UFC 259 Predictions and Betting Picks

 UFC 259 Predictions and Betting Picks 

Saturday March 6th, 2021 

UFC Apex Las Vegas, Nevada 

All odds are done by FanDuel 

Early Prelims 

ESPN+

6:00 PM EST 

Bantamweight 

Mario Bautista (8-1-0) -250 Favorite vs Trevin Jones (12-6-0) +198 Underdog 

The UFC will be kicking off their biggest card of the year with what could be some real future contenders at 135. Mario Bautista is coming into the fight at 8-1-0 in his MMA career. He’s 2-1 since joining the UFC back in January of 2019. He lost his debut bout to the next man up currently at 135 Cory Sandhagen. Then Bautista went 2-0 in his next two fights with his last coming in by knockout. He won the fight of the night in his other win over Jin Soo Son. Under coach John Crouch at the MMA lab Bautista’s game has certainly grown from his jiu-jitsu background. He has developed an all around game. Which is why the opening fight could be a great fight because Bautista’s opponent Trevin Jones has a similar game. Jones is 3-2 in his last five fights winning his last two. After losing a split decision Jones came and won two fights by submission. However Jones' striking game is much improved. Jiu-Jitsu is his background like Bautista. However isn’t afraid to use his hand especially with his ground and pound. Expect a good fight and good grappling exchanges between two men that like to grapple but have no problem throwing hands either. 

Prediction: Bautista over Jones via Decision

Betting Advice: Probably would stay away from this one but Jones being +198 does make it interesting. Jones would have to have a great night to win this fight but hey it’s possible. 

Lightweight 

Uros Medic (6-0-0) -176 Favorite vs Aalon Cruz (8-3-0) +142 Underdog 

In the second fight of the night we have two men new to the promotion. The favorite in this one, Uros Medic, will make his UFC debut after winning his fight on the Dana White Contender Series back in August by way of knockout. This Serbian born fighter is 6-0 who could have mass potential. He appears to have power in his hand followed by good sambo. His matchup Aalon Cruz is coming in at 8-3. Cruz lost his UFC debut by TKO in the first. Cruz also won a fight on the Contender Series to get his shot in the UFC. He will get a chance to redeem himself. Cruz has good grappling and crafty striking. He will have to use that grappling to limit Medic power. Cruz needs to make it a grappling match if you ask me. A brawl he will lose. Should be a good one in our second fight. 

Prediction: Medic over Cruz via TKO Round 2 

Betting Advice: You could still take Cruz in this if you are feeling daring. It is Medic's first fight in the UFC. Cruz could catch Medic on the ground. Nonetheless probably would just parlay Medic into a couple of other bets. However since we don’t know a lot about either fighter it's probably better to stay away. 

Women’s Strawweight 

15 Lívia Renata Souza (14-2-0) +186 Underdog vs Amanda Lemos (8-1-1) -235 Favorite 

In our first women’s fight of the night we will have a ranked fighters rare appearance on an Early Prelim. Lívia Renata Souza coming in ranked 15 at Strawweight will be looking to show why she’s ranked and her opponent is not. Souza is the underdog in this fight and expect her to look to prove herself. After suffering her first loss after joining the UFC Souza responded with a good decision over Ashley Yoder. Which shot Souza up to a ranking. She has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which she loves to show off. 8 of her 14 wins are by submission. Expect her game plan to bring the fight to ground. Especially with her opponent being a knockout artist. Amanda Lemos is jumping down to Strawweight. Lemos had won five fights of her eight wins by knockout. She has some grappling for herself though. She may have 5 wins by knockout but her last win showed she can grapple. Even with a rear naked choke win two fights ago. If Lemos can defend going to the ground expect her to win this one. Her stand up game is better than Souzas. It’s a fight of a matchup in this one. 

Prediction: Lemos over Souza via TKO Round 2 

Betting Advice: Betting wise for me I’ll take Souza. She has very hold grappling and could take the betting upset. Lemos is dropping down for the first time. Take Souza for some betting fun. 

Welterweight 

Sean Brady (13-0-0) -215 Favorite vs Jake Matthews (17-4-0) +172 Underdog 

We have a pair of young gun prospects who are looking to make their presence known at 170 coming into the fourth fight of the night. Sean Brady coming in unbeaten at 13-0 will bring his  great cardio, black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and a pair of knockout wins into this one. Brady is a grappling expert with his black belt but also has the cardio to back it up. He’s 3-0 since joining the UFC. The submission win in his last bout showed the matchmakers Brady needed some thicker competition. Jake Matthews is the perfect matchup for Brady. It’s a perfect matchup for the fans. Matthews is seen to be right outside the Welterweight top 15 rankings. A win here for either man will be huge for their stock. Matthews can match Brady’s grappling. He also has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. With 7 of his 17 wins coming by submission to boot. He has four wins by knockout and six wins by decision. You should be very excited about this fight. The winner will get a ranked opponent next. For me people are sleeping on Matthews in this one because of the four losses. Each guy has great grappling, good cardio, and their hands work. It comes down to who can force their will. Either way Brady is going to bring it and so is Matthews can’t wait. 

Prediction: Matthews over Brady via Decision 

Betting Advice: Take Matthews he is being slept on. This fight should be a pick em. Matthews has all the skills to win this fight. Anything Brady has Matthews has as well. 

Light Heavyweight 

Kennedy Nzechukwu (7-1-0) +198 Underdog vs Carlos Ulberg (5-0-0) -250 Favorite

In the second to last fight of the Early Prelims we have a fight for the casual fans. We have a pair of young strikers who are relatively new to MMA professionally. The “African Savage” Kennedy Nzechukwu will be fighting in his ninth MMA fight. His third inside the UFC octagon. He lost his debut to Paul Craig but followed it up with a decision win nearly a year and a half ago. Nzechukwu is getting back into the cage after missing all of 2020. He is a striker who is vulnerable to the submission. Nzechukwu however does have power 4 of his 7 wins are by knockout. His opponent likes to strike and so does Nzechukwu. Carlos Ulberg has only had three professional MMA fights. He got this fight after winning back in November on Dana White’s Contender Series. He trains out of city Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand. The same gym Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski, Dan Hooker, and others train. Ulberg has two wins by knockout and did have a fight in kickboxing. It’s quite clear he likes to stand. Wonder if he’s been working grappling to catch his opponent by surprise. Either one of these men could do that. Nonetheless these two will stand and bang. To be honest the casual will love this fight because don’t expect grappling. For me it’s hard to go against the kickboxer in this one. 

Prediction: Ulberg over Nzechukwu TKO via Round 3

Betting Advice: If you love balling when two 205 pound men that strike meet in the ring betting on the underdog isn’t crazy. Maybe choose who they think will win then parlay them with Bautista from earlier.

Flyweight 

12 Tim Elliot (17-11-1) -110 pick em vs Jordan Espinosa 15-8-0 1 NC) -110 pick em 

The final fight of the Early Prelims will feature a ranked fighter that looks to get back on track and a fighter who looks to get a career defining win. The 12th ranked UFC Flyweight Tim Elliot has been on a little bit of a skid after looking to be a top contender in the division. He fought Demetrius Johnson for the UFC Flyweight championship in his first fight in the promotion. He’s 3-4 since that fight. He was on a three fighting losing streak before snapping that in July with a win over Ryan Benoit. Elliot was a division 2 wrestler with a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu. Elliot uses his wrestling and grappling to tire out his opponents. He likes to take fights the distance to capitalize when you’re tired and he’s not. Elliot looks to get back on track and show he’s still a top contender at 34. His opponent Jordan Espinosa at 31 is looking to show he is a top contender. Espinosa however is also on a skid. Espinosa lost in his last fight and is 2-3 in his last five. Elliot and Espinosa are in a very similar situation that’s why the fight makes sense. Either get Elliot back to back wins or  Espinosa a win over a ranked opponent while getting him back on track. Jiu-Jitsu is Espinosa’s forte. He’ll look to make this a grappling match. Nearly half of his wins are by submission. He will look to tire Elliot and take his back. Elliot may have the grappling to stop Espinosa. For me it’s Elliots fight to lose. He has the wrestling and grappling he just can’t get caught again. Like he did against Brandon Royval. These two men may be fighting for their job. 

Prediction: Elliot over Espinosa via Decision 

Betting Advice: Stay away. 

Prelims 

8:00 PM EST 

ESPN 

Flyweight 

8 Rogerio Bontorin (16-2-0 1NC) +116 Underdog vs 8 Kai Kara-France -142 Favorite 

The first fight on ESPN Prelims for the evening is nothing short of a showcase fight. We have two men ranked at 8 in the Flyweight rankings and there can only be one. The underdog in this fight is Rogerio Bontorin. Who hasn’t fought in nearly a year. In his last fight he lost to Ray Borg by decision last February. That was Bontorin’s first loss in the UFC and ended his four fight winning streak. Bontorin looks to get back to his winning ways. A win here will get him 1-2 fights away from a title shot. Coming from the jungles of Brazil the fact he’s a master with a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu shouldn’t shock you. The two of his TKO wins are because of his submission game. 11 of his 15 wins are via submission. The game plan is clear once Bontorin gets you to the ground it could be over quickly. He’s also very crafty; he can throw a submission from nearly any position. His submission skills will have the opponent Kai Kara-France definitely game planning for grappling exchanges. Kara-France is fighting out of the City Kickboxing in New Zealand. Kara-France is the opposite of Bontorin; he's a pure striker. He has a couple submission wins and a blue belt in jiu-jitsu however it’s no where near Bontorin grappling capability. Kara-France will need to keep the fighting in his range but at a distance and standing. His last fight was a loss to Brandon Royval who is a high caliber submission artist. He has a very similar matchup in this one. Maybe the loss was good for future fights such as this one. Nonetheless Kara-France could knock him Bontorin out if it stays on the feet. This is a very interesting fight because a win here gets either fighter super close to a title fight. It’s the classic matchup striking against grappling. Expect fireworks on the opening fight of the Prelims. 

Prediction: Kara France over Bortorin via TKO  Round 3 

Betting Pick: Usually this fight would be a stay away. However Bortorin could dominate the fight on the ground. The fight should be a pick em but take Bortorin because of the odds.

Flyweight 

2 Joseph Benavidez (28-7-0) +112 Underdog vs 3 Askar Askarov (12-0-1) -138 Favorite 

The card does not slow down at all in the UFC’s second fight of the Prelims. Former title contender and UFC veteran Joseph Benavidez will be returning to the octagon after losing two straight title fights to the UFC Flyweight champion Diego Figueredo. They were very devastating losses after being in fighter purgatory when Demetrius Johnson was champion everyone thought it was time for Benavidez to get that long and deserved UFC strap. The Cinderella story wasn’t meant to be. However Benavidez at 36 didn’t call it a career he has decided to get back to it. Benavidez has an all around game. He has a brown belt in Muay Thia with great wrestling. He has been in a few 25 minute fights with going the distance easily. Benavidez will be a very tough test for Askar Askarov. The 28 year old Russian prospect has looked nothing short of flawless in his first three UFC bouts. He drew with Brandon Moreno in his first UFC fight. Then went 2-0 with wins over 12th ranked Tim Elliot and 5th ranked Alexandre Pantoja. His win over Pantoja in July showed Dana White Askarov was ready for the big show at Flyweight. The perfect matchup is Benavidez. Older veteran fighter coming off a title fight the win could pole volt Askarov to that number one contender. If Benavidez wins he stops the momentum of a young fighter showing his time isn’t done just yet. Askarov is a submission artist through his wrestling. He won gold in the Freestyle wrestling world championships back in 2017. He can take over the advantage Benavidez has on most with his wrestling. Askarov can go the distance as he did in the last three fights. His cardio is great and his grappling is top tier. If he can work his stand up striking the fight might not be close. If he takes Benavidez as some old dude it could be a long night for Askarov. Check this fight out, it'll be a great one. It tells a lot about the future at Flyweight. 

Prediction: Benavidez over Askarov via Decision 

Betting: Stay way not confident in any winner. 

Bantamweight 

14 Song Yadong 16-4-1 1NC) -162 Favorite vs Kyler Phillips (8-1-0) +132 Underdog 

We got a 135 pound contest in our third fight of the Prelims. The ranked fighter Song Yadong is ranked 14th at 135 and has looked very impressive since his last loss in 2016. He’s 8-0-1 since that loss. His last win in May of 2020 over Marlon Vera showed us how good Yadong was. That his ceiling is high. Yadong coming from China is very good at sanda striking. That is his bread and butter. After joining Team Alpha Male his grappling has improved tremendously. Maybe surprise everyone and go for the submission win. That shows he is ready for a top 10 fight. Yadong will look to prove he’s ready for top 10 fights. The underdog Kyler Phillips is on a hot streak himself. Phillips is on three fights winning streak. Phillips as well likes to stand. A win over Yadong will shoot his 31st ranking probably right up to the top 20. His last win came in October by way of knockout. The dominance Phillips showed in the win got him this fight. Phillips had said in recent interviews he looks to show his worth. A win here will do that. Expect a stand up contest. 

Prediction: Yadong over Phillips via Decision 

Betting Advice: Parlay Yadong with another fight or stay away. 

Bantamweight 

11 Dominick Cruz (22-3-0) +114 Underdog vs Casey Kenney (16-2-1) -140 Favorite 

In our final fight of the UFC Prelims we will see a former UFC champion make his return. Former UFC Bantamweight Champion and future Hall of Famer Dominick Cruz will make the walk to the octagon once again. Usually making the walk as a top contender. Not the case this time around. As you probably know Cruz has had many injuries plague his career. Cruz could have been one of the most dominant champions ever if he didn’t have so many injuries. It’s unfortunate but that’s the fight game. Cruz is coming into this fight on a two fight losing streak in two title fights that were separated by four years. This will be his third fight in five years. He didn’t look like old Cruz in the fight against Henry Cejudo last year. Cruz crafty striking style using his length, movement, and speed to pick apart his opponents. Backed up by a very good wrestling game. We don’t know where Cruz is at in his abilities but expect his opponent Casey Kenney to prepare for a 100% Cruz. Kenney is a former Flyweight that moved up to Bantamweight upon his UFC debut in 2019. Since being in the UFC Kenney has gone 5-1. Being the opposite of Cruz, Kenney has been very active. He’s had six fights since March of 2019. He’s on three fighting winning streaks and a win over Cruz will certainly get his name out there. Kenney has a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and a second degree black belt in Judo. Kenney will probably look to take Cruz to the ground, that's where his advantage really is. He does have Judo to fight Cruz’s funky striking but don’t really know how he would attack that. Kenney is a young who just may be a step faster than Cruz. Or Cruz may show him it’s sometimes not about the speed but the fighters IQ complimented by his skill. Great fight to end the Prelims. A lot of questions about Cruz will be answered and we’ll find out how Kenney is. 

Prediction: Cruz over Kenney 

Betting Advice: Take Cruz straight up maybe even parlay him with a betting favorite.

Main Card 

10:00 PM EST 

ESPN+ PPV 

Light Heavyweight 

2 Thiago Santos (21-8-0) +136 Underdog vs 4 Aleksandar Rakić (13-2-0) -162 Favorite 

The Main Card starts off with a bang at 205 pounds where we have some top 5 action. Thiago Santos comes into this one after losing a number one contender fight to Glover Teixeira. That was Santos' first fight back since he lost to Jon Jones for the 205 pound belt back in July of 2019. Remember Santos couldn’t walk after a close decision loss to the goat. Santos tore his MCL, ACL, and PCL. So basically his whole knee. Santos is on a two fight losing streak technically. He didn’t look good against Teixeira at all. He got takedown at will and beat up by a 40+ year old man. That old man is the next man up at 205 but that’s not the point. Apparently taking Santos down is an option. Even with the black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu he looked defenseless at points. Santos gets tired fast. That doesn’t change the fact he can end the fight at any moment. You don’t get a huge hammer on your chest, and don’t get made fun of for it unless you have Thor’s hammer as a right fist. Santos has tremendous power to go with good boxing. Santos has been going head hunting and he needs to change that. Santos needs to just box. He has enough power on his punches already. Santos power is what will give him a pick em chance against Aleksandar Rakić. At 29 Rakic has taken the UFC Light Heavyweight division by storm. Going 5-1 in his first six contests in the UFC. Rakic suffered his first loss in the UFC to Volkan Oezdemir in December of 2019. Which also ended a four fight winning streak. Rakic responded with a dominant decision victory over former title challenger Anthony Smith. Santos got the number one contender fight with Teixeira after a great performance against Jon Jones. The performance against the goat deserves a number contender shot upon return after a year's absence that’s how good Jon Jones is. Santos lost his fight and Rakic won against Smith. That’s how we got here. Rakic likes to stand as well which could work for Santos. However Rakic does pressure and may want to turn to his grappling in this one. Standing in the center with Santos is something you don’t want to do. Rakic has to move frequently. Try to cause Santos to get tired. Rakic is young and athletic which could be Santos biggest problem. Rakic could get Santos later in round two and three with pressure. As long as he doesn’t leave his chin out there. The winner probably would get a number one contender fight after this. Or maybe if Rakic wins he’ll fight Teixeira. Either way, great fight to kick off the PPV. 

Prediction: Rakic over Santos via Decision 

Betting Advice: Take Santos, it's not a bad underdog at all. His power is what makes the right interesting. Take Santos by TKO for a prop while you are at it because if Santos wins my guess would be by knockout. 

Lightweight 

14 Islam Makhachev (18-1-0) -390 Favorite vs Drew Dober (23-9-0 1 NC) +330 

The second fight of the Main Card will look to show off what could be a future star in the UFC Lightweight division. Islam Makhachev the Dagestan prodigy. Makhachev is looked at to be the next Khabib being Khabib’s robin. Makhachev looks to make his own name at 155. A dominant win on what could be the UFC’s biggest card of the year would be a great way to get started. A lot like how Khabib is known at a master at Sambo Makhachev is as well very good at Sambo. Makhachev won a Sambo world championship. Since joining the UFC promotion in 2015 Makhachev has gone 7-1. Looking very dominant over that stretch. A very similar game to Khabib where he can control the grappling exchanges with his strength and skill. He has in your face all fight pressure. Makhachev's stand up game may be better than Khabib’s up to this point in his career. Makhachev has a lot of potential but in MMA you can never look past your opponent. That’s what Vegas is doing with the odds in this one. Makhachev is a very heavy favorite. However his opponent Drew Dober has taken trips around the block once or twice in the UFC. Dober is getting his shot to be on the big card to pull off a crazy upset. Dober at 32 has already been in 33 fights, 15 of those fights being in the UFC. Dober got into the UFC back in 2013 where he started off slow. He went 1-3-0 1 NC in his first five fights in the UFC. Dober was not looked at as a Makhachev. People didn’t think he was the next best thing. Dober had to grind out for the spotlight and still does. He has gone 8-2 since that rough start. He’s on a three fight winning streak now. He looks to get a huge win over Makhachev. Which would finally get him into that top 15. Dober has very heavy hands for a 155 pounder. He has knocked out his last three opponents. Dober has 10 wins by knockout. He also has six wins by submission as well. Dober’s game is very good and all around. Dober will need to have the performance of his life for a win here but it’s definitely possible. He can catch Makhachev. Dober does have the wrestling to maybe even stop Makhachev takedowns. If Makhachev dominates here it’ll be very impressive. Dober is the real deal. 

Prediction: Makhachev over Dober via Decision 

Betting Advice: Take Dober he is a very heavy underdog that could win. He may need to have the performance of his life to win but it’s worth the risk. Dober is on fire right now he can upset Makhachev. It's worth the risk. 

Bantamweight Championship 

C Petr Yan (15-1-0) -120 Favorite vs 1 Alijamain Sterling (19-3-0) +102 Underdog

Here we are the first title fight of three at UFC 259. The Bantamweight champion Petr Yan will defend his championship for the first time since beating MMA legend Jose Aldo back in July for the vacant belt. Yan at 28 has set himself up to dominate the 135 pound weight class for a long time. He is just hitting his prime, he has great boxing, Muay Thia, and has good grappling skills on the ground. Yan is on a ten fight winning streak looking either good , great, or unstoppable in all of them. His win over Aldo showed that Yan was on another level at the moment. Aldo isn’t what he used to be but he is still a top fighter at 135 and 145 Yan was just way better. Now it’s time for Yan to have the target on his back. He has a lot of work to do at 135. His first opponent is the perfect matchup Alijamain Sterling. The two men we think are the best at Bantamweight at the moment will figure it out. Sterling has not been quiet for his disliking of Yan. These two have gone back and forth even before the fight was booked. Sterling hasn’t been shy about how he thinks he’ll beat Yan. Sterling has good striking but he makes it clear he’ll take Yan down and beat him up. Well he probably doesn’t want to strike with the guy who considered a master at boxing. Since Sterling lost to Marlon Moraes in December of 2017 Sterling has gone on a tear. Winning five fights in a row with wins over Cody Stamman, Jimmie Rivera, Pedro Munhoz, and Cory Sandhagen. His win over Sandhagen was very impressive. Especially with what Sandhagen was able to do after. Sterling took Sandhagen down and got to his back quickly like a cat. Tied up the rear naked choke it was all over from there. That’s how Sterling got here. Sterling is a former division III wrestler who trains jiu-jitsu at the UFC Hall of Famers  Matt Serra’s gym. Sterling has eight wins by submission and nine by decision. Sterling is not going to knock the opponent out but he will wear you out. That’s funny because that’s both Yan’s and Sterling’s styles. They both will look to break the other one. It’s about if Yan can use his boxing to stay away from Sterling or does he welcome Sterling? Meaning he’s willing for Sterling to get close because he’s confident in his grappling game. Yan has amazing boxing. Yan could put it on Sterling. Sterling could take Yan down and beat him up. They’re so many possibilities for the ending of this fight. It’s a great first title fight. It’d be a main event on any other card. 

Prediction: Sterling over Yan via Submission Round 3 

Betting Advice: Taking Sterling is a good take here. He can control the game on the ground if the fight gets there. If you take Yan parlay him with Rakic or Nunes. 

Co Main Event 

Women’s Featherweight Championship 

C Amanda Nunes (20-4-0) -1100 Favorite vs Megan Anderson (11-4-0) +700 Underdog 

In the UFC’s Co Main Event we get to see the Lioness defend her land once again. The jungle was quiet after Amanda Nunes ran through all the villages. While the Queen loin has been sleeping not prowling around her jungle, an Aussie has made her presence known that she has no problem waking a sleeping lion. Amanda Nunes will defend her Featherweight championship against Megan Anderson in the co main event. We all know who Nunes is if you don’t why are you here? Oh probably because of Amanda Nunes. She is the women’s MMA goat. Since joining the UFC back in 2013 Nunes has gone 12-1. She is on a ten fight winning streak currently. Her wins include Germaine De Randamie twice, Sara McMann, Valentina Shevchenko twice, Miesha Tate, Raquel Pennington, Ronda Rousey, Felicia Spencer, Holly Holm, and Cris Cyborg. What a list. Any goat or anyone that could challenge Nunes for the throne she beat. All by devastating fashion as well. She knocked Holm, Rousey, and Cyborg out real bad. Highlight reel knockouts. Those were some real good highlights for you. She beat Shevchenko twice who moved down a weight class and looks like maybe the second best women’s fighter ever. Nunes is a heavy favorite as she should be. She has next level striking and jaw breaking power. Her striking is so good no one even talks about her black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Nunes is the greatest women’s fighter we ever saw. She deserves a lot of respect for what she’s done. With all that said the challenger Megan Anderson doesn’t seem to be one to care about what you’ve done before. Anderson thinks it’s her time. Anderson has a four to five inch height advantage and a three to four inch reach advantage. Anderson looks like the bigger fighter that’s clear. Nunes has never fought someone this big in height. At 11-4 many don’t believe Anderson should be here. She’s just some fresh meat for the lioness. However Anderson does have the ability to end the fight at any moment. 6 of her 11 wins are by knockout. Who does have the length associated with the athletic ability to throw a submission from anywhere. Anderson does have plenty of ability to win. Is Nunes' gap over the competition so big that she can’t make it up? We’ll see don’t take your eyes off this one with these two ladies' power. 

Prediction: Nunes over Anderson via TKO Round 2 

Betting Advice: Take Anderson she’s a +800 why not if she wins you’ll be upset you missed out.

Light Heavyweight Championship 

C Jan Błachowicz (27-8-0) +188 Underdog vs MW C Israel Adesanya (20-0-0) -225 Favorite

Here we are the main event of the evening two champions will go at it for the Light Heavyweight Championship of the world. The challenger, a superstar, the stylebender, the UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will look to become the fifth person ever to hold two title belts at the same time in UFC history. Something his rival Jon Jones hasn’t even accomplished. Adesayna has everything to be a superstar. He has that “It” factor. Since moving from an accomplished kickboxer to unbeaten MMA world champion Adesayna the whole ride has been one to watch. He’s won all of the twenty fights he’s been in, and fifteen of them by knockout. Outside of the octagon Adesayna has made the build up to all his fights worth the watch. He’s a true entertainer to go along with his amazing ability to fight. He’s looked amazing in all his UFC fights. He joined the UFC in 2018. He fast tracked a five fight winning streak to an interim championship fight with Kelvin Gastelum. Those two won fight of the year in 2019 but Adesayna came home with the belt. The belt was there to stay as Adesayna knocked out the champion Robert Whittaker. He made quick work in front of a sold out Marvel Stadium in Australia. After a boring decision win over Yoel Romero Adesayna fight with Paulo Costa was set up. Many believed Costa was where Adesayna was going to meet his match. That was not the case. Adesayna out struck Costa badly in the first round. Knocking him out at the end of the first. It appears no one can stand with Adesayna at middleweight. That’s what makes his move up to challenge for the Light Heavyweight crown so fun. The defendant of the 205 pound division, the Polish Power Jan Błachowicz will look to prove to the world he isn’t an easy pay day. Błachowicz who was 2-4 in his first six UFC fights was close to being cut by the promotion. Then Błachowicz put together a run together. Where he’s gone 8-1 he currently rides a four fight winning streak. With wins over Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo Souza, Corey Anderson, and Dominick Reyes. The Reyes win was for the vacant Light Heavyweight Championship after Jon Jones decided to take his talents to Heavyweight. This will be Błachowicz first title defense. It will come against another championship which is not the normal but hey it’s a payday. The fight is for if Adesayna wins he can fight Jones next. Błachowicz will look to rain on that parade which he can. He has amazing power and is a Muay Thia world champion. He has the weight on Adesayna. We don’t know if Adesayna can take the power and weight change. Adesayna weighed in lighter than the 205 limit. Błachowicz doesn’t want to fall for what all the people before him did. Doubting the “skinny” Adesayna realizing he has as much power as someone way “thicker” than him. Błachowicz has the power to end Adesayna’s superstar run very fast and violently. This is going to be an amazing event I can't wait to watch. Don’t know how it's going to be. It's almost time to figure it out. 

Prediction: Błachowicz over Adesayna via TKO Round 3

Betting Advice: Take Błachowicz he is the underdog who can end the fight at any moment. Take Błachowicz by knockout as well up the stakes because if he wins that’s how it’s going to be. 

By Matthew Doherty