Brown vs. Santos- On the first fight of the main card we have a welterweight matchup (170lbs). These are fighters you might not know of, but let’s get to know them. Coming of a draw after fighting Rinat Fakhretdinov from Brazil, we have Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. At the age of 37 he is the older fighte but of his 24 wins, 20 have come by decision. This means he can go the distance. He has 4 more years of experience than his opponent. He is predominantly a striker and has 3 wins by knockout. Randy Brown, his opponent, also has 3 wins by knockout. Randy, who is a true mixed martial artist, has 3 submission wins, 3 knockout wins, and is currently coming off one of those Knockout wins. He has a 5-inch reach advantage and is 4 inches taller than Elizeu.
My pick: I would take Brown at money line (-195), Brown by decision for a better price (+175), take over on rounds. (-145)
Price vs. Morono- For the second fight of the main card we have another welterweight fight. Our first fighter is Niko Price, has a 4-inch reach advantage over his opponent and is coming off a knockout loss. His last fight was against Robbie Lawler, the former welterweight champion. His opponent is Alex Morono. He won his last fight via a unanimous decision win. He is a more well-rounded fight the Price, but I think Niko Price will win. My pick is Price moneyline at +200.
Holland vs. Oleksiejczuk- On the Third fight of the night we’ve got a Middleweight bout (185). Our first fighter is Kevin Holland. He is a skilled striker but sadly he lost his last fight to another striker. Holland came from the Dana White contender series and has had challenging fights his entire career. His last fight was at welterweight so let’s see if he can pick back up where he left off at middleweight. His opponent, Michal Oleksiejczuk, is also predominantly a striker. He has 6 knockouts wins but 0 submission wins He is also coming off a submission loss. My pick for this fight is Kevin Holland by KO/TKO (+240) or use Holland Money Line in a parlay.
Strickland vs. Costa- For our co-main event we have a highly anticipated middleweight fight. Sean Strickland is our first fighter, and he is a very entertaining fighter. Sean is the former middleweight champion and is currently the number one contender. He is a very good boxer with very good striking defense. He is coming off a loss to the current champ Dricus Du Plessis. Although many people thought that Strickland won and was robbed of the fight. Our second fighter is Paulo Costa. He is regarded as a very entertaining fighter who is not scared of getting hit. He is also coming off a decision loss to former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker. Just like Sean he is very reliant on his striking. My pick: Sean Stickland money line (-275)
Makhachev vs. Poirier- Finally, for the main event we have number 4 ranked Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier taking the champion, and number 1 in the pound for pound rankings, Islam Makhachev. Poirier has been in the UFC since his early 20s. He has many wins over former champions but has never won a belt, (unless you are counting the interim belt). In my opinion he is the best fighter ever to not be a champion. He is a true mixed martial artist. He has 16 knockout wins and 7 submission wins. 13 of those wins were in the first round. Poirier has been in 2 championship fights and has lost both of them by rear naked choke. In those fights Poirier lost to Charles Olivera and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Speaking of Khabib, the coach of Islam Makhachev is Khabib. Makhachev has only has 1 loss and has defended his title twice already. Both of his defenses were against former featherweight champion Alexander Volanovski. Makhachev is the most well-rounded fighter currently and he might be the most well-rounded fighter ever in the next few years. I’m 50/50 on this fight. So I’d either take Poirier by KO/TKO (+700) or use Makhachev money line and in your parlays. Also take under 2.5 rounds (-180)
