-Aspen Ladd: Germaine de Randamie is no slouch. She’s 35 years old 5-1 in the UFC. Has plus striking. But in looking at Germaine de Randamie’s resume, she’s never fought a wrestler the caliber of Ladd. Ladd brings plus wrestling tools and plus ground and pound tools that are really unique to the women’s bantamweight division, tools that are more similar to Jack Hermansson than Tatiana Suarez because Ladd has more fight ending power. And the scary thing is that she’s only 24 years old. I see no path to de Randamie winning cause I think she has no chance to stuff the takedowns. 1st round TKO ground and pound win for Ladd.
-Ricky Simon: Simon’s win over Rani Yahya really made me a believer. Yayha is one of the most under rated fighters in the UFC and Simon dominated him. 26 years old. 4-0 record in the UFC. Got out wrestled against Merab Dvalishvili, almost lost if not for a last second guillotine win. But his wrestling developed in the last year and showed in stuffing Yahya’s take downs that it’s a plus tool now. And Simon mixes it with above average striking technique and average power. And comeback fights for guys coming out of retirement almost never end well, unless you’re Randy Couture. Faber won’t be able to take Simon down. And Simon will be much faster, much slicker. Simon is going to cruise to a decision win.
-Mirsad Bektic: Bektic has long been thought of as a future title contender and he’s starting to get close. 28 years old. 6-1 UFC record. Has plus striking, but only above average power. Uses plus wrestling to stuff take downs. Josh Emmett broke out with a knockout over Ricardo Lamas but since then has had mixed results. Got knocked out by Jeremy Stephens then knocked out Michael Johnson in the 3rd round of a close fight. Emmett doesn’t have much time to make a run. He’s 34 years old. 5-2 in the UFC. Has plus wrestling, above average striking, plus power. Bektic will have the striking advantage here. He’ll use his superior technique to stay away from Emmett’s power. I like Bektic by decision.
-Drakkar Klose: Klose has found a home in the UFC with the potential of a mid tier gate keeper. 31 years old. Is well rounded, except he’s lacking in the submissions. Above average wrestling, above average striking. Power is only average though. That keeps him from having a higher ceiling. Beneil Dariush is 10-4-1 in the UFC. 30 years old. Has near plus grappling, but the striking skills haven’t developed. I think Klose uses his wrestling to keep the fight up and he’s a way quicker, more poished striker than Dariush. Klose by decision.
-Karl Roberson: Can Roberson stuff the takedowns? Roberson lost to Cezar Ferreira and Glover Teixeira because of that. Although Roberson took the Teixeira fight on short notice at 205 lbs and Roberson normally fights at 185 lbs. 28 years old. Roberson has plus striking, above average power and average grappling. His opponent Wellington Turman makes his UFC debut. 22 years old. Is well rounded but doesn’t have any standout tools yet. His grappling is average, but it’s pretty likely the tool could develop into a plus. But as of now, Roberson will see a big drop off in grappling skill from his previous fights. Will stuff the takedowns. And will knock Turman out in the 2nd round.
-Marvin Vettori: This is where sometimes records aren’t everything. Vettory is 25 years old. 2-2-1 UFC record. Had his first UFC fight at 22 years old. Really young. Submitted Alberto Pereira. Got out grappled by Antonio Carlos Jr. Out struck Vitor Miranda. Fought to a draw against Omari Ahkmedov. But really broke out in his last fight with Israel Adesanya. Besides Kelvin Gastelum, Vettori by far was the closest to beating Adesanya. I’d grade Vettori as having above average wrestling and submissions and even though he only has 2 career knockouts, I’d say his striking is above average as well. Cezar Ferreira is slowing down. 34 years old. 9-5 UFC record. Has above average grappling and average striking. I think Vettori uses his wrestling to make this a stand up fight and Vettori wins the striking exchanges. Vettori by decision.
-Mike Rodriguez: Gian Villante got hurt and had to pull out of the fight with Rodriguez. In steps John Allan and this fight won’t be pretty. Allan is 13-5. 26 years old. Striking is his best tool, but it’s below average. Rodriguez is 30 years old. 10-3 pro record. 2-1 in the UFC so far. Rodriguez knocked out Jamelle Jones on the Contender Series, but Jones isn’t that good. Got out wrestled by Devin Clark. Then knocked out Adam Milstead, which really impressed me as Milstead had been on a roll. I’d grade Rodriguez’s striking as being near plus. Allan’s only chance to win this fight is to land a lucky punch and that will play right into Rodriguez’s wheel house. I’m picking Rodriguez to knock Allan out in the 1st round.
-Sheymon Moraes: Striker vs striker. Andre Fili has been on a bit of a run with his above average striking. 7-5 in the UFC. 29 years old. Coming off an impressive win over Myles Jury. But Moraes has better striking skills. I grade him as having plus striking. 28 years old. 2-2 in the UFC, but the losses were against Zabit Magomedsharipov and Sodiq Yusuff and the wins were over Julio Arce and Matt Sayles. Reall good opponents! Fili is by far the most winnable opponent he’s had in the UFC so far. Moraes by decision.
-Julianna Pena: Even though Pena hasn’t fought in over 2 years, I haven’t forgotten how good she is. 29 years old. 7-1 in the UFC, only losing to champion Valentina Shevchenko. Has plus wrestling, above average submissions, and above average ground and pound. This is Nicco Montano’s 1st fight at 135 lbs where I think she’ll do even better than 125 lbs, but we can’t forget how new to MMA she is. She’s only had 6 pro fights and the 3 TUF fights. 4-2 pro record. Has plus wrestling and that’s carried her so far. I see Pena forcing her to fight on the feet and exposing her striking skills. Pena will win via decision.
-Darren Elkins: Elkins wins many an upset. He’s unassuming. Gets hit a lot. Hence his nickname “The Damage”. But he’s a very effective mid tier gate keeper. He’s got a 14-6 UFC record. Has plus wrestling with above average striking. 35 years old now. Opponent Ryan Hall is 34 years old. Only has 8 pro fights. 7-1 record. 5-1 UFC record if you count the TUF fights. Has plus grappling. And Elkins is by far the toughest fight in his career, because I think Elkins uses his wrestling to stuff the take downs. And at this point, Elkins striking is way further along than Hall’s. I even think Elkins finishes Hall and knocks him out in the 2nd round.
-Jonathan Martinez: UPSET SPECIAL 1: Martinez has the best tool in this fight. His striking. It’s an above average grade with the possibility for more down the road. 25 years old. Has improved his grappling enough lately to where it’s average. Pingyuan Liu is 26 years old and is well rounded but the tools are all average at best. I don’t think Liu is able to take Martinez down and on the feet Martinez will get the best of the stand up. Martinez by decision.
-Brianna van Buren: Interesting match up as both fighters have a lot of hype behind them. Livinha Souza is the more known commodity. 28 years old. 2-0 UFC record. 13-1 pro record. Has close to plus grappling. And has improved her striking enough to where it’s an average tool. Van Buren has a 12-2 record. Had her first amateur fight when she was 16 years old. She’s 25 years old now. Has plus wrestling and average striking. Close fight, but I’m picking more on projection. Van Buren’s wrestling should make this a stand up fight. And I think the clinch is going to be a key for van Buren in out pointing Souza in the striking. Van Buren picks up the decision win.
-Benito Lopez: UPSET SPECIAL 2: Vince Morales takes this fight on 2 weeks notice. Steps in for Martin Day. 28 years old. 1-2 UFC record. 9-3 pro record. Has average striking. It’s been proven that Morales can be submitted if taken down, and also he can be out struck as proved by Song Yadong. Lopez is only 25 years old. 2-1 in the UFC. Pretty well rounded. Above average striking, average power, average grappling. The truth is that Lopez has multiple ways to win here. I could see him being able to take Morales down. I could see him beating Morales in the stand up. Most of all, I see Lopez continuing his develop and us seeing a better version. I say Lopez sticks to striking and out points Morales for the decision win.