Light Heavyweight Championship Bout : Magomed Ankalaev (C) vs. Alex Pereira (1) Winner: Magomed Anaklaev

Whether you think he’s boring or not, the fact of the matter is that Ankalev is one of the most complete fighters we have in the sport today. If you were to build the perfect fighter to counter Pereira, it would be Ankalaev. The pressure, wrestling and high-level kickboxing are simply too much for Pereira. As evident in the first fight, Ankalev out struck Pereira 127-97, controlled the moments in the clinch, and despite failing all 12 of his takedowns, just the thought of it seemed to make Pereira hesitant to throw. I’m just not sure what Pereira can really do differently to change the result. Of course, Potan always has that one-punch knockout power, but he isn’t the same fighter when forced onto the back foot and struggling to move laterally. I also believe it’s doubtful we see Pereira defend takedowns as well as he did in the first fight. The pick hurts to make, but I see Ankalaev by second round knockout.

Bantamweight Championship Bout: Merab Dvalishvili (C) vs. Corey Sandhagen (4)

Winner: Merab Dvalishvili

Don’t let the odds fool you; this fight is, stylistically, one of the most interesting in Merab’s career. With that being said, I can’t pick against “The Machine.” Merab is continually improving each time out. His striking has come a long way; we know about his superhero-like cardio, and now it seems he has added a submission game. Sandhagen’s style can give Merab some problems, and I think he will be early. Sandhagen’s ability to move around could be difficult for Merab to get to, and his ability to roll for legs and scramble into 50/50 positions is very dangerous, especially early on when they’re both dry. This is something the champ has never dealt with before. I think Merab will weaponize his cardio and eventually start to tire Corey out. It’s most likely a decision win for the champ, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Merab gasses Corey out to a fourth-round TKO finish.

Light Heavyweight Bout: Jiří Procházka (2) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. (4)

Winner: Khalil Roundtree Jr.

This is the closest-lined fight on the entire card, and for good reason. This has “fight of the year” contender written all over it, pure violence. I’ve been super impressed with the improvements both of these guys have made. Procházka’s head movement in his last fight was excellent, and while still commanding that reckless, chaotic style, I actually thought he chose his shots much better. With Roundtree, his move to Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, and eventually to Las Vegas, where John Wood and Syndicate have paid dividends in his career, he has looked like a different fighter. There are two underlying factors in this fight for me, which lead me to pick Roundtree, and that’s the leg kicks and Roundtree’s hooks. Roundtree has the most punishing leg kicks in the game, and he completely battered Jamal Hill with them, and Prochazka has struggled with leg kicks in the past, not just the Pereira fight, but the Alexander Rakic fight. The other factor is the speed of Roundtree, I think his speed, especially early on, will be the fastest Procházka has seen. With that, I see Roundtree by late finish or decision.

Featherweight Bout: Josh Emmet (8) vs Youseff Zalal (9)

Winner: Youseff Zalal

This fight is gonna look highly similar to the Josh Emmet vs. Lerone Murphy fight and the Youseff Zalal vs. Calvin Katter fight. A young, more technical striker who is going to tippy-tap at range against an older boxer who’s going to look for the kill shot. I like Emmet, but he simply doesn’t have the tools to keep up with Zalal. Zalal is going to pepper with a jab kick at range, tie up in the clinch and possibly shoot for some takedowns. As I mentioned earlier, I see this fight unfolding exactly like the Calvin Katter fight. Zalal’s volume will win him the first two rounds, and once Emmet has to go for broke, Zalal will tie up bounce and the outset to stay safe. Give me Zalal to extend his winning streak to seven by a 29-28 decision.

Middleweight Bout: Abus Magomedov vs. Joe Pyfer

Winner: Joe Pyfer

I’ve been super impressed with how both of these guys have bounced back from early career losses. I have to go with Pyfer here; he’s just better everywhere in this matchup. He’s the faster, more powerful striker, the better grappler, and perhaps most importantly, the better cardio. Magomedov is a great first-round fighter but tends to slow down significantly after the opening round. Not only does his output drop, but he doesn’t handle damage well. Sean Strickland broke him, and even though Bruno Ferreira lost, he had Magomedov dead to rights in round two, but fumbled the finish. I expect Pyfer to take this into round three and get the finish. I’ll take Pyfer by knockout.

Prelim Match to Watch

Bantamweight Bout: Patchy Mix vs. Jakub Wikłacz

Winner: Patchy Mix

I was in attendance when Patchy Mix got booed out of the building, and there’s no way around it—he looked awful in his debut against Mario Batista. But let’s cut Mix some slack. Batista is an elite fighter who has just been scheduled to fight Umar Nurmagomedov. I like the matchup here for Mix. He’s going against a guy who’s gonna engage in grappling; Mix will be the better striker and better in the scrambles. Wiklacz is an interesting prospect, as he’s 16-3 from Poland, was the KSW bantamweight champion, and comes from an outstanding promotion; both Jan Blachowicz and Dricuis Du Plessis also came from there. Wiklacz is a tremendous grappler; his transitions are slick, he has a nasty guillotine, five of his 10 submissions are by guillotine. However, I don’t see him pulling it off here. These guys at the UFC level are just on another level, I see Mix out-scrambling Wiklacz en route to a decision victory.

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