The UFC makes their return to Australia for a showdown between New Zealand’s finest down under. The card is full of Aussies and New Zealanders looking to make their mark in front of their home fans. This event is expected to break the UFC’s record for attendance at the famed Marvel Stadium which holds over 56,000 people. A big time showdown to unify the Middleweight belts along with a fun co-main event between two standout Lightweights. My predictions are listed below, and feel free to leave your thoughts as well.

Prelims
Bantamweight: Khalid Taha (13-2) vs Bruno Silva (11-3-1)- Taha Split Decision

Women’s Flyweight: Nadia Kassem (5-1) vs Ji Yeon Kim (8-2-2)- Kim Split Decision

Women’s Featherweight: Megan Anderson (9-4) vs Zarah dos Santos (6-2)- Anderson Unanimous Decision

Lightweight: Jamie Mullarkey (12-2) vs Brad Riddell (6-1)- Riddell TKO

Welterweight: Callan Potter (17-8) vs Maki Pitolo (11-4)- Pitolo TKO

Welterweight: Jake Matthews (14-4) vs Rostem Akman (6-1)- Matthews Submission

Main
Heavyweight: Justin Tafa (3-0) vs Yorgan De Castro (5-0)- Tafa KO
Tafa is an up and coming Heavyweight fighter with dynamite in his hands. He is a powerful man who has won all of his fights by knockout. He looks to throw with serious power set up mainly by his hands. He is relatively untested on the ground to this point, and the majority of his fights haven’t lasted long. De Castro has more experience than Tafa, and earned a spot in the UFC on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. De Castro is the more diversified striker who can crack with his hands, but has shown solid kicks as well. De Castro will engage on the ground, and has powerful ground and pound once he gets top position. He is somewhat undersized for the Heavyweight division at 5’11 and a 74′ inch reach, but is very quick on the feet for this division. When both fighters are inexperienced like this it’s hard to make a pick. I will go with Tafa because I believe he possesses more one punch power, and will be fighting with his home nation behind him.

Welterweight: Luke Jumeau (13-4) vs Dhiego Lima (14-7)- Jumeau TKO
Jumeau is known for his high level striking holding a black belt rank in Taekwondo. He is quick on the feet, and sets up his kicks nicely behind his hands. Jumeau isn’t bad on the ground either, and has several submission victories on his record. He prefers to strike from distance, and his biggest issues have come against superior grapplers. This will also be his first fight in nearly a year being out due to injuries. Lima comes into this fight riding a two fight winning streak as the underdog. Lima is a big Welterweight, and has shown some serious power when he connects. Lima’s biggest strength is his grappling with a brown belt rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has slick submissions, and is active from his guard when taken down. His brother is a former Bellator Welterweight champion in Douglas Lima, and trains at the high level gym American Top Team. His biggest issues have come against wrestlers who avoid his submissions, and keep him grounded. He can get reckless on the feet and has suffered some knockout losses. I like Jumeau in this fight because he has the advantage on the feet. He is a much better striker, and doesn’t put himself in harms way striking from the outside. I believe he will keep the fight standing, and use his kicks to eventually tag Lima for a highlight reel finish.

Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa (8-2) vs Sergey Spivak (9-1)- Tuivasa KO
Tuivasa is quite a character outside the cage making people laugh with his interesting walkout song choices, and performing a celebratory “Shoey” after a big win. Inside the cage he is surprising athletic for a big man, and has legit knockout power. He likes to throw power hooks with his hands, but will occasionally use a flying knee as an attack. Tuivasa at times gets lured into a brawl, and leaves himself open on the feet. He has had issues against superior wrestlers/grapplers in the past as well. He is looking for a big victory after losing back to back fights against the divisions elite. Spivak is coming off a tough loss in quick fashion to Walt Harris. Spivak does have power on the feet, and tends to use his kicks more than Tai. Spivak is the superior wrestler, and has won a number of his fights by submission. He is very good in terms of top control, and tends to hunt for the submission once it hits the mat. Tuivasa is likely looking to stand and bang while Spivak will likely try to grapple. I am going to pick Tuivasa because he is more dangerous on the feet, and has fought against higher level competition than Spivak. He knows another loss here could be the end of his UFC career.

Lightweight: Al Iaquinta (14-5-1) vs Dan Hooker (18-8)- Iaquinta Unanimous Decision
“Raging Al” is the definition of toughness, and has been impressive throughout his UFC career. He loves to walk his opponents down, and rarely takes a back step pressing the action. Iaquinta is very gifted in terms of boxing, and has knockout power in either hand. He likes to use leg kicks, and is very good at darting in with his strikes. He has a background in wrestling, but barely ever looks for the takedown. He generally uses his wrestling defensively, and uses his great cardio to outwork his opponents. His biggest issues have in the past have been against strong grapplers. Hooker is a big Lightweight who comes from a muay thai background. Hooker is very economical on the feet, and likes to use his kicks and knees to get the finish. He is very good at fighting from a distance, and keeping opponents at the end of his jab. He has turned his career around since moving up to Lightweight, and has only one loss in his past six fights. Hooker is sneaky with chokes, and uses his long arms to finish guillotines from time to time. His biggest weapon is the high volume of knees and elbows in the clinch. His years of training in muay thai give him an advantage in the clinch position. His biggest issues have come against aggressive strikers. At times, he can get outworked on the feet looking for that one knockout shot. This should be fireworks because both men love to stand and trade. I am going to lean towards Iaquinta, because he can use his forward pressure to make Hooker uncomfortable. Hooker isn’t nearly as effective when he is pushed to his back foot. I see Al using his hands to back Hooker up, and not allowing him to strike from a distance.

Middleweight: Robert Whittaker (20-4) vs Israel Adesanya (17-0)- Adesanya Unanimous Decision
Whittaker makes his long awaited return to the octagon after battling with so many injuries. Whittaker is a relentless striker who looks to pressure his opponents from the opening bell. He has very fast hands, and big time power dropping the majority of his opponents when he lands. Whittaker likes to use leg, body, and head kicks as well especially after he hurts his opponents. He is very strong for the division, and has shown a non stop gas tank in his wars against Yoel Romero. Whittaker is very resilient, and has shown a granite chin with only one TKO loss. His pressure and blitz type attacks seem to keep his adversaries off balance never giving them a break. Whittaker has become excellent in terms of defending the takedown, and will occasionally shoot for his own takedown if there’s an opening. Whittaker has some submission victories, but most of those came early in his career and he tends to keep the fight standing. The biggest concern for Whittaker is the long layoff as he hasn’t fought in over a year, and the battle scars from his classic bouts against Romero. Adesanya took the UFC by storm staying active, and picking up win after win along the way. The undefeated fighter has become a superstar known for his supreme confidence. Adesanya is one of the most technical strikers the UFC has ever seen. He is so precise on the feet, and uses high level footwork and movement to avoid opponents attacks. His motto is to not “throw and hope, but aim and fire” Adesanya is big for the Middleweight division standing at 6’4 with a 80 inch reach. This allows him to strike from a distance, and keep his opponents on the outside looking in. He has fast, powerful hands, but his best arsenal is the kicks. Adesanya doesn’t wind up on his kicks, and throws them behind his guard working the legs, body, and head. Israel has shown an ability to land knees and elbows as well. He has competed in kickboxing for the majority of his life displaying a pro kickboxing record of 75-5-1. Adesanya has improved his wrestling defense, and has become very hard to takedown. He has worked on his ground game as well, and will occasionally engage on the mat if needed. He is coming off a classic bout with Kelvin Gastelum for the Interim Middleweight championship where he outlasted the talented adversary. He showed great heart taking some major shots, and finding a way to win by decision. This will be his biggest test by far, and Whittaker will be the best striker in terms of MMA that he has faced. This fight is very hard to pick because both guys have looked outstanding throughout their rise to the top. I am going to lean towards Adesanya in a hard fought decision. I just feel he has more ways to win on the feet, and has been more active than Whittaker. Adesanya’s defense has been more impressive than Whittaker, and the trash talking may get Whittaker too emotional. I wouldn’t be suprised to see Robert win, but I am going with Israel because he just seems to be a little more balanced on the feet. It will be interesting to see if either party looks to possibly grapple in this contest. This should be a fire fight as both guys look to unify the Middleweight belt.

Photo Credit: https://www.ufc.com/news/ufc-243-public-events-schedule-Whittaker-Adesanya-Melbourne