-Jan Blachowicz: I don’t think Blachowicz ever becomes champion, but he does serve a purpose as an upper tier gate keeper. And it took Blachowicz a little bit of time to figure out what type of fighter he is. Like he knocked out Ilir Latifi in his UFC debut...
-Francis Ngannou: UPSET SPECIAL: Vast majority of the time, when a fighter deals with multiple serious injuries, he never comes back the same. Sadly, I see that being the case with Cain Velasquez. He’s 36 years old now. Has had 14 UFC fights. Made his UFC debut 11 years...
-Robert Whittaker: Whittaker reminds me a ton of Max Holloway. Take down defense is plus plus. And the cardio is a real weapon. I really thought Yoel Romero would be able to beat Whittaker, but Whittaker was able to stay fresher and hit Romero way more. And had a...
-Marlon Moraes: Yes, it’s true that just a year and a half ago Rafael Assuncao did beat Moraes. And normally, I pick the fighter who won the first fight in the rematch. But it was a split decision win. Also, Moraes has gotten a lot, a lot better in...
-Henry Cejudo: UPSET SPECIAL 1: At 125 lbs, I’d never seen Demetrious Johnson taken down. John Dodson got close. He took Johnson down, but couldn’t keep him down. But Cejudo is a wrestling gold medalist. And Cejudo showed the only flaw Johnson had in his game was having no...
-Jon Jones: I say this all the time, but when rematches happen, whoever wins the first fight wins the vast majority of rematches. But stylistically, this matchup still favors Jones. In Jones’ last fight against Daniel Cormier, I thought we saw the best striking we’ve ever seen from him....
-Kevin Lee: Al Iaquinta is really, really under rated. I think he’s in the top 5 or top 7 of best lightweights in the division. If you count his fights on the Ultimate Fighter, he’s 12-3 in the UFC. He’s improved a lot the past few years. Took on...
-Brian Ortega: Really looking forward to this fight. This is top 3 for me in 2018. Such an interesting fight. And yes, there is a pathway for Max Holloway to win. His biggest chance is going to be using his pace and cardio to tire Ortega out. Ortega can...
-Tai Tuivasa: UPSET SPECIAL: A lot of people say Junior dos Santos hasn’t been the same since his 3rd fight with Cain Velasquez. But I disagree because after that, he beat Stipe Miocic. It was the fight after that where he got knocked out by Alistair Overeem that he...
-Kamaru Usman: For me, it’s not a question of will Usman beat Rafael dos Anjos. It’s a question of, how dominant will Usman be, compared to Colby Covington. Usman and Covington are pretty similar. Although, I think Covington’s cardio and striking is better. Either way, I see Usman seeing...