Now its time for the Main Card! The prelim fights have already been covered so go read that before you read this one! This is an extra special fight night prediction because in this story both Abram Moore and Michael Barela will be giving their own predictions. Now this event will be taking place on April 13th and the fights we are about to talk about will begin at 8:00 PM MST, after the end of the prelim fights on ESPN. So make sure to tune in to the biggest event of the year and see how we do!
Michael: Starting off the main card we have Bo Nickal facing off against Cody Brundage. I am going to take Bo Nickal by knockout. Nickal is an olympic gold medalist in wrestling and 3 time ncaa championship winner in wrestling. In his first 5 ufc fights he has one every fight by knockout and only letting up 3 significant strikes against him. This is an insane stat as fighters usually land around 50 significant strikes in a fight. I think that Brundage could not even land a single strike against Nickal before getting Knocked out. Cody Brundage is a good fighter but he isn’t anything special especially not special enough to defeat Nickal.
Abram: The first fight of the night starts off with a bang in Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage. Now Bo Nickal has an extensive history in combat sports being an Olympic gold medalist and winning three ncaa titles in wrestling. He also has proved to be in my opinion the brightest UFC prospect we have seen in a long time. He has completely rolled through all 5 of his opponents so far and is now beginning his climb into the rankings. Unfortunately for Brundage I think he is being fed to the dogs as I don’t see a reality where Nickal doesn’t come out and dominate this fight. His grappling is already extremely elite and he has shown bits and pieces of his striking which has just been getting better and better. With that said I believe Nickal takes this fight by early round submission.
Michael: In our next fight we have Charles Oliveira vs Arman Tsarukyan. In this fight I will be taking Charles Oliveira winning by submission. Although I think this fight will be very close I think that ultimately Olivera will be able to pull off the win. Arman is a very good fighter but he lacks a little bit in his grappling and submission game. This will be very good for Olivera because he specializes in his ground game Jiu Jitzu which he has used to submit 16 fighters which is the most in the UFC.
Abram: The next fight on this card is Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan. Now expect this fight to be one for the ages. Tsarukyan is one heck of a fighter with elite striking ability and power knocking out his last two opponents. Oliveira on the other hand wants his shot at gold back. Known for being an elite finisher in the UFC the brazilian held the UFC lightweight title for around 2 years before losing it to Islam Makhachev. For this fight I think Tsarukyan comes out hot and it’s a big back and forth match but ultimately in the end I think the underdog Oliveira will be able to take Tsarukyan down and submit him in order to get another shot at the championship.
Michael: In the next fight we have Justin Gaethje vs Max Holloway. In this fight I am taking Justin of Holloway winning by tko. Max Holloway is a veteran in the UFC with 25 wins and 7 losses however he is starting to get a little rusty. Even though Gaethje is older than Holloway he has been fighting with the same speed and energy as he has been for the last 10 years. Gaethje also beat another veteran Dustin Poirer by knockout for the BMF belt recently. I think this fight will be very close but ultimately I believe that Gaethje will be taking home the victory.
Abram: This next match is for the UFC’s BMF belt with Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway. I am very skeptical going into this fight that we may see the first time Max Holloway ever gets knocked down inside the UFC octagon. With Holloway going up a weight class and Gaethje being such a high level striker I think the weight jump will make a difference. However, I don’t believe there will be a knockout because even if he gets knocked down Holloway has an iron chin, and on the other hand I don’t believe Holloway has the power to knockout Gaethje. This fight will come down to some of the most elite striking displays we have seen in a long time but in my opinion Gaethje will come out with a victory by decision.
Michael: In the Co-Main event we have Zhang Weili fighting Yan Xiaonan. For this fight I will be taking Zhang Weili. Yan is an excellent striker and has been improving with all of her fights. She is also coming off of two dominating fights over Jessica Andrade and Mackenzie Dern. Beating Jessica Andrade by knockout and Dern by decision. Although Yan is a very solid fighter Zhang Weili has zero flaws and is a very solid all around fighter. Her grappling and wrestling game is her best and I foresee her using this to submit Yan early on in the fight.
Abram: The Co-Main event of the night is Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan. This fight to me is pretty straightforward. I don’t think Yan has a chance against Weili. Although she is a very technical striker and knows how to get the job done Zhang is essentially perfect in every aspect of her game. And for that reason I’ll be taking Zhang to win and retain the UFC Women’s Strawweight title.
Michael: In the main event we have Alex Pereira fighting Jamal Hill. In this fight I will be taking Pereira over Hill. Jamal Hill is a very solid fighter with extremely efficient striking. He also has a very patented record of 12 and 1 with 7 knockouts and on. a 4 fight win streak. Even though Jamal Hill is a very efficient fighter I still think that Pereira will still be able to get the victory by a left hook knockout. Pereira is an all around perfect fighter with no weaknesses and a solid record of 9 and 2 with one his victories being over Israel Adesanya who is a very similar fighter to Jamal Hill.
Abram: And now for the Main Event, Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill. I truly believe people are underestimating this fight. Many people aren’t giving Hill the credit he deserves and think Pereira is just going to come out and run through him but I don’t believe that’s the case whatsoever. Hill was the champion for a reason before he got injured and none of his fights were really close. Similar to Pereira he brings extreme knockout power and the ability to cut out someone’s lights before they even know it. He also is more well balanced than Pereira and has a pretty solid ground and grappling game in his back pocket if he needs it. However, I don’t believe this will be enough to stop Poatan as his striking and power are absolutely insane and on another level than anyone really inside of the UFC. I believe after a brutal fight with many back and forth exchanges Hill will get caught and knocked out while Pereira retains the UFC Light Heavyweight belt.
