The UFC make their debut in Denmark as this event will take place in historic Copenhagen. The main event pits to emerging contenders in the Middleweight division, and the rest of the action is full of fan friendly matchups. It will be exciting to hear the Denmark crowd as they finally get a UFC event in their home country. My predictions are listed below for the event.

Prelims
Bantamweight: Jack Shore (11-0) vs Nohelin Hernandez (10-3)- Shore Submission

Lightweight: Lando Vannata (10-3-2) vs Mark Diakiese (13-3)- Vannata Split Decision

Women’s Bantamweight: Macy Chiasson (5-0) vs Lina Lansberg (9-4)- Chiasson Submission

Featherweight: Brandon Davis (10-7) vs Giga Chikadze (7-2)- Chikadze TKO

Welterweight: Siyar Bahadurzada (24-7-1) vs Ismail Naurdiev (18-3)- Bahadurzada TKO

Middleweight: Alessio Di Chirico (12-3) vs Makhmud Muradov (22-6)- Di Chirico Split Decision

Middleweight: Alen Amedovski (8-1) vs John Phillips (21-9)- Amedovski Unanimous Decision

Main
Welterweight: Nicolas Dalby (17-3-1) vs Alex Oliveira (19-7-1)- Oliveira TKO
Dalby was once an undefeated prospect who took contender Darren Till to a draw. He lost three straight, and was cut from the UFC, but was brought back after dominating in the regional circuit. Dalby is a technical striker who likes to use his kicks to the body and legs. He does have solid takedowns, and holds a brown belt rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Dalby isn’t great in one area, but is well rounded all across the board. He has had issues in the past against offensive wrestlers. Oliveira is a wild man who always seems to be in a fan friendly fight. He is long for the weight class, and has legitimate knockout power in his hands. He is not technical and tends to wing power shots from the hip. “Cowboy” can mix it up with takedowns, and actually has a underrated submission game. However, he prefers to engage in standup wars, and at times has struggled with pressure style fighters. People who can withstand his early barrage, and drag him to the deep water as his cardio begins to fade. I like Oliveira in this fight, I just feel he has the advantage in more areas then one. Dalby is tough, and has never been finished but Oliveira has power in his hands and I see him landing a big shot.

Light Heavyweight: Michal Oleksiejczuk (14-2) vs Ovince Saint Preux (23-13)- Oleksiejczuk TKO
Michal is undersized for the division, but makes up for it with his one punch knockout power. The Polish fighter is very patient on the feet, and likes to use a boxing style of striking on the feet. He is aggressive, and generally likes to push his opponents backward before landing the big shot. Oleksiejczuk has never been tested in terms of wrestling, and his ground game is yet to be tested. Almost all of his fights have taken place on the feet, and they generally do not last long. Saint Preux has been a fixture at 205 since 2013, and fought Jon Jones for the Interim Light Heavyweight championship at one point. Saint Preux is very big and long for the division, and is a phenomenal athlete playing college football at Tennessee in his youth. Ovince has knockout power, and likes to use his reach to strike from the outside. He has powerful kicks, but at times can be too patient on the feet. Ovince can wrestle some, but has had issues in the past with his takedown defense. The Haitian can be sneaky with submissions, and has one several fights with the rarely seen Von Flue choke. He comes into this fight desperate for a win after losing his last two outings. I actually am going to pick Michal in this fight, I just feel he has more momentum at the moment. He has legit power on the feet, and Ovince has looked like himself his last few outings. I see Oleksiejczuk using his aggressive pressure to cut the cage against Ovince, and eventually land a big shot to seal the deal.

Light Heavyweight: Ion Cutelaba (14-4) vs Khalil Rountree Jr. (8-3)- Rountree Jr. Unanimous Decision
Cutelaba is another wild man known for being intense at the weigh ins. The Moldavian has fight changing power, and has won the majority of his fights by knockout. He is very aggressive on the feet, and generally wings wild hooks at his opponents. His wrestling and ground game are the weakest parts of his game. All of his losses have come against wrestlers or grapplers. Cutelaba is dangerous on the feet, and has shown a solid gas tank so far in his UFC career. Rountree Jr. is coming off his best performance over Eryk Anders. He focused strictly on his muay thai in Thailand, and looked like a world class striker on the night. Khalil has always had power in his hands, and is very explosive on the feet darting in and out. In the past, this aggressiveness has hurt him, and he showed  a much more measured approach against Anders. He loves to work the body and legs with fast, powerful kicks from distance. Khalil has also had issues in the past against strong wrestlers and grapplers. This is a striker versus striker matchup, one using an aggressive power approach, while the other uses a technical, precise striking approach. I like Rountree Jr. in this fight, I believe he will work from the outside and avoid the power shots of Cutelaba. His striking looked so good his last fight I would be surprised to see him come out any differently.

Welterweight: Gunnar Nelson (17-4-1) vs Gilbert Burns (16-3)- Nelson Unanimous Decision
Nelson has been one of the best European fighters in the world for years. The pride of Iceland has also long been an underrated contender in the Welterweight division. Nelson is very technical on the feet bouncing in and out of range with his strikes. He has a karate style of striking, and likes to blitz his opponents with his fast left hand. Nelson is a underrated wrestler, and is very skilled on the ground as well with the majority of his wins by submission. Nelson is stoic, and always seems to be calm inside the cage. The majority of his losses have come against fighters who mix it up keeping him off balance between striking and grappling. Burns is a newcomer at Welterweight after impressing with many wins at Lightweight. Burns had improved so much as a striker, and has shown much quicker hands at 170. Gilbert does have the ability to land takedowns, and is a supreme grappler on the mat as a former World Jiu-Jitsu champion. Both of these guys are legit black belts but Burns is the more accomplished grappler. Burns has had issues against wrestlers who control him on the mat, and avoid his submissions attempts. This is a really intriguing matchup on paper, but I am going to side with Gunnar in this fight. Burns is a late replacement while Nelson has had a full camp. Nelson is more technical on the feet, and is more than capable to compete on the ground if necessary. I just feel Gunnar is a little more experienced and well rounded than Gilbert.

Lightweight: Mark Madsen (8-0) vs Danilo Bellauardo (12-4)- Madsen Unanimous Decision
Madsen is the lone Danish fighter on the card, and will have the pressure of the home town crowd in this one. Madsen is a tremendous wrestler, and is a former silver medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games. He is still a work in progress on the feet, and generally looks for the takedown early and often. He has shown solid grappling skills, and trains under former UFC Welterweight contender Martin Kampmann. The 35 year old is still young in his MMA career, but has the ability to dictate where the fight goes with his wrestling. Danilo has shown some solid striking ability in his young career. He is an aggressive striker who loves to push the pace and press forward early. The Italian fighter is sneaky on the ground and has a couple of submission victories. However, most of his fights have been won and lost on the feet. I like Madsen in this fight because he has such an advantage in the wrestling department. I believe he will takedown Danilo over and over grinding out a decision victory. The biggest question is will the home town pressure, UFC debut, and bright lights affect his performance on the night.

Middleweight: Jack Hermansson (20-4) vs Jared Cannonier (12-4)- Hermansson Unanimous Decision
“The Joker” had his coming out party in a dominant performance over Ronaldo Souza. Hermansson showed excellent, technical striking lighting up “Jacare” with a stiff jab and hard leg kicks. Jack showed he is much more than just a grappler, and fought very well from range in that fight. Hermansson is a strong wrestler as well, but is most skilled with his vicious guillotine choke. He actually finishes the choke with one arm in trapped giving his opponent no way to escape. Hermansson is very slick on the ground, and is very physically strong for the division. He is a massive Middleweight with a 77 and 1/2 reach. He comes into this fight on a four fight winning streak, and a ton of confidence making his way up the ladder. Cannonier is a former competitor in the Heavyweight division who made the move to 185 in 2018. He has looked better than ever finally at a even field in terms of size, and has brought one punch knockout power with him. Cannonier is a solid boxer who only has to land one shot to change a fight. He is very patient on the feet, and doesn’t put himself in danger by throwing wild in exchanges. He has begun to add kicks to his game as well actually stopping former UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva with a leg kick in his last bout. Cannonier has shown solid wrestling in the past, but will be at a disadvantage in terms of grappling in this one. Cannonier best way to win this fight is working his boxing on the feet, and defending takedowns which has been his downfall in the past. I am going to pick Hermansson in this fight because of his momentum. Hermansson is a more diversified striker on the feet, and has significant advantage on the mat. He will be much quicker and well rounded than Cannonier previous opponents. I expect Jared to be there from the opening bell, but to me Hermansson is just to solid all the way around to lose this fight. However, if Cannonier lands clean he does have the power to finish the fight with one shot.

Photo Credit: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2019/09/ufc-on-espn-plus-18-copenhagen-jack-hermansson-jared-cannonier-reader-predictions-picks