UFC Lightweight Championship: Eddie Alvarez (c) (28-4) vs. Conor McGregor (20-3)
-Both of these guys rely (sometimes too much) on their boxing, so I think we’ll see fifteen minutes of sweet science, here. I think from a straight boxing perspective, I think McGregor has the edge over Eddie, but Eddie has another side to his game that he seldom shows. If he uses all of his tools, which he’ll need to, I think he can capitalize on a mental mistake or panic move like Nate did on McGregor. Alvarez via R5 Submission.
UFC Welterweight Championship: Tyron Woodley (c) (16-3) vs. Stephen Thompson (13-1)
-Woodley is the most unpredictable fighter in the UFC, possibly. Woodley is prone to both giving AND receiving devestating KOs, but Woodley is also a fantastic wrestler, and I think he plays it smart and doesn’t get sucked in to Wonderboy’s strange, unorthodox style. Woodley via UD.
UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (c) (12-0) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-0)
-Clauda Gadelha did as well as anyone has done against Joanna in the first couple rounds, but the scary thing about Joanna Violence is that her gas tank is unreal. Claudia gave it her best, but she didn’t have the horses to keep it up. So, you have a woman who’s an unparalled striker with an atomic gas tank. I don’t see any strawweight keeping up with JJ in a five round fight. Jedrzejcyk via UD.
Middleweight Bout: Chris Weidman (13-1) vs. Yoel Romero (12-1)
-It really depends on which Weidman shows up today. If it’s Captain America that we saw against Anderson and Vitor, he’ll cruise, if it’s the pre-serum Steve Rogers we saw against Rockhold, he’ll get mauled. Betting on Weidman having his shit together. Weidman via UD.
Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Miesha Tate (18-6) vs. Raquel Pennington (8-5)
-Bounceback/showcase fight for Cupcake, but, per her usual, not without taking a good amount of punishment. She could get a black eye fighting a broomstick. Tate via R3 Submission.
Featherweight Bout: Frankie Edgar (20-5-1) vs. Jeremy Stephens (25-12)
-Every once in a while a fighter will have a loss that just takes the wind out of his sails and defeats him as a fighter, and I wonder if the Jose Aldo fight was Edgar’s. The man has been in some wars over the years, and I’ve long thought he would be a nightmare matchup against Conor McGregor, and he was one step away, but he looked AWFUL against Aldo. I realized Jose looked great and was probably more motivated than Frankie to get another crack at McGregor, but that might have been it for Edgar. So, when you’re looking at a fighter’s heart, it can be unpredictable. Stephens via SD.
Lightweight Bout: Khabib Nurmagomedov (23-0) vs. Michael Johnson (17-10)
-Khabib might very well be the best lightweight in the world. Despite Johnson sending the red-hot Dustin Poirier to dream street, I still think Khabib is a cut above. Nurmagomedov via UD.
Middleweight Bout: Rafael Natal (21-7-1) vs. Tim Boetsch (19-10)
-Is Natal on the prelims? Yes? Mark it. Natal via UD.
Welterweight Bout: Belal Muhammad (10-1) vs. Vicente Luque (10-5-1)
-Luque has been protected pretty strongly since coming off of TUF, for whatever reason. A nice win over Hector Urbina might be his coming out party, but I think Muhammad is his toughest competition yet, and I think he gets styled on. Muhammad via R1 TKO.
Lightweight Bout: Jim Miller (27-8) vs. Thiago Alves (21-10)
-Miller is forcing Alves into the same rehydration limit that Ricardo Lamas did to Oliveira, and what happened there? Oliveira got incredibly gassed because he was drained, and Lamas took him easily. Alves already had a garbage gas tank, so adding to that and I’m surprised Jim is still an underdog. Miller via R2 Submission.
Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Katlyn Chookagian (8-0) vs. Liz Carmouche (10-5)
-Carmouche via UD.
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