Israel Adesanya vs Sean Strickland Look, I know what the narrative is. Strickland has no chance. Adesanya is supposed to be the greatest middleweight of all time. Strickland got knocked out by Pereira, lost to Cannonier. But the facts are that Strickland has improved since the Cannonier loss. He...
Shin Haraguchi vs Jae Hyun Park Chris’ Pick: Haraguchi by 1st round submission. What I think the odds should be: Haraguchi -600 Zhawupasi Daermisi vs Chang Ho Lee Zhawupasi got a rear naked choke on Eperaim Ginting in under a minute, so not much to take from that fight,...
Kaiwen Li vs Kouya Kanda Really small sample. Fight between Kaiwen and Lu only went a minute. But Kaiwen appears to be much better than I thought. Blitzed Lu, showed better striking, albeit in a tiny sample. I think he blitzes Kanda and overwhelms him just like Lu. Chris’...
Ciryl Gane vs Serghei Spivac This is a good matchup because 6 months after Gane got submitted by Jon Jones, he gets thrown back in against another fighter with 70 grappling. I think normally, he would’ve been able to get up, but I think he got stuck being put...
Bruno Lopes vs Brendson Ribeiro Lopes looks like an elite prospect at 205 lbs. Well rounded. Possible his grappling is a 65. But his stand up is where he gets it done. Ribeiro’s striking is only a 55 for me as he gets hit too much. Chris’ Pick: Lopes...
Max Holloway vs The Korean Zombie This is Holloway’s fight to lose. Zombie will have more power, but Holloway has proven to be one of the most durable fighters in UFC history. So I think Holloway’s chin holds up and he lands more. I’ve also heard this could be...
Carlos Prates vs Mitch Ramirez Ramirez looks like a fun fighter. Talks in the cage, can be aggressive. But he gets hit too much and that makes his striking a 55 for me. And I think Prates’ striking is better. Chris’ Pick: Prates by 2nd round knockout. What I...
Aljamain Sterling vs Sean O’Malley Sterling’s grappling is a borderline 75. In the Yan fight, he was able to control Yan with body triangles and getting Yan stuck vs showing complete superiority. And it’s hard to take much away from the Cejudo fight because we don’t really know how...
Eli Aronov vs Zachary Reese It’s hard to grade Reese. Four out of his five pro fights have lasted a minute and a half or less. And all five wins have been against poor competition. So all those quick finishes look good. But who knows what his cardio looks...
Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs George Hardwick Al-Selwady seemed a bit one dimensional when I saw him fight. Didn’t really let his hands go but had success because his wrestling is at least a 60. Hardwick looks well round. Saw him against a 9-1 grappler with 55 grappling. Got nowhere close...