-Nazan Hajeh: Overall, I think Matt Sayles is the better prospect. But the problem for him in this fight is his weakness in wrestling. Sayles is a striker. Has a 6-1 pro record. His only loss was to George Hickman who won the decision with take downs. Hajeh, so far, is one dimensional. Mostly relying on his wrestling. I know fighters have to win in exciting fashion to get a UFC contract so Hajeh might see how striking with Sayles goes, but Sayles will have such a big advantage on the feet that Hajeh will have no choice to wrestle him. And with Hajeh having a lack of submission skills, we’re looking at a lackluster decision win for Hajeh.
-Anthony Hernandez: Pretty even fight. Both are undefeated. Big difference though is the quality of wins. The first 8 of Jordan Wright’s opponents were winless. That’s right, not a single win from any of the first 8 fighters he beat. Wright took a slight step up in beating 7-3 Craig Wilkerson in his last fight. Hernandez was feasting on tomato cans too, but his last win was pretty legit in beating a solid prospect in Brendan Allen. I think Hernandez is going to have a grappling and ground advantage here and that that is the pathway for a Hernandez decision win.
-Giga Chikadze: Striker vs striker. But Chikadze has the superior striking. 8 of Austin Springer’s 9 wins have been against tomato cans. 2 wins over tomato cans he couldn’t finish. Has had a step up in competition in his last 3 fights and lost 2 out of 3. Chikadze lost his pro debut to a decent prospect, but has rattled off five 1st round knockouts since. Chikadze by 2nd round knockout.
-Emiliano Sordi: Striker vs grappler. Both have sort of been gate keepers on the regional scene. Although I think Sordi has been making more progress the past few years being able to finish some decent prospects. Every single one of Spann’s wins have been over poor competition. Main way Spann finishes fights is with submissions. He’d want to take Sordi down, but I don’t think Spann has the wrestling to do that. I’m not even sure Spann tries the take down. His stand up has gotten better. Spann has 2 knockouts in his last 2 fights. But again, against very bad opponents. Sordi being way better at striking will knock Spann out in the 2nd round.
-Dwight Grant: On the surface, it looks like Grant and Tyler Hill are evenly matched. Grant is 7-1, Hill 6-1. But if you look closer at Hill’s record, you’ll see every single one of his wins have come against tomato cans. Hill took a step up in competition in his last fight against Wade Johnson and got submitted. Hill is well rounded. No standout tool. Grant is mostly a striker. Hill will want to take Grant down, but I don’t think he has the wrestling to make it happen, so I’m picking Grant by 2nd round knockout.