Prelims
Women’s Flyweight: Sabina Mazo (6-1) vs Shana Dobson (3-2)- Mazo Unanimous Decision

Bantamweight: Kyung Ho Kang (15-8) vs Brandon Davis (10-5)- Kang Unanimous Decision

Women’s Strawweight: Hannah Cifers (9-3) vs Jodie Esquibel (6-5)- Cifers Unanimous Decision

Lightweight: Drakkar Klose (10-1-1) vs Christos Giagos (17-7)- Klose Unanimous Decision

Bantamweight: Manny Bermudez (14-0) vs Casey Kenny (12-1)- Bermudez Submission

Bantamweight: Raphael Assuncao (27-6) vs Cory Sandhagen (11-1)- Assuncao Unanimous Decision

Lightweight: Kharma Worthy (14-6) vs Devonte Smith (10-1)- Smith TKO

Main
Middleweight: Derek Brunson (19-7) vs Ian Heinisch (13-1)- Brunson Split Decision
Brunson is a proven veteran with a background in wrestling at the NCAA Division II level. He is a unorthodox striker, and packs surprising power in his unconventional strikes. Brunson is an above average wrestler, and has the ability to take the majority of his opponents down if necessary. Brunson has had issues with high level strikers, and the majority of his losses have come by way of knockout. He does have a ton of experience fighting some of the best Middleweights in the world. Heinisch has been victorious in his first two UFC bouts so far. Heinisch is more technical on the feet than Brunson, and has shown solid takedowns as well. Heinisch is a solid grappler as well, and has shown an ability to control his opponents in the top position. This is a tough fight to call, but I am going to pick Brunson based on experience. I feel he is well-rounded enough to be a step ahead of Heinisch. I feel he will use his takedown ability to keep Heinisch off balance, and mix in his different striking style to keep Heinisch guessing.

Featherweight: Gabriel Benitez (21-6) vs Sodiq Yusuff (9-1)- Yusuff TKO
A former Ultimate Fighter Latin America competitor, Benitez has impressed in his UFC career racking up a 5-2 record thus far. Benitez trains at the famous American Kickboxing Academy, and has a wide range of skills in the octagon. He has shown solid striking, and has a very slick submission game as well. Benitez has struggled at times with aggressive wrestlers like Enrique Barzola. Yusuff is a rising prospect under the tutelage of the controversial figure Lloyd Irvin. Yusuff is a tremendous athlete with legit knockout power. He has a very solid grappling game, and has been difficult to takedown in the octagon. The one question mark against Yusuff is his lack of experience fighting high level competition. I have Yusuff winning this fight by way of knockout. I believe he will keep the fight standing, and use his punching power to catch Benitez in a exchange.

Middleweight: Yoel Romero (13-3) vs Paulo Costa (12-0)- Romero KO
Romero is a former Olympic silver medalist in wrestling representing Cuba. The 42 year old is a physical specimen who is truly built like a tank. Romero is unorthodox on the feet and has scary knockout power. He has a devastating left hand, and has several flying knee knockouts on his resumè. His wrestling is at the top of the food chain, and has rarely been tested on the ground. Romero has had issues with making the 185 weight limit, and tends to struggle with his cardio as well. Costa is one of the top prospects to come out of Brazil in years. Costa is a aggressive knockout artist with power in both of his hands. He tends to rely on his speed, punching power, and boxing prowess in his fights. Costa like Romero, is an impressive athlete with a insane physique. He has shown solid takedown defense so far, and is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Minotauro Nogueira. Costa is still young in his MMA career, and has yet to face an opponent at the level of Yoel Romero to this point. I have Yomero finishing this fight by way of knockout. I feel Costa’s aggressive style will play into Romero’s favor, and he will finish him early in the fight. I just don’t think Costa has faced a talent like Yoel so far, and will be surprised with the skill of his opponent.

Welterweight: Anthony Pettis (22-8) vs Nate Diaz (19-11)- Pettis TKO
These two have wanted to fight for a long time, and have traded trash talk back in forth for years. Pettis is coming off a shocking knockout victory over Stephen Thompson in his Welterweight debut. Pettis has always been an elite striker with a heavy reliance on his wide array of kicks. He is no slouch with his hands either, and packs real power after moving up a weight division. Pettis is a above average grappler, and has several submission victories in his career. Pettis’s struggles have typically come against wrestlers who force him to be grounded fighter. He also has had issues with aggressive strikers who don’t allow him to fight at a distance. Nate Diaz is famous for his submission victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 196. Diaz has long been one of the most loved fighters in the UFC fighting with the company since 2007. Diaz is a excellent boxer with slick hands, and sets a pace that overwhelms his opponents at times. Another standout trait of Diaz is his endless gas tank. He is very resilient, and has the ability to push the pace without the fear of getting tired. Diaz is also a legit black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Cesar Gracie, and has many submission victories in his career. Nate has struggled with wrestlers, and opponents that rely on a heavy kick game as well. Diaz tends to stand heavy on his lead leg, and this boxing stance has come back to haunt him in the past. He is also stepping back into the cage for the first time in nearly three years (his last fight was in 2016). This fight is incredibly hard to call, but I am going to pick Pettis to take this fight. I don’t believe he will allow Diaz to get into his head, and will use his kicks to disrupt Nate’s boxing. I also feel Pettis will be booming with confidence after his victory over Stephen Thompson. Being out of the cage for three years is hard to come back from especially against an opponent like Anthony Pettis.

Heavyweight: Daniel Cormier (22-1) vs Stipe Miocic (18-3)- Cormier Unanimous Decision
This rematch has been long awaited for across the MMA world, and could end up being the deciding factor on who is truly the greatest MMA Heavyweight of all time. Cormier shocked the world by knocking out Miocic in their previous bout. Daniel has always been underrated on the feet, and tends to rely on a technical boxing game. He is also slick with his defense, and has only been stopped by strikes once in his career by Jon Jones. This was actually wiped from his record as a no contest after Jones’s failed drug test. Cormier is a former Olympic competitor in wrestling representing the USA. Daniel is crafty on the ground is well with solid pressure, and a propensity to finish fights with rear naked choke. DC has great cardio breaking guys with his pace, and his ability to mix the striking and wrestling exchanges. The only blemish on Cormier’s career are his previous losses/no contest against Jon Jones. Miocic solidified himself by becoming the UFC Heavyweight champion, and defending the belt more than any other previous champion. He defended the belt three times before being knocked out by Daniel Cormier. Miocic is a solid boxer with legit knockout power. He is also a former NCAA Division I wrestler representing Cleveland State University. Miocic has been untested on the mat as his high level takedown defense has kept him from having to grapple. He showcased excellent ground and pound and overall top game control in his title defense against Francis Ngannou. The biggest knock on Miocic’s armor has been his striking defense at times. He has suffered to knockout losses, and tends to leave himself open on the feet and in the clinch. Miocic has a big size advantage in this fight especially in terms of height and reach. Stipe is also motivated to get this loss back after losing his belt, and dealing with UFC trying to schedule Cormier versus Brock Lesnar instead of this rematch. This is another tough fight to pick a winner as both guys are so gifted in more ways than one. It truly depends on who shows up better on the night of the fight. I have to pick Cormier in this fight because I feel he is simply a little bit better than Stipe in most areas. I don’t see this fight ending early like the previous contest, and expect this to be a close back and forth battle between two of the elite Heavyweight’s of all time. I see Cormier mixing up his striking and wrestling to edge out Miocic on the judges scorecards. Picking against Cormier has been a bad bet outside of his fights against Jon Jones, and this matchup is no different in my mind.

Photo Credit: https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2019/8/13/20804707/ufc-241-cormier-vs-miocic-2-previews-predictions-coverage-odds-more