Saturday October 23rd, middleweights contenders Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori go head to head in a five round main event. They are both coming off losses to the champion Israel Adesanya. This recent loss Costa faced to Adesanya is his first loss in the UFC and it has me questioning how he’s going to react towards it. He’s also came out recently saying he was not going to make weight and has recently convinced Vettori to make the bout a catch weight at 195. I believe this is tremendously awful of Costa, he is very lucky Vettori just wants to fight and does not care. If the fight was going to be at 185 I think Costa would be 10 pounds over or more and that’s just very unprofessional. I think he should be cut honestly if he loses Saturday night. He had a year lay off after his loss to Adesanya and two canceled bouts. At his press conference on Wednesday he said he was about 211 pounds which is 26 pounds always from the 185 mark, I was speechless hearing him say that. I commend Vettori for still trying to make this fight happen and being a professional fighter.

With that being said styles make a fight and with these individuals there styles can lead to a barn burner. Costa is a volume striker who likes to set a pace and put his opponent on their back heel. Costa throws really nice body and head kicks and will definitely use them against Vettori. He also is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt which is going to be used Saturday night. Even if he has the credentials to grapple with Vettori he’s most likely going to stand and strike and avoid getting taken down. Vettori is going to be a work horse in his approach and try to out work his opponent. He’s going to keep on going for takedowns left and right and try to match or better his opponents’ pressure. Even though Vettori is a brown belt which is lower than Costa black belt I still believe Vettori has the grappling advantage and knows how to wrestle better. Vettori is also very durable and has great cardio and even when tired he just powers through it. I believe the winner of this fight will become a contender again and stay relevant at middleweight.

After I was going to publish this article news came out that the fight is now at light heavyweight which is 205 pounds, which is 20 pounds from middleweight. This means Costa only decided to lose 6 pounds from the day of the press conference. I hope the UFC cuts him if he loses and takes 50% of his purse for changing the weight twice. He is making a mockery of the sport and downplaying the great athletes who bust their butt off cutting weight.

Mackenzie Dern takes on Marina Rodriguez in a Main Event bout on October 9th. Mackenzie Dern is ranked #4 in the women’s Strawweight division and a win over Rodriguez might be what she needs to get a title shot. Dern has a 11-1 record and on a four fight winning streak, out of her four last wins she earned three performance of night bonuses. She is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and it’s fair to say she has the best jiu jitsu in her division with having the most submissions in her division as well. Her grappling record is impressive with a record of 75-25-1. She is very dangerous on the ground and can be a threat to anyone in the Strawweight division. Marina Rodriguez must already know this and have a game plan set up to avoid getting submitted. Rodriguez is ranked #6 in the division and coming off a main event bout against Michelle Waterson and won in a unanimous decision. Her background is Muay Thai and has very impressive striking and can do a great amount of damage in the Thai clinch. She tends to be very technical through the whole fight and never really gets sloppy and does anything out of desperation. Her opponent Dern does sometimes throw punches that are messy and it’ll be easy for Rodriguez to capitalize on it.

This fight can go many ways but I do not see it going 5 rounds. I think Dern is going to come out blazing looking for a takedown even if she has to drag her opponent down and look for a submission, while Rodriguez tries to avoid the takedown and look for counters and knees and elbows. The first round is crucial for both fighters, Dern has never gone five rounds so I’m expecting her to try and get the finish early because after the rounds pass and she’s not getting her way she will start being careless. If Dern starts abandoning her game plan Rodriguez is going to light her up on the feet. If Rodriguez can get through the first round without getting taken down or submitted I think she will pull Dern in the later rounds and just pick her apart on the feet. I think Rodriguez has better cardio and striking and will use it against Dern to get a win. I believe Dern is able to finish the fight in the first round with an arm bar or any submission. This fight is going to be interesting to watch because of the styles these women both have.

UFC Fight Night 193 Johnny Walker takes on Thiago “Marreta” Santos in a 5 round main event. This is Walker’s first main event against an opponent on a three fight losing streak. Walker showed promise when he came into the UFC, knocking out his first three opponents in devastating fashion. He was on the route of getting a title shot until he met with veteran Corey Anderson and got his first TKO loss in the promotion and after rebounded with another decision lost to Nikita Krylov. Since his back to back losses he’s brutally knocked out Ryan Spann and taken a year off after and now is fighting in a main event. On the other hand Thiago Santos is on a three fight skid and is looking to get back in the win column. His first loss out of his last three was against Jon Jones and lost in a split decision against the greatest light heavyweight ever. Santos is the first fighter in MMA history to win a judges scorecard against Jones. Santos suffered a lot in that fight because he tore his left ACL, PCL, MCL, meniscus, and cracked tibia along with a partially torn right meniscus. His next bout was against Glover Teixeira and almost got a insane finish but Glover toughen it out and got a rear-naked choke, now Glover is next in line for a title shot. His next bout was against Aleksandar Rakic and seemed to move slow and be one step behind Rakic, could be due to his massive injury as he did not really throw his left leg. He might be in fear of getting cut if he loses again this Saturday night.

Johnny Walker is a true finisher with his 18 wins he has 15 KOs and 2 submissions and only 1 decision win. He applies pressure and has heavy hands with throwing straight down the middle and opening up his opponent with knees and elbows. His clinche is almost a work of art, he knocked out Khalil Roundtree with an insane elbow in the clinch and tends to do a lot of damage while in it. He is also very explosive, throwing insane kicks and knees that can tire him out. I’m sure he’s going to test his strength against Santos by getting him in a clinch and see if he’s able to hold on to him and cause damage. If not he might throw oblique and calve kicks towards Santos left leg since it’s been injured in the past. I think the problem Santos might have is the unpredictability Walker brings and can lead to Santos getting knocked out.

The problem Thiago Santos brings is the heavy leg kicks he does use, Johnny Walker relies on his head movement and leaves his body open. With that being said it’ll be a good strategy to slow down walker by body kicks, Santos has multiple finishes by body kicks. Santos needs to be able to cover distance since he’s the smaller fighter with a smaller reach. He’s going to have to take risks and if he does he can land a right overhand that can easily put Walker to sleep. Walker keeps his chin up high and Santos can easily capitalize on it. He’s very explosive and strong, has more experience and he might use it to get the win. If Santos doesn’t bring his best he’s going to get caught up in Walker’s rhythm and be one step behind and that’s not something that he can get himself into.

This fight is very exciting with two of the most explosive guys in the division who both have sharp striking and power in their hands. These fighters are both strong and can both put someone to sleep. This fight can either be a stalemate or a chaotic war. Hopefully these fighters are not gun shy because they’ve seen many downs in the couple years.

UFC 266 Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski takes on Brian “T-City” Ortega to defend his belt a second time. This fight will most likely be a candidate for best fight of the year. This will be Volkanovski’s second title defense; his first was against Max Holloway in a razor thin split decision. Volkanovski is undefeated in the UFC and has been a dominant fighter. If he’s able to get the win over Ortega it will just add to his legacy and continue his reign as champion. This will be Brian Ortega’s second attempt at gold; his first outing was in a very brutal loss to the former champion Max Holloway. After that loss he took two years off and reinvented himself. His last bout was against Chan Sung Jung and looked amazing with better striking that was very crisp and sharp, he won in a 50-45 unanimous decision and deserved another title shot.

Alex Volkanovski will be the shorter fighter but will have the longer range and immediately beat up the legs of Ortega to leave him in his tracks. He might be wary of going for his takedowns since Ortega is a Brazilian jiu jitsu expert who’s a first degree black belt, However Volkanovski has been training with Craig jones who’s an International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation World No-Gi Champion including multiple belt titles in the Polaris Invitational promotion. If He does go for a takedown he has to watch his neck and limbs but if he is able to avoid the submissions on the ground he has a filthy ground and pound that will certainly do damage. I think Volkanovski took many precautions training for this fight. He’s going to make sure Ortega does not find his rhythm by applying a non stop pressure, throwing a lot of feints as well as not letting Oretega be aware of his next punch. He’s very good at creating chaos and never throwing the same combo two times in a row so he keeps things mixed up. After every combo he throws a leg kick and always trips up his opponent. With having the range he’s going to be able to keep distance and strike from the outside but I think he’s gonna do the opposite and get in the phone booth with Ortega and make it a dog fight.

Brian Ortega will probably try to push forward and keep Volkanovski on his back foot, not allowing him to throw big shots and create chaos. Ortega is very good at adapting in the middle of a fight and being able to pick up on his opponents next moves. I think he’s able to go anywhere in the fight because he has sharp boxing and clean elbows as well as being able to submit anyone in the division. I don’t know how long the fight will stay standing and if he gets put on his back from a take down he can definitely throw up a triangle and submit Volkanovski. I’m pretty sure Volkanovski is aware of that because out of Ortega’s 16 pro fights he has 4 triangle submissions making it a 25% chance of him getting another one. If the fight does stay on the feet the majority of the time I think Ortega will throw some short elbows when Volkanovski tries to run in or use his slick uppercuts to avoid takedowns. I think with Volkanovski being the shorter fighter it’s gonna leave his neck open when getting into close encounters with Ortega and he’s going to capitalize on it. Ortega has the best jiu jitsu Volkanovski has faced and can be very alarming and make him hesitant on using his explosive takedowns.

I can see the fight going many places but cannot imagine it going all five rounds. I believe these fighters’ style will create a finish. Will Volkanovski apply a pressure so great that Ortega cannot find his rhythm and get finished by doctor stoppage or TKO or will Ortega keep Volkanovski on his back foot and get a submission win or TKO by an elbow or uppercut.

This Saturday September 18th The UFC has a spectacular showdown between Light Heavyweights Anthony “Lionheart” Smith Vs. Ryan “Superman” Spann. These fighters are both in the top 15 in the UFC’s light heavyweight rankings Smith sits at 6 while Spann is number 11. As of right now Smith is trying get back into titled contention, he fell short in his first attempt challenging for the belt. Since than he’s won 3 out of his last 5 coming up short against top 5 contenders like Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic. Since his back to back losses he’s been on a two fight winning streak and trying to extend it to three this Saturday night against Ryan Spann. If Smith can get it done September 18th he will be one step closer to challenging for the title again. On the other hand Ryan Spann is looking to get one step closer to breaking into the top 5 and getting closer to a title shot. He’s looked very impressive in recent bouts; in his past ten fights he’s only lost once to the likes of Johnny Walker and was winning that fight on the verge of knocking Walker out but made a tiny mistake that cost him the fight. Spann looked unbeatable in his last fight against Misha Cirkunov, knocking him out in the first round. These fighters both have something to lose and both have something to gain from this fight.

The match will be very interesting to watch because of their fighting styles. Anthony Smith is the more well rounded fighter having better striking and jiu jitsu also being the more seasoned fighter with having 51 MMA bouts compared to Spann’s 25. He has a Muay Thai stance with an impeccable clinch while also being good at working on his back, being able to throw up triangle chokes and secure submissions. He’s a Bjj black belt while Spann is a blue belt. While Spann is only a blue belt compared to Smiths Black belt he has 11 submission wins. He is more than capable of rolling and scrambling with Smith on the ground. Spann also has a lighting bolt jab that is very dangerous. If he’s able to pressure Smith with his jab and knock off his rhythm I think it’ll be a long night for Smith. In the past it sometimes seemed like Anthony Smith did not want to be in the cage fighting like he mentally checked out, when that happens he loses in devastating fashion. When Smith decides to be focused and apply pressure he’s a world beater. I see Smith trying to apply pressure pushing Spann against the cage and getting into clinch situations while attempting takedowns. I see Spann keeping his distance while using his impressive jab and trying not to get into a clinch warfare and if he does end up in clinch situations he’s definitely going to look for Smith’s neck and try to pull guard into a guillotine choke. Very excited for this match expecting a great fight.

A war is about to take place September 4th in Vegas at the UFC apex between middleweight contenders Darren Till and Derek Brunson. This is a must see fight especially if you love the middleweight division, this bout is against two completely opposite fighters who both want the same thing in a fight with the champion Israel Adesanya. Derek Brunson has already had a bout with Israel Adesanya before Israel became the champion back in 2018 and failed to secure a win. But Brunson has been on an impressive win streak since then and has secured 4 wins on ranked opponents and top prospects. A win on Saturday night might give him a title shot. The only thing that would hold him back from a title shot would be his loss to the champ back in 2018 but a win September 4th might be compelling enough. Brunson has become a better fighter since his last loss and that is because of his change of camps. He moved to Sanford MMA for his last three fights and has been more calm and collective in his fights. He might fare better with the champ due to change of camps. On the other hand Darren Till is one of the biggest stars in the UFC but had a rough go in his last couple bouts. Till has lost his last 3 out of 4 and even the win he had was a split decision over Kelvin Gastelum. Since He has moved up to middleweight he’s 1 for 2 and his only loss coming to Robert Whittaker the former middleweight champion. If Darren Till runs through Brunson Saturday night I believe he will pass all the other contenders and get a title shot right away due to his popularity. I think the fans, including me, would love to see the striking exchange between Darren Till and Israel Adesanya. Even though He’s has had a rough go he still has all the skills to become a champion and has fans backing him. If he loses this match his chance to rebound and become a true contender will become dicey. If Till cannot get over the hump and beat Derek Brunson he would not be able to fight for the belt in a long time. Brunson has always been seen as a stepping stone or gatekeeper to get to the title but even though Brunson is older in his career he still has the skills to get a win over Till.

How do these competitors match up? Before Brunson’s last three wins he was very aggressive and would throw big swings and it would leave him open to take big damage, since he’s moved camps he’s been very calculated and has more patience he uses his wrestling base to combine his boxing skills. He tends to go for a take down and let’s go of it to throw boxing combos to get his opponents confused. I believe Brunson is going to create chaos and make it a dog fight and mess up Tills’ rhythm and try to chain wrestle because I know he would have trouble on the feet with Till.

Darren Till has a Muay Thai kickboxing style, and is a very sharp striker. He tends to lure fighters in with his feints then crack them with an elbow or left hand. He will throw a 1000 feints until an opponent bites and leaves themselves vulnerable to a heavy shot. If Darren Till is able to keep the fight standing and make it a technical fight and not get in a dog fight he will secure a win. These fighters are both very explosive but Darren Till hops into his explosive left hand or elbow he’s always setting a rhythm by throwing feints and using a hopping motion, while Brunson throws big bombs and explodes into a take down. These fighters are very different and it will be interesting how they fare against each other. Will Brunson make it a chaotic fight and use chain wrestling or will Till keep it technical and have Brunson missing all night.

What is on the line for the main event of UFC FIGHT NIGHT: CANNONIER VS. GASTELUM? August 21st Jared Cannonier takes on Kelvin Gastelum in a five round main event. The middleweights are both coming off losses to Robert Whittaker AKA Bobby Knuckles. I believe Gastelum has more to lose than Cannonier in the sense Gastelum is 1 and 4 out of his last 5 while Cannonier is 3 and 2 out of his last 5. However since Cannonier has dropped Down to 185 he’s 3 for 4 in the division and his only loss was from a former champion. Even though Kelvin Gastelum has seen better days a win over him will still be a great win on anyone’s record.

Gastelum is ranked 9 in the middleweight division while Cannonier is ranked 3. If Cannonier gets a win over Gastelum I believe he will just keep his place in the rankings and still be a fight or two away from a title shot but if he loses he will drop down the rankings substantially. With a loss to Gastelum, Cannonier will still be able to climb his way back up the rankings again. Another lost would only make him 3 and 2 out of 5 for the middleweight division which is still not the end of the world. Kelvin Gastelum on the other hand can be cut from the UFC because he’s just not winning enough. I know he’s had a tough go with fighting only the best the UFC has to offer and a fan favorite but however the UFC does not care. This is still honestly a great opportunity for Gastelum because he could be fighting someone in the top 15-20 but is still getting a top 5 guy after losing 4 out of his last 5. If Gastelum is able to get a win over Cannonier he would skyrocket into the rankings and be in the mix of title contenders.

How do the fighters pair up against each other? I think Kelvin Gastelum is durable, in his 24 fights he’s never been TKO or KO. Kelvin loves staying in the pocket creating a war because he tends to be the smaller guy and always has to be in a phone booth with his opponents. Kelvin also has a gas tank so I believe he will be the fresher fighter as the fight goes on into the 4th and 5th round. I believe if Kelvin can find his range and make it a war he can win by decision or get a stoppage. Jared Cannonier is an accurate striker who has power like no other with 9 KOs out of his 13 wins. Cannonier is really good at finding his distance and knows when to throw a power punch, he has great takedown defense so I do not see Gastelum trying to wrestle with him. I believe Cannonier has the power to put anyone out on any given night including the durable Kelvin Gastelum, Kelvin tends to keep his hands down and that’s perfect for Cannonier. If Cannonier is able to land some big shots early in the fight I believe that will dictate what Gastelum does and slow him down which will lead to a decision win or even a TKO. We will find out August 21st.