Nascimento
- Tahir Abdullaev
- Age: 29
- Pro Record: 19-3
- Key Wins: Submitted a 4-0 grappler, a 4-1 striker and a well rounded 8-1 fighter. Knocked out a well rounded 8-0 fighter and a 6-2 striker.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Grappling: near plus (65)
- Jefferson Nascimento
- Age: 27
- Pro Record: 13-0
- Key Wins: Knocked out a well rounded 9-1 fighter, a 5-0 striker and a well rounded 8-0 fighter. Split decision over a 12-3 grappler. Beat a 7-1 wrestler.
- Striking: above average (60)
- Power: above average (60)
- Wrestling: above average (60)
It’s possible that Abdullaev’s striking could be a 65 but I haven’t seen enough of him yet.
Chris’ Pick: Abdullaev by 2nd round submission.
What odds I think the favorite should be at: Abdullaev -135