-Anthony Smith: Prepare yourself for a coming out party for Smith, who’s sneaky good. He’s been getting better by leaps and bounds the past few years but has had a break through moving up to 205 lbs where he’s not as drained from the weight cut. Shogun has been...
-Jamie Colleen: UPSET SPECIAL: A lot of people in the industry are really high on Maycee Barber. But she’s only 20 years old. She’s never fought anybody. She’s getting a step up in competition which is fine, but Colleen is going to be too much, too soon for Barber....
-Junior dos Santos: Heavyweight is such a thin division that sometimes it’s easy to forget how big the chasm is between the elite heavyweights in the UFC and the rest of the prospects. Blagoy Ivanov is a well known prospect. 31 years old. 16-1 pro record. But there’s levels...
-Daniel Cormier: UPSET SPECIAL 1: Yes, Stipe Miocic has been the most successful heavyweight champion in UFC history. But he’s never fought anyone that has the wrestling and grinding ability the way Cormier brings to the table. I do think Cormier’s wrestling is on another level and despite being...
-Kevin Aguilar: Coming out party for top prospect Aguilar who has a 14-1 pro record and has beat a vast collection of fellow top prospects. Joey Gomez looks like a top prospect with a 7-0 record. But he’s only fought tomato cans. He’s a submission guy. Despite Aguilar being...
-Israel Adesanya: It’s important to note anytime the UFC has a young star that they think has star potential like Adesanya, they match the fighter up very carefully. That trend continues with Adesanya being booked to fight Brad Tavares. Tavares is a points fighter. Mainly a striker who’s patient,...
-Antonina Shevchenko: Jaimelene Nievera is taking this fight on about 1 week’s notice. Grappling and submissions are her strong suit. Shevchenko has an extensive muay thai background and has shown patience and distance with her striking. I expect that to play out in this fight where Nievera will go...
-Leon Edwards: Cowboy Donald Cerrone might not be done yet. He looked great in an upset win over Yancy Medeiros. Problem Cerrone will run into in this fight is that Edwards is way more technical and patient than the more aggressive and wild Medeiros. It’s actually why Edwards doesn’t...
-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...
-Alonzo Menfield: Small sample size, but I’m not overly impressed with Dashawn Boatwright. 3-0 pro record. Failed to finish a fighter making his pro debut. Other 2 wins are knockouts. Needed 4 rounds to knock out Eric Ellerbee who had a 1-1 pro record going into that fight. Menifield...