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Kevin Holland – Decision (Brunson 2.0 against Edmen Shahbazyan, found so much success in his lasting outing because he had complete control over the range of the fight. Against Kevin Holland, it will be a different story. Holland is a master of distance management as he utilised every inch of his 6’3″ frame to force opponents to fight to his tune. Continually setting himself just outside his opponent’s comfortable range, Holland can force Brunson to revert back to his historic tactic of wildly blasting haymakers with his chin pointed towards the stars. Holland can tire during the later rounds, however, and Brunson’s grappling is certainly enough to wear down his opponent. While many remember Holland’s performance in the Jacare fight for the crazy stoppage off the back, many also forget that Holland was taken down within the first ten seconds of the fight after a loose leg kick and was never able to break from the grasp of Jacare)
Tai Tuivasa – TKO Round 2 (Hunsucker is a last-minute replacement, and he should be commended for taking the huge opportunity and saving Tuivasa a lot of financial struggle. This match-up, however, is less than ideal for the first-round machine. While Hunsucker is dangerous when given the space to throw his powerful five+ punch combinations, he has almost no back-foot game to speak of. All Tuivasa needs to do is fight his natural game to win. By pressuring Hunsucker, and roughing him up against the cage, Hunsucker lacks any sort of answer and is a sitting duck in a similar vein to the Stefan Struve fight)
Adrian Yanez – TKO Round 3 (A Lopez submission is a decent value bet, especially as Yanez’s striking defence can be somewhat wild and Lopez carries underrated power in the hands. Moreover, Yanez’s defensive grappling is not of a UFC calibre, and will eventually be exposed as he moves up the rankings. It just feels like Lopez doesn’t have any form of answer when he is pressured onto the back-foot, however. The athletic and technical skill disparity on the feet, coupled with Lopez’s willingness to be dragged into a firefight, points towards Yanez finishing this within the distance)
Max Griffin – Decision (Neither man is going to compete in triathlons anytime soon, that is for sure. With both men having a history of fading deep into fights, expect tense opening exchanges on the feet before Griffin attempts to muscle his opponent onto the mat. Griffin is an immensely durable staple of the Welterweight division, and while it would be a massive statement win, it is difficult to see Song dispatching of Griffin within fifteen minutes as he has done with prior opponents)
Cheyanne Buys – Decision (Buys has struggled with her finishing rate, but at only twenty-five and continually improving, she will likely sharpen her striking over the coming years. While Ruiz carries heavy hands, her striking is largely limited to explosive bursts along a straight line. During the frequent periods of inactivity on the feet, Buys will be able to out-manoeuvre her opponent with volume and rough up Ruiz against the cage and on the mat)
Macy Chiasson – Decision (Marion Reneau certainly has one foot out of the organisation at this point, which is quite understandable for a forty-three-year-old who has only really fought the top Bantamweight contenders. While Chiasson is a size bully and her voluminous body kicking game may have a significant effect on her elderly opponent, her striking defence is non-existent. Although Reneau carries underrated power and has a fine selection of counter strikes, the suffocating volume of Chiasson will bully Reneau)
Leonardo Santos – Decision (Santos may have more one-punch KOs across his record in recent memory, but the forty-one-year-old is a viper on the mat and will have no fear in ending up on his back against the power wrestling of Grant Dawson. Although Santos looked off the pace against Roman Bogatov, it was also a fight in which Santos emptied his gas tank early and endured repeated illegal blows. Moreover, while Dawson is the more active fighter in terms of schedule and output in the octagon, the jump up in weight always remains a question mark until we can see how he operates with the extra timber)
Roman Dolidze – Submission Round 2 (Upon re-watching the Dolidze John Allan fight, I was surprised at how well Dolidze handled himself. A former World and European grappling champion, it cannot be long before Dolidze shows his submission skills in the top organisation, and Allan was almost the man to succumb to a nasty ankle lock. Dolidze has pacing issues, and this may be exacerbated as a last-minute replacement and moving down to Middleweight for the first time, but Giles doesn’t push a hard pace to exploit this. Giles carries the power to beat Dolidze on the feet, especially as his jab is one of the finest in the division, but he is scared onto the back-foot easily)
Montel Jackson – TKO Round 3 (Jackson’s hype train should resume once again on Saturday night after its brief derailing by Brett Johns. Although Jackson’s TDD is suspect, his own wrestling and thumping shots from range will be the difference against promotional newcomer, Jesse Strader)
JP Buys – Decision (Silva is a durable operator who has succeeded in the past with his chopping calf kicks. Against Buys, however, Silva would be best advised to not give his opponent another avenue for the takedown. Buys is a wonderful wrestler, and although he struggles to maintain control due to his size, he has made a knack of finishing opponents before they can escape)