The UFC did it again to us last week, going dark and forcing us to get our mixed martial arts fix elsewhere. Well fret not – they are back again this week to start a run of eight straight Saturdays of fight cards, taking us right up to the end of March. It begins this Saturday at the UFC Apex with UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs Strickland, aka UFC Vegas 47.
It’s fitting that a middleweight-heavy fight card (half of the main card and four fights in total) is headlined by two of the top ranked fighters in that weight class. We’ve got #6 Jack ‘The Joker’ Hermansson going up against #7 Sean ‘Tarzan’ Strickland, with both men vying to move one step closer to obtaining their first shot at UFC gold.
Who will that man be? I’m betting on it being Strickland. He’s a better striker than Hermansson, and is also a very strong grappler, so he should be able to keep ‘The Joker’ from utilizing the strongest aspect of his game, his grappling. And Strickland is on the hottest run of his career, winning five straight fights, running his UFC record to 11-3. Look for ‘Tarzan’ to win a unanimous decision on the back of his striking – 10/23 for Strickland to win (or 9/5 if you agree with my Strickland via decision prediction).
No Big Names, Lots of Intriguing Action
That’s it for fights on this card that have immediate implications at the top of a UFC weight class, as the rest of the lineup is devoid of big names. But there are plenty of intriguing prospects and matchups throughout it. The co-main event contains just such a prospect in Nick Diaz disciple Nick Maximov, fresh off a successful UFC debut. The 24-year-old grappler now sports a perfect 7-0 pro MMA record, with two knockouts and three submission victories. His opponent on Saturday, Punahele Soriano, will be the toughest test of his career, but I think he can ride his wrestling to another victory. It also helps that he is five years younger than Soriano and has four inches of reach on him. I’ll take the young underdog Maximov at 6/4, please and thanks.
Don’t worry – Maximov isn’t the only underdog I like on this card. I know you all love that sweet plus, plus money as much as I do. Next, we’ll turn to The Ultimate Fighter 29 winner Bryan Battle in his matchup against Tresean Gore. Gore was actually supposed to be Battle’s opponent in the TUF finals, but an injury forced him to withdraw from the fight. Now the two finally get to hook it up, six months later. While Gore was off rehabbing his knee, Battle looked very good in his UFC debut, the aforementioned TUF finals. He’s much more experienced than Gore (seven pro fights vs three for Gore) and is a far more skilled grappler. Let’s roll the dice on Battle at 13/10.
Chidi Bang Bang for the Win
Next, a recent graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series, Chidi Njokuani. After 28 pro fights, including a long run in Bellator, Njokuani is finally getting his first crack at the big stage, the UFC, after impressing the boss last September. He’s scheduled in a striker vs striker matchup against Marc-Andre Barriault in his debut on Saturday, and I like Njokuani’s striking better. It also doesn’t hurt that Njokuani has extensive experience, including main eventing in Bellator. ‘Chidi Bang Bang’ at even money – 1/1 – is the pick.
That’s all my advice for you this week, my young protégés. Now get out there and win yourself some nice payouts from MansionBet (unless it’s coming out of my pay).