By: Max Deener
UFC 303
UFC 303 is Saturday as the conclusion of international fight week in Las Vegas. International Fight Week is the UFC’s biggest week of the year. Some highlights of International Fight Week include the UFC inducting new fighters into its Hall of Fame, and you can also see the fighters weigh-ins and press conferences. But enough of that lets get onto the fights.
Ian Garry vs. Michael Page : For this welterweight bout (170s) both fighters are relatively new to the UFC but have great ability. Both are coming off decision wins and are predominately strikers. In this fight I would take Ian Garry because he is undefeated and is a more well-rounded fighter than Page. Page is one of the cockiest fighters in the UFC right now, as he tends to be lazy with certain punches and will showboat in the middle of rounds. Page, as seen in his last fight with Kevin Holland, does not seem to have any grappling abilities. I think it will be a closer fight than I’m portraying it as, but I think Gary will come up with the win in this exiting matchup. My pick: Garry -162
Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Macy Chiasson : For this women’s Bantumn weight division (135 lbs., both fighters are 32 years old, and both have 10 wins and 3 losses. In this fight I have Macy Chiasson because she has a lot of reach and height advantage. Chiasson has also proven she is well rounded because she has 2 knockouts and 2 submissions compared to Silva, who has no knockouts and 4 submissions. Macy also is an amazing wrestler so even if the fight goes to the ground Chiasson will be in a favorable position. Silva also lost her last fight after she fell short of UFC gold to Raquel Pennington. My Pick: Chiasson -112 ..this is my best bet of the night.
Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze: In the light heavy weight division (205 lbs.), both fighters are 35 years old and have a 193cm wingspan (about 6 foot 3 inches). I personally think this is one of the closer fights of the night, but I would give this fight to Smith. Smith is way more experienced, and this is his primary weight class. Dolidze usually fights at middleweight (185 lbs.) and is coming off a loss to Nassourdine Imovov. He is also at a big weight disadvantage. My pick: Smith +120
Brian Ortega vs Diego Lopes: For the co-main event, it’s the 4th ranked featherweight Ortega vs. 14th ranked Diego Lopez in the lightweight division (155 lbs.). This fight was scheduled to be a featherweight bout until about 4 o’clock on Friday. Ortega weighed in over 145lbs, and Lopes agreed to the higher weight class. This matchup is very close as well. Both fighters are very skilled but when you look at their stats, but Lopes has the advantage in almost the measurables. Lopes is more than 3 inches taller, his reach advantage is 3.5 inches, and he’s 4 years younger (29 vs 33). I have Lopes winning on his feet in this fight. The reason: even though Ortega is 4 years older than Lopes, Lopes has 11 more fights under his belt and is riding a 3-fight win streak. This pick is a little “iffy” because we have never seen these two fight as lightweights at this high of a level. My pick: Lopes -155
Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka for the light heavy weight championship of the world (205 lbs.). In a rematch of their fight in New York at UFC 295, Alex Pereira came out on top after a second round TKO. This fight will be close because even though Pereira won the last fight, Prochazka had a staph infection and was not 100% when stepping into the cage. I think Pereira will win this fight because of his punching power. Pereira also won his last fight with a first-round knockout too. My Pick: Pereira -148
However, if you are going to be Prochazka at +124, I would bet him to win via Knockout at +180, because this fight will not go the distance, and neither will win by submission.