UFC 260 Preview and Predictions

 UFC 260 Preview and Predictions 

Miocic vs Ngannou 2

The Shepard Matt’s Picks Record Thus far 

UFC 257 6-5

UFC 258 4-6 

UFC 259 10-5 

20-16 on UFC pay per view picks 

That’s 20 for 36, if you hit in baseball 20 for 36 consistently you’d be a .556 hitter making you a goat. 

Early Prelims 

Saturday March 27th, 7:30 PM EST 

UFC Apex Las Vegas, Nevada 

UFC Fight Pass 

Middleweight Bout 

Marc-Andre Barriault (11-4-0 1NC) -122 Favorite vs Abu Azaitar (14-2-1) +100 Underdog 

We only have one prelim for UFC 260 which explains the late start. Also explains why ESPN isn’t wasting a broadcast on these prelims leaving the fight to be on UFC Fight Pass. The fight you ask? It’s between two guys that need a win in a different way. The betting favorite Marc-Andre Barriault needs one to keep his time in the UFC alive. Barriault joined the promotion back in 2019 after being a champion in an MMA Quebec promotion. After being on an eight fight winning streak. That hot streak Barriault was put out quick with three decision losses in his first three UFC fights. His last time out he won but the win was later overturned because he tested positive for a banned substance through contamination. He accepted the six month ban from USADA. Barriault is desperate for a win here or he may be cut. His opponent Abu Azaitar is technically on an eight fight winning streak. His last win came in 2018 in an UFC Fight Night. He was the one who was trying to sneak his brother into a UFC hotel during the McGregor Poirier card back in January. He’s failed a drug test before. He had two schedule bouts last year that were cancelled. Azaitar needs some good media a win here is a good start. He was looked at as a good UFC prospect when first signed but at 35 he’s still a question mark. He has power he has displayed before. Barriault has power as well with eight of his eleven wins by knockout. A real test for both men who are both desperate for a win, should be fun. 

Prediction: Azaitar over Barriault TKO RD 2

UFC Prelims 

Saturday, March 27th, 8:00 PM EST 

Apex Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada 

ESPN

Featherweight Bout 

Shane Young (13-5-0) +156 Underdog vs Omar Morales (10-1-0) -194 Favorite 

We’ve already had two fights scrapped from the card because of covid protocols. Shane Young and Omar Morales was real close to being scrapped. The fight was reported once that it was scrapped as Young was near Brad Riddell and Alex Volkanovski. Volkanovski’s title fight and co main event against Brian Ortega was scrapped after Volkanovski came back positive for covid. Young still needs to past some tests to fight so it’s not official yet but we’ll act as if the fight is happening. We will start with Young who is coming off a knock out loss in 76 seconds back in September in Abu Dhabi by Slovakian striker L'udovit Klein. Young took the fight even after his first opponent withdrew. The loss made him 3-2 in last five that fourth win would have gave Young a lot of good momentum. Young has an all around game. Fighting out of City Kickboxing in New Zealand Young’s stand up game is very good. Don’t sleep on his ground game though he has three submission wins under his belt so he’s not a lame duck on the ground. He’s overcome some mental barriers in the last three years a win here would show the toughness by Young. Especially after a week like this. His opponent Omar Morales is as well coming in off a loss. Morales first loss actually. Before that loss Morales was 10-0 in his MMA career. Six of those wins came in South American regional circuit, then one in Bellator, he got an offer from the UFC after he leg kicked his way to a win on Dana White’s Contender Series. After two decision wins in the UFC Morales took his first loss. It’ll be interesting to see how he responds. All MMA fighters respond different after their first loss. His ground game will be a factor. He’s got five of his ten wins by submission. Morales will look to take this fight to the ground as Young is better on the feet. Styles makes matchups the classic grappler vs striker. 

Prediction: Morales over Young submission RD 3 

Light Heavyweight Bout 

Modestas Bukauskas (11-3-0) +138 Underdog vs Michal

Oleksiejczuk (14-4-0, 1NC) -168 Favorite 

The second fight of the Prelims will show off a 205 pound contest. The betting underdog in this fight the second Lithuanian fighter to ever earn a victory in the octagon Modestas Bukauskas will be looking to respond after his first loss of his career in October. He looks to bring out what he would call the “Baltic Gladiator 2.0” with a big win here. Bukauskas stand up game is very good he has a whole lot of power. His ground game is really not that existent as a top Light Heavyweight should be but he probably won’t use much of it in this one. As his opponent Michal Oleksiejczuk loves to stand as well. Oleksiejczuk is also coming off a loss to Jimmy Crute in his last outing. That was his second loss in a row. Oleksiejczuk first two wins in the UFC cage were knockouts and then suffered two finishing losses himself. Oleksiejczuk will look to change things around with his own knockout. Expect these two to stand in bang in this one should a real fun fight from a humans perspective. 

Prediction: Bukauskas over Oleksiejczuk TKO RD 1 

Welterweight Bout 

Jared Gooden (17-5-0) +198 Underdog vs Abubakar Nurmagomedov (15-3-1) -250 Favorite 

The fourth fight of the evening continues the trend of the winner gets off a losing streak the loser continues theirs. Jared Gooden will be coming in as a slight underdog. He lost in his UFC debut last time out. At 27 Gooden is hitting his athletic prime which is scary because he’s already really athletic. He has very quick hands and has thunder in some of his punches. He can come up with a win here. Gooden needs to use his athleticism in this one on his feet. He has a decent ground game but it’ll have to be better if he gets taken there. Gooden will be taking on Khabib’s cousin Abubakar Nurmagomedov. This Nurmagomedov isn’t as dominant on the ground however. Of course he does have Sambo and Freestyle wrestling in his background but it’s not his game as it was Khabib’s. Abubakar Nurmagomedov does like to stand. Seven of his fifteen wins are by knockout. He used his wrestling to ground and pound on some of them. He’s 2-2-0 1NC in his last five fights. He lost last time out to a triangle choke nearly a year and half ago. The Nurmagomedovs are not used to losing and don’t expect them to make a hobby of it. The feet is pretty even on the feet but Nurmagomedov has the slight advantage on the ground which could be the difference. Expect an all around fight in this one. 

Prediction Nurmagomedov over Gooden via Decision 

Light Heavyweight Bout 

Alonzo Menifield (9-2-0) -290 Favorite vs Fabio Cherant (7-1-0) +225 Underdog 

The final fight of the Prelims has the potential to an upset but either way expect fireworks. Alonzo Menifield was suppose to fight William Knight. Knight had to be pulled from the card with less than two weeks before the fight. Fabio Cherant said he’ll step in and take the fight. Meinfield is a top 20 Light Heavyweight that was looking to crack the top 15 again. Especially after two tough losses to Ovince St Preux and Devin Clark. A win over Knight could of given him that top 15 bid. Nonetheless Menfield will have to conquer what’s in front of him. Menfield is a knockout artist. Eight of his nine wins are by TKO. Menifield looks to take peoples heads off. Don’t expect to shoot for a takedown is what is being said. He has tremendous power and a highlight knockout will get him that top 15 fight or near it. Fabio Cherant has nothing to lose in his UFC debut. Being ranked the 103rd Light Heavyweight in the world by Tapology losing to a top 25 one can’t hurt you that much. He’s only 26 the fight can only benefit him. If he looks good he’ll get a higher ranking than he would of he sat on the couch on Saturday. Cherant also has somewhat of a ground game this is a perfect matchup for him to pull off the upset. He needs to avoid being on a highlight which is hard with a guy like Meinfield. Could be over quickly or could get interesting in the final night for the free fights. 

Prediction Menifield over Cherant via TKO RD 1 

Main Card 

Saturday, March 27th, 10:00 PM EST 

Apex Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada

ESPN+ 

Lightweight Bout 

Jamie Mullarkey (12-4-0) +110 Underdog vs Khama Worthy (16-7-0) -134 Favorite 

We are on to the late fights with a good 155 pound contest to start the evening. This fight certainly can have fireworks. One reason why is Khama Worthy2. Nearly all of his fights have ended in finishes. Nine of his sixteen wins have ended in knockout and three others by submission. Also all seven of losses are by finish. Worthy gets after it for sure. He’s 2-1 in his time at the UFC. Worthy has crazy power and purple belt in Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu making him dangerous in a lot of positions. He got knocked out in his last fight which was his first UFC loss. Expect him to want to return what happened to him last time. His opponent Jamie Mullarkey hasn’t earned his first UFC win yet. He lost his first two fights in the UFC to Brad Riddell and Fares Ziam. He’s only 26 but once signed from the Australian Fighting Championship you probably trying not to go back. A win here will almost guarantee he won’t go back. He likes to mix up his wrestling and striking but is best when he is on top on the ground. Mullarkey should look to control Worthy with that wrestling take away the explosive power. The fight can be quick or be a 15 minute z’s fest. 

Prediction: Mullarkey over Worthy via decision 

Women’s Flyweight Bout 

15 Gillian Robertson (9-5-0) +140 Underdog vs Miranda Maverick (10-2-0) -172 Favorite 

In the second fight of the Main Card the first women’s bout will take place at Flyweight. The UFC will run a fight back that was originally scheduled for UFC 258. Then Gillian Robertson had to pull out due to illness. Robertson has said she didn’t want to look like she was ducking the prospect Maverick so she wanted to rebook. Robertson wasn’t being secretive with her game plan she wants to be aggressive. She wants to tap out the submission artist Maverick to prove her worth. Then after she wants a ranked opponent. Robertson is determined in this fight. Also her open game plan made it easier to preview the fight. She will be aggressive but expect the 23 year old Miranda Maverick to be ready. Maverick loves showing off that brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She is 8-2 in her young career with five of those wins by submission. She won her UFC debut back in October of 2020 by rear naked choke. Wouldn’t be shocked if she would loved for Robertson to take this fight to the ground. This fight will be exciting both will bring the action as both looked to prove themselves on one of the biggest Heavyweight Main Cards of all time. 

Prediction: Maverick over Robertson via Submission RD 2 

Bantamweight Bout 

Sean O’’Malley (12-1-0) -340 Favorite vs Thomas Almeida (22-4-0) +260 Underdog 

We have a very interesting fight with this Bantamweight bout. The fight will feature the Sugar Show Sean O’’Malley as he tries to continue to build his stardom after a disappointing loss in his last outing. O’Malley lost to Marlon Vera last time out by TKO. O’Malley clearly injured his foot mid fight that left him handicapped. Nonetheless O’Malley looks to respond here. There’s no secret that O’Malley has a great stand up game. His highlight real knockouts have been all over MMA Twitter since his TKO win over Alfred Khashakyan back on Dana White’s Contender Series. O’Malley probably wants that 50K bonus again. Expect him to go for the knockout or maybe we’ll learn about that ground game. The guy across the cage will be Thomas Almeida. He kind of used to be what O’Malley is now with way less stardom. Almeida was looked at as a very good prospect coming into the UFC at 17-0. Almeida won his first four fights in the UFC before suffering that TKO loss to Cody Garbrandt in 2016. Since then Almeida really hasn’t looked the same. Going 1-3 in his last four fights since then. He’s on a three fight losing streak currently. Almeida needs to stay calm in this one as he usually is but definitely needs to be somewhat aggressive. It’s weird because the situation seems to be Almeida having the skill but can’t apply the skill. If he can get a win here that’ll be the biggest one of his career for his PR team. Almeida should want to take O’Malley to the ground since he is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and we really don’t know who O’Malley is down on the ground. We know he has thunder in hands which Almeida has problems with. Take the fight to ground should be Almeida’s game plan. The fight will have an interesting conclusion regardless of who wins. 

Prediction: O’Malley over Almeida via TKO RD 3 

Co Main Event 

Welterweight Bout 

7 Tyron Woodley (19-6-1) +205 Underdog vs 10 Vincent Luque (19-7-1) -260 Favorite 

The new Co Main Event after defending Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski withdrew from his fight with Brian Ortega due to covid. The co slot will be maintained by former Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley as he will fight Welterweight contender Vincent Luque. Woodley is looking to get back on track. After losing his championship to Kamaru Usman back in 2019 Woodley hasn’t looked the same. He would lose to title challengers Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns after that defeat. He got beat up the same way. The athletic power punching Woodley looked like a shell of himself lately. His wrestling doesn’t look top tier as it used to be. He’s lost a step on the feet which makes the task of avoiding that power punch way easier. Woodley needs a win here or he’ll look like the champion who just won’t call it a career. Luque on the other hand is looking for a marquee win Woodley would be that win. Luque the tenth ranked UFC Welterweight three fights ago put up a good fight against the fifth ranked Stephen Thompson. Luque lost but sure was a good performance. He would go to win his next two bouts by knockout. The Woodley win would put his name out to more casual fans. Also it’d put him in that elite class of Welterweights. Luque is a Muay Thia fighter with a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His hands are very fast and heavy. This fight is interesting because it’s good everywhere even though we prefer them to stand and bang. We might get that or just a really good contest for fifteen minutes. The Co Main Event has a lot riding it on in the UFC 170 pound weight class. 

Prediction: Woodley TKO Luque RD 2 

Heavyweight Championship 

C Stipe Miocic (20-3-0) -102 Underdog vs 1 Francis Ngannou (2 15-3-0) -120 Favorite 

Now the entree, the moment we’ve all are waiting for, the moment where two human titans square off in a smaller than usual octagon to find out who’s the baddest man on the planet. Cleveland’s pride Stipe Miocic will defend his Heavyweight crown against Cameroon’s Predator the always scary Francis Ngannou. Their is so much that can be said about Miocic. One way that would sum his career up, the greatest Heavyweight fighter of all time. Miocic has earned that claim. After winning the Heavyweight championship from Fabricio Werdum by the way of knockout in 2016 Miocic reign has been an all time one. Defending the UFC Heavyweight championship the most times with three. He beat Allistar Overeem, avenged his loss to Junior Dos Santos, and oh dominated Francis Ngannou. If you remember the first fight between these two Miocic took Ngannou to the mat. Ngannou power is clearly something anyone should avoid. He hits like a mat truck. Miocic showed Ngannou inability to wrestle and grapple in that fight. Which also goes to show how crazy Ngannou’s power is. He got a title shot by just knocking people dead.  Remember what he did Overeem? How could you forget? If you didn’t see please go and watch. Ngannou’s power is scary. Miocic got hit in that fight. Surprisingly Ngannou didn’t drop the champion. The champ stayed on his feet to box Ngannou enough to setup takedowns to tire out the challenger. Miocic won by unanimous decision by just grinding Ngannou out. Both had journeys since that meeting. Miocic lost his title to Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier by getting caught with an inside hook in the first round the next fight. Then Miocic would return the favor to Cormier by going to basement. Constant body shots to the body took the air out of Cormier that would lead to a Miocic knockout in the fourth to retain his title. Then they would meet one last time on August 15th, 2020 in a fight to decide who’s the best UFC Heavyweight ever in Miocic vs Cormier 3. Miocic almost ended the fight when he had Cormier up against the fence on his back. The bell saved Cormier but Miocic would do enough from there to get the win in the trilogy, and become the unanimous greatest Heavyweight we’ve ever seen in the octagon. Ngannou on the other hand he had to find himself a little to get to back to the title shot. He would take on fellow heavy hitter Derrick Lewis after the Miocic loss. Ngannou didn’t look like himself at all again. Barley throwing any strikes in a fight where no one really threw anything. Lewis did enough to get the win in a lackluster fight to say the least. Ngannou would find that monster we once knew in the next coming fights. He would knockout his next four opponents out in less than a minute in a half each time. He flattened Curtis Blaydes again, people thought Cain Velasquez tore his knee Ngannou put him to sleep so fast, he mauled Junior Dos Santos, then put former kickboxer Jairzinho Rozenstruik out in 20 seconds. That’s how Ngannou got here again to fight for the Heavyweight crown of the world. Ngannou power will obviously be the center point of both men’s game plans. Ngannou has stated he mismanaged his time towards training in that first fight. That he wasn’t himself in there. That he’s worked on his grappling and setting up his power strikes much better since then. The question is did he get good enough to stop Miocic? Taking heavyweight takes a lot of work could the more difficult takedown affect Miocic later in the fight? Could that leave Miocic to leave his chin out there for a second he should not? One punch from Ngannou and the fight can be over. Miocic will need to move a lot, avoid staying in the pocket, and he will need to takedown Ngannou it’s simple as that. Miocic needs to neutralize that power that’s the best way. Title fights are always better when it’s clear that both men should be there. Ngannou is the clear number one contender. Miocic has established himself as the best Heavyweight we’ve seen. On Saturday night early Sunday morning we’ll know who’s the best in the world for now, because remember the winner gets a fight with who many would call the greatest to do the damn thing Jon Jones. Or if Ngannou wins is their an immediate trilogy? Who knows but sure can’t wait for Saturday let’s get it on. 

Prediction: Miocic over Ngannou via TKO RD 4

By Matthew Doherty

@Goat Talk Face Book 

@Goat_Talk_ Instagram 

@GoatTalk0 Twitter 

@MatthewDohert75 Twitter