MAIN CARD
Max Holloway v. Frankie Edgar
Max Holloway respects the history of the UFC, and by respect it, I mean he wants to destroy as many former champions as possible. He’s taken former featherweight king Jose Aldo out two times. He’s beaten Anthony Pettis. Next up on his list, former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Holloway is coming off his first loss since losing to Conor McGregor in 2013, but it was at lightweight. It didn’t look like Holloway bulked up to lightweight. It just looked like Holloway didn’t finish his weight cut. Dustin Poirier looked massive against Holloway. It was a very close fight, and I don’t think it shows Holloway is slipping.
Holloway is going to do his usual game plan. He is going to use his height and reach advantage and cardio to keep Frankie as far as he can keep him. Holloway is going to throw volume, and is going to try to pummel Frankie. Holloway doesn’t have the one knockout punch power, but uses heavy volume of strikes to get a finish or just get a dominating decision. Frankie is one tough son of a bitch and he will keep moving forward. He is going to try to take the fight to the ground, where he has an advantage and it takes away Holloway’s height and reach advantage. Frankie has been in the cage with some of the best ever, B.J. Penn (Frankie won all 3 matchups), Benson Henderson (Frankie lost both matchups), Jose Aldo (Frankie lost both matchups). He has beat some very good competition, Urijah Faber, Cub Swanson twice, Yair Rodriguez, Jeremey Stephens, Chad Mendes, and Gray Maynard. Brian Ortega was the first person to finish Frankie in a fight. Frankie has been in the Octagon with some of the best. He knows he has a tough task in front of him.
Max Holloway by decision
Cris Cyborg v. Felicia Spencer
Cris Cyborg is coming off her first loss, since her first professional fight in 2005, a brutal knockout by Amanda Nunes. We had never seen anyone destroy Cyborg like Nunes did. Before that fight, Cyborg looked unbeatable. She is so much stronger than everyone they had put her in the octagon with. Her striking was powerful and overwhelming. How will she bounce back from that first loss in the UFC? Will she be hesitant or will she still push forward and pressure the fight to a quick finish?
Cyborg is facing an undefeated Felicia Spencer who is making her second UFC appearance. In May, Spencer beat Megan Anderson with a rear naked choke in 3 minutes into the first round. Spencer hasn’t had the toughest competition, but she is a young fighter with a decently high ceiling. The winner of this fight should be meeting Amanda Nunes for the featherweight title.
Cris Cyborg by 1st round TKO
Geoff Neal v. Niko Price
Geoff Neal was one of the contestants on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series in 2017. Since then, he has gone 3-0 in the UFC. They are building Neal up right, by not throwing him to the wolves. The progression of the skills of his opponent has been reasonable and will let him grow into an excellent fighter. Rather than win a couple then get tossed against a top 7 fight and get steam rolled by someone way more talented than he is. His wins were against Brian Camozzi, Frank Camacho, and Belal Muhammad. Not the biggest names, but solid fighters all around. Neal is an all around tough fighter. He is well rounded and will be looking to fight a smart fight to stay out of danger.
Niko Price is an interesting fighter. He is a striker, but an awkward striker. He throws from weird angles that don’t seem to make sense. Nine of Niko’s thirteen wins have been by KO/TKO. He is a very dangerous striker. He has beaten several fighters that were better than him overall, but his striking is hard to time and effective.
Niko Price by 2nd round TKO
Olivier Aubin-Mercier v. Arman Tsarukyan
This is a matchup between two grapplers. These guys both want to wrestle. It will be one of those fights. Olivier Aubin-Mercier is on a two fight losing streak. He has not looked great since his hot UFC start. He seemed like he was marching towards the top of the rankings, but losses to Alexander Hernandez and Gilbert Burns halted his momentum.
Arman Tsarukyan is making his second walk to the octagon. He is 22 and has done well against former UFC fighters Felipe Olivieri and Junior Assuncao (winning both fights). His UFC debut was against a tough Islam Makhachev on short notice, and they went to decision. Arman may not have won, but taking the fight on such short notice and surviving the tough Makhachev says a lot.
Arman Tsarukyan by decision
Marc-Andre Barriault v. Krysztof Jotko
This is a fun matchup of strikers. This is a fight you won’t want to turn away from. A knockout can happen at any second. This is Marc-Andre Barriault’s second UFC fight. He lost his debut to Andrew Sanchez in May 2019. Eight of Barriault’s eleven wins have come by TKO/KO, Krysztof Jotko has had an up and down UFC career. He started 7-1 in his first 8 UFC fights. He has been 1-3 since that run. His losses were to David Branch, Uriah Hall, and Brad Tavares. Not the worst losses. Jotko has won the fights he should win, and lost the fights against better competition.
Marc-Andre Barriault by 1st round TKO
PRELIMS
Alexis Davis v. Viviane Araujo
Long time veteran Alexis Davis is welcoming Viviane Araujo for her second UFC fight. Alexis has had a very up and down career. She has challenged for UFC gold losing to Ronda Rousey in 16 seconds. She has beaten top competition, Liz Carmouche twice, Sarah Kaufman, Jessica Eye. She is coming in on a 2 fight losing streak, losses coming to Katlyn Chookagian and Jennifer Maia. Alexis will look to get back in the win column. Araujo has yet to face top competition, so we should learn a lot about her in this fight. None of her fights have made it the distance. Araujo was a strawweight before joining the UFC, her first fight was at bantamweight. Now she’s going to settle in at flyweight which is closer to her natural weight.
Viviane Araujo by 2nd round submission
Hakeem Dawodu v. Yoshinori Horie
This will be a fun matchup of strikers. Yoshinori Horie is making his UFC debut. Hakeem Dawodu is making his third trip to the octagon. He’s 2-1 in the UFC. He is coming off a win over Kyle Bochniak in December 2018.
Hakeem Dawodu by decision
Gavin Tucker v. Seung Woo Choi
A matchup of young guys trying to prove themselves worthy of being in the UFC. Sung Woo Choi is a striker making his second trip to the Octagon. He lost his debut to Movsar Evloev. Gavin Tucker is 1-1 in the UFC. He beat Sam Sicilia in his debut, then lost to Rick Glenn in his second fight. He hasn’t fought since September 2017.
Seung Woo Choi by decision
Alexandre Pantoja v. Deiveson Figuieredo
Alexandre Pantoja is 5-1 in the UFC and is on a three fight win streak over Brandon Moreno (decision), Yuta Sasaki (submission), and WIlson Reis (TKO). He is an explosive fighter and is tough as hell. Deiveson Figuieredo is 4-1 in the UFC. He started 4-0 beating Marco Beltran (TKO), Jarred Brooks (decision), Joseph Morales (TKO), John Moraga (TKO). Then he lost to Jussier Formiga in his last fight.
Alexandre Pantoja by 3rd round TKO
Fight of the Night
Max Holloway v. Frankie Edgar