-Valentina Shevchenko: Check out this MMA math equation: Cat Zingano beats Amanda Nunes in 2014. Julianna Pena beats Zingano in 2016. Shevchenko beats Pena in 2017. So that’s why I’m pick Shevchenko to win. Haha just kidding. So Amanda Nunes. She’s a high octane, one in a half round fighter. Meaning that offensive output in the first couple rounds is so intense that she’s not the same going into the third round. And if you look at most of Nunes wins, they’re first round finishes. That’s what she goes for and does it very well. But she can be beat if her opponent can survive the early storm. Yes, Nunes did beat Shevchenko in their first fight. But Shevchenko did go the distance and lost via decision. I believe that Shevchenko is still capable of surviving the first few rounds with Nunes and will then take Nunes somewhere she’s never been before in her whole career. Rounds 4 and 5. I can see Nunes winning the first two rounds and Shevchenko start to turn the tide towards the end of the second round and then go on to win the last 3 rounds to win a close fight.
-Rafael dos Anjos: This is very good style matchup for dos Anjos. Neil Magny and dos Anjos are very similar fighters. Grinders. Great at wrestling. I expect this fight to stay on the feet where I feel dos Anjos will have a big advantage. Their striking technique is about the same, but dos Anjos has way more power. Both fighters are about the same age and same place in development. So it comes down to what skills they have now and I see dos Anjos knocking Magny out.
-Henry Cejudo: This is going to be a really, really close fight between 2 of the 5 best flyweights in the world. Wilson Reis has absolutely found a home at 125 lbs, looking way better than he ever did at 135 lbs. The win over Yuta Sasaki was especially impressive. Cejudo is 30 years old, Reis is 32 years old so they’re about the same age. Cejudo is coming off 2 losses in a row to the consensus top two 125 lbers, but has a 4-2 record in the UFC. However, it’s a red flag to me that Cejudo has yet to finish anyone in the UFC. But, I’m going to pick Cejudo because even though he’s 30, I still think he has some development yet and hasn’t hit is ceiling in potential being that he’s only been in MMA for 4 years now. Reis is a long time vet who’s fought for 10 years now. But we’re looking at a split decision here, folks. Barely going to Cejudo, due to him being the best version of Cejudo we’ve ever seen.
-Tyson Pedro: In Pedro, we’re looking at a light heavyweight who will be fighting for the title in the next 2-3 years. Very confident in that. 2-0 so far in the UFC, 6-0 overall. He’s never fought in the 2nd round. Well rounded game. And not only is he 2-0 in the UFC, but the wins were over very good young fighters in Paul Craig and especially Khalil Rountree. Latifi is a very good gatekeeper and will be a solid test for Pedro. Latifi is 5-3 in the UFC with 4 of his 5 wins coming via 1st round knockout. So if a fighter don’t belong in the UFC, you know what Latifi will do. Does Pedro belong in the UFC? Very much so. Latifi has lost to lesser opponents, especially getting knocked out by average fighter Jan Blachowicz. But the clincher in this fight is that Latifi is 34 years old and he’s developed about all he can, currently in his athletic peak. The only question for me is if Pedro sees the 2nd round in this fight. I doubt it and think Pedro adds another 1st round finish to his resume.
-Gilbert Melendez: This fight is almost impossible to predict. I see clear reasons for both fighters not winning. Melendez is 35 years old and cutting down to 145 lbs for the first time, which is usually really hard for older fighters to do, being that when you get older, it’s harder to cut weight. And even though Jeremy Stephens is 4 years younger, he actually has more pro fights than Melendez. More mileage on his body. Stephens is coming off 2 losses in a row. Melendez has lost 3 in a row. So why pick Melendez? For me, it comes down to track record where Melendez has been a championship caliber fighter whereas Stephens has never gotten to that level. Plus, stylistically, I see the fight playing out to Melendez’s favor. Stephens big weapon is his knockout power and Melendez has a great chin as evidenced by dog fight he was in with Diego Sanchez not too long ago. Melendez’s footwork and striking is more technical. I think he can stay on the outside, not get in the pocket with Stephens power and outpoint Stephens for the decision win. But I could be very wrong. Not my most confident pick.
-Sara McMann: Top contender vs top prospect. Love these kinds of fights. McMann is probably starting to approach the decline of her career, being that she’s 36 years old. However, she’s looked great in her last 3 fights, especially the submission win over fellow contender Alexis Davis. Ketlen Vieira is only 25 years old, 2-0 record in the UFC so far. But I don’t think she’s ready to fight a contender like McMann. Outside the UFC, Vieira fought poor competition. Her toughest fight before signing with the UFC was a decision win against Estefani Almeida who had a 2-0 record. Making her debut, Vieira barely won a split decision over recently released UFC fighter Kelly Faszholz. But she did look better in a decision win over Ashlee Evans-Smith. But this is classic, too much, too soon for Vieira. She’s going to develop and get better, but McMann has shown that she is still in the top 5 of best female bantamweights on the planet. I could see McMann taking Vieira down and submitting her.
-Rick Glenn: UPSET SPECIAL 1: Glenn is a really curious case. Back in 2012-2014, he went on a really big roll earning himself elite prospect status by finishing Tristan Johnson, Lyndon Whitlock, Alexandre Pimentel, and Georgi Karakhanyan. Plus also beating Artur Rofi by decision. Ok that’s great. But his last fight before getting signed by the UFC was one of his more lackluster fights, a split decision win over former UFC fighter Junior Hernandez. That’s ok, not every fight is perfect. Glenn took a short notice fight with Evan Dunham at lightweight (Glenn is featherweight) and lost his debut. No big deal, Glenn was fighting above his weight class. Then Glenn made his debut in the UFC at featherweight fighting Phillipe Nover, a guy he should starch, but instead Glenn squeaked out a split decision win. So the Rick Glenn in his past 3 fights hasn’t looked the same as the prior Glenn. But he’s not old and declining, he’s 28 years old and should be in his prime. Meanwhile, Gavin Tucker is way easier to figure out. Yes, he has a shiny undefeated 10-0 record. But all he’s fought is tomato cans, below average and pro debuting fighters outside the UFC. Then in his debut fight, he did beat vet Sam Sicillia by decision. But what pops out at me was how Sicillia was coming off two finish losses in a row, but didn’t get knocked out or submitted by Tucker. And Tucker is 31 years old, so his ceiling isn’t as high. I’m not too sure who the real Glenn is, but based off a long track record of finishing really good prospects outside the UFC, he should bring enough to the table to probably knockout Tucker and get back on track.
-Ashlee Evans-Smith: On paper this looks like a close fight, and still could be. But I think some of the intangibles will make the difference in Evans-Smith beating Sarah Moras. Moras has talent, she finished current contender Julianna Pena back in 2012 outside the UFC. But Moras has only fought twice in the last 4 years. Plus she’s openly contemplated retirement. So that leads me to guess that she hasn’t been getting better and developing. Evans-Smith looks to have a possible future in the UFC as a gatekeeper, has been active, and does have 2 pretty good wins in her last 3 fights over Marion Reneau and young prospect Veronica Macedo. But mostly due to the inactiveness and probable retirement for Moras, I got to go with Evans-Smith by decision.
-Mitch Clarke: UPSET SPECIAL 2: This is a loser gets released from the UFC fight. Both Clarke and Alex White are below average prospects. Both have similar profiles, but I like Clarke to win because he’s shown that it’s possible he has untapped potential since he upset and submitted rising contender Al Iaqunita back in 2014. Since then he’s lost to 2 great fighters in Michael Chiesa and Joe Duffy. So I’m not sure about how much longer Clarke will last in the UFC but he should have the skills to top White.
-Luis Henrique: UPSET SPECIAL 3: Arjan Bhullar is coming into this fight with a lot of hype due to his Olympic background, but I’m here to tell you not to buy the hype. Bhullar is all projection right now and it’s possible he could still develop some, but he’s 31 years old. Bhullar’s resume in MMA is pretty lackluster. His toughest opponent so far has been Blake Nash who has a 3-2 record. The rest of Bhullar’s competiton has been pro debuting fighters. And facing that level of opponent, half of Bhullar’s wins have come by decision. Henrique on the other hand is a pretty good prospect with a dark horse chance of maybe becoming a title contender in the next few years. Henrique has a 2-2 record in the UFC and is 23 years old. So he’s going to get a lot stronger and better. His 2 loses came against probable future heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and rising contender Marcin Tybura, two fighters in their prime 30 and 31 years old. So Henrique got too much too soon fighting those two. I think Bhullar is in way over his head with this debut fight. He should’ve waited a couple more years before signing with the UFC taking on some tougher guys. Normally Bhullar would be able to rely on his wrestling, but Henrique is a submission specialist and wouldn’t mind the fight going to the ground. I say Henrique by submission in 2nd round.
-Adriano Martins: Martins is probably too late to the UFC to be a title contender, but I’d classify him as an upper tier gate-keeper. Which is a compliment because not too many fighters reached the level of skill that Martins has in his overall game. 4-2 in the UFC. Big win over Rustam Khabilov and a knockout over top prospect Islam Makhachev. Very close, split decision loss to possible contender Leonardo Santos. And Kajan Johnson is nowhere near Martins level. Johnson has been matched up very carefully into his first 3 UFC fights as Johnson is a very likeable and marketable fighter. But this is a very bad matchup for him. I’m pretty confident Martins will knock him out in the 1st round.