Light Heavyweight Bout: Eryk Anders (11-1) vs. Thiago Santos (18-6)
Nolan Howell: While Santos is probably the more scary striker of the two overall, Anders is no slouch and the overall athletic advantage should be in his favor, combined with already hanging in there with one of MMA’s best strikers. The short notice factor worries me, but not enough to pick against Anders and especially if he catches Santos early. Eryk Anders by second-round TKO.
Welterweight Bout: Alex Oliveira (18-5-1) vs. Carlo Pendersoli Jr. (11-1)
Nolan: Coming off the win against Condit, it’s hard to see Oliveira stumbling after his biggest name victory to date and especially on short notice after preparing for one of the tougher fighters to match up with in the sport in Neil Magny. Alex Oliveira by first-round submission.
Light Heavyweight Bout: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (22-8) vs. Sam Alvey (33-10)
Nolan: This is a hard pick for me and not for any nostalgic purposes. At 42 and coming off a two-year layoff, Nogueira will be coming in a lot slower than ever before and it is really hard to ignore that, no matter how much higher his ceiling has ever been compared to Alvey. Still, being the more technical fighter of the two and Alvey’s ability to draw himself into brawls, let’s go with the hail mary. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by first-round KO.
Bantamweight Bout: Andre Ewell (13-4) vs. Renan Barao (34-6)
Nolan: While this would be anothet case of just having to go with the fighter with the higher ceiling, especially against a regional commodity trying to get his chance in Ewell, Barao has looked not just bad since losing to Dillashaw, but almost broken by it. Add to that a bad weight cut and a pretty notorious history with the scales, it is hard to imagine this playing out well if Barao is sluggish against a pressuring finisher like Ewell. Andre Ewell by second-round TKO.
Women’s Strawweight Bout: Marina Rodriguez (11-0) vs. Randa Markos (8-6)
Nolan: While Rodriguez is a decent regional finisher, it is hard to imagine she is able to stifle the top control of Markos for three rounds. Randa Markos by unanimous decision.
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