UFC Vegas 28 - Full Card Breakdown & Predictions
When is UFC Vegas 28? Saturday 5th June, 2021 -22:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Vegas 28? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Nevada (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Vegas 28? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC events
What channel is UFC Vegas 28 on? BT Sport 2
Where can I stream UFC Vegas 28? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
JAIRZINHO ROZENSTRUIK VS AUGUSTO SAKAI
The knockout train Jairzinho Rozenstruik (11-2) was derailed for the second time in his last outing in February. After effortlessly transitioning to MMA from kickboxing and knocking Junior Albini, Allen Crowder, Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem in his first four UFC fights, he was sitting proud on a 10-0 record with nine knockouts. However, he ran into a scarier knockout artist in the shape of the now champion - Francis Ngannou who ran at him like a buzz saw and cut his circuit out in 20 seconds. He responded with the 10th knockout of his career finishing Junior dos Santos in the second round but is coming off a unanimous decision against Ciryl Gane.
Augusto Sakai (15-2-1) is also coming off a knockout and the second loss of his career after stringing together six impressive wins including four UFC opponents. He knocked out Chase Sherman on his debut and then squeaked past Andrei Arlovski in a split decision. He got back to knockout ways against Marcin Tybura and then edged another razor thin split decision against Blagoy Ivanov to set up a fight with Alistair Overeem. However, the legend displayed his class and sealed the TKO finish in the fifth round.
PREDICTION
This will be a fascinating clash between Rozenstruik’s kickboxing and Sakai’s Muay Thai. Sakai is likely to weigh in slightly heavier, but they match up very similarly physically.
Both men can obviously crack, but Rozenstruik has more power and will patiently wait for a killer blow which usually comes from a counter. Sakai will be aware of this which means we could see a slow first and even second round as they get a read on each other.
Rozenstruik will look to pound the legs of Sakai and wait for the Brazilian to commit before offloading that savage left hook. Sakai needs to close the distance, but not stay in the pocket for too long. He will keep up a healthy output and if Rozenstruik begins to land, we can expect Sakai to try and clinch up throwing elbows and knees, but he cannot be reckless considering Rozenstuik’s power.
Sakai is no Ngannou although no human is, so he has to fight strategically like Gane did. He needs to be patient and frustrate Rozenstruik while keeping up the volume and subduing him the clinch. However, avoiding his power for five rounds is easier said than done and even Overeem could not quite manage it and he is on a different level when it comes to technique and defence. So, we are backing the Suriname native to eventually find the knockout blow.
Prediction: Rozenstruik via KO/TKO
MARCIN TYBURA VS WALT HARRIS
Marcin Tybura (21-6) is enjoying the best form of his UFC career so far. After getting knocked out twice in a row back in 2019 by Shamil Abdurakhimov and Augusto Sakai, he has gone on an excellent four-fight win streak. He started 2020 with a unanimous decision over Sergey Spivak and earnt two more over Maxim Grishin and Ben Rothwell. He then capped off a brilliant year by knocking out Greg Hardy in December.
Walt Harris (13-9(1)) had a completely contrasting 2020. In 2019, he knocked out Spivak and Alexey Oleynik but at the end of the year he had to deal with the sickening news of the abduction and murder of his stepdaughter. He somehow found the courage to get back in the cage in May last year but got knocked out by Alistair Overeem and again by Alexander Volkov in October.
PREDICTION
Harris is not getting any easy fights gifted to him. but he will be eyeing up those four knockout losses on Tybura’s record. All 13 of Harris’ wins have come via knockout and he knows he requires one touch of leather to walk away with a 14th.
Tybura can strike as well but he knows he needs to avoid Harris’ hands at all costs so we can expect him to call upon his grappling where he has a significant advantage. Harris has good takedown defence, so he will have to work hard to get him down.
If Tybura does get the fight to the ground, a submission is likely as Tybura is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Harris has a weakness off his back. Tybura also has the cardio advantage, so a Tybura decision or late submission is most likely, but with Harris’ explosiveness and speed, a knockout is always one punch away.
Prediction: Tybura via Submission
Value Bet: Harris via KO/TKO
ROMAN DOLIDZE VS LAUREANO STAROPOLI
Roman Dolidze (8-1) appears after suffering the first loss of her career. He made his UFC debut after 19 months out but made a statement throwing a vicious head kick with his knee cracking Khadis Ibragimov leaving him unaware what day it was. He followed it up with a split decision over John Allan and then decided to step down to middleweight where he took on Trevin Giles back in March but he suffered his first setback losing a unanimous decision.
Laureano Staropoli (9-3) is without a win since May 2019 which is a surprise considering his potential and how good he looked after his first two UFC fights. He earnt unanimous decisions over Hector Aldana (2018) and Thiago Alves (2019) to extend his record to 9-1 but then ran into the Russian assassin Muslim Salikhov. He lost another unanimous decision and then returned nearly a year later in August last year only to receive the same fate, this time against Tim Means.
PREDICTION
Staropoli takes this fight on short notice replacing Alessio Di Chirico and steps up to middleweight which will be very interesting as he missed the 170 lb mark in his last fight so he could look better.
Dolidze has fought most his career at 205 lbs so he will be the bigger man and will boast a four-and-a-half-inch reach advantage. He will look to make this count as he fires from range, particularly his kicks to the calf, body and head. He is also a very strong grappler and will look to utilise his power advantage when the distance closes by tying him up in the clinch and pressing him up against the fence.
Staropoli will have the edge when it comes to speed and cardio. It is hard to see him knocking out or submitting Dolidze so he needs to utilise his movement to avoid the power kicks and the takedown to drag the fight into the third round when the Georgian will begin to tire.
If Staropoli can snatch the second round and finish strong in the third, he has a chance to earn a decision, but he have to back Dolidze who has had a full training camp and is the bigger and more powerful man. As long as he paces himself and improves his striking defence, he should be able inflict enough damage on the feet and control him with his grappling.
Prediction: Dolidze via KO/TKO
Value Bet: Staropoli via Decision
SANTIAGO PONZINIBBIO VS MIGUEL BAEZA
We waited over two years for Santiago Ponzinnibio (27-4) to recover from injuries and illness and return while sitting on a superb seven-fight win streak. However, his comeback fight against Li Jingliang back in January, could not have gone any worse. He was still the heavy favourite despite the lay-off but got smoked in the first round. Now, he wants to find the form that got him past the likes of Gunnar Nelson, Mike Perry and Neil Magny, but he has been handed another extremely tough fight.
Miguel Baeza (10-0) tore up the regional scene on his way to the UFC. He earnt a unanimous decision over Vitor Reyna on the Contender Series back in 2019 and has since stepped up to the UFC level making it look easy. He knocked out Hector Aldana and Matt Brown and then decided to show off his jiu-jitsu by finishing Takashi Sato off with an arm triangle.
PREDICTION
The UFC are clearly not protecting Argentina’s finest by handing him an unbeaten monster after a devastating loss. If Baeza can finish him as well, he has future title contender written all over him but it is surprising to see him as the favourite.
Ponzinnibio is still a beast and is one of the best strikers in the division. That said, this is a real test of character and it is probably the best time for Baeza to fight him. Baeza if full of confidence and rightly so as a high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with outstanding striking.
Baeza will be confident enough to trade with Ponzinibbio and it will be a thrilling battle. The Argentinian’s chin is rather suspect and Baeza has the power and dynamism to land another highlight reel blow but we still back Ponzinibbio on the feet as he is technically superior.
We have barely seen Baeza go for a takedown in the UFC so far but he will have a clear advantage on the ground so if he calls upon his grappling, you have to lean towards him to get the win.
We can see Ponzinibbio starch Baeza early making a mockery of the betting lines but we can also see Baeza clip him, drag him to the floor and cinch a submission. This is a tough one to call but it should be a great fight.
Prediction: Baeza via Submission
Value Bet: Ponzinibbio via KO/TKO
DUSKO TODOROVIC VS GREGORY RODRIGUES
Dusko Todorovic (10-1) met Punahele Soriano for his second UFC fight with one man having to surrender their perfect record. He came off second best in the stand-up battle getting knocked out at the end of a violent first round. This loss came after storming to 10-0 making Dequan Townsend his sixth knockout victim on his UFC debut. The Serbian is a deadly finisher and has only gone to a decision once which was a unanimous one against Teddy Ash on the Contender Series.
Gregory Rodrigues (9-3) seizes his opportunity for a UFC debut after Maki Pitolo had to pull out with an injury. The Brazilian is also a finisher with only one decision in the win column. He has fought for a variety of promotions and got a chance on the Contender Series in September last year after compiling a six-fight win streak. It did not go to plan after getting knocked out in the first round by Jordan Williams. However, he got straight back in the action appearing twice for LFA and knocked out Al Matavao and Josh Fremd.
PREDICTION
Todorovic had a lot of hype after his UFC debut. It was a great finish but your stock does not rise that much after knocking out Townsend as he lost all four of his UFC fights and we saw some glaring holes in his game against Soriano.
That said, he is still an exciting prospect and this is a tough fight for him. Rodrigues has clear knockout power and in Todorovic’s last fight, he was too complacent, keeping his hands low and relying on his head movement. His movement is good but, he inevitably got caught by Soriano and if he does not adjust, Rodrigues will walk away with the same outcome.
The Brazilian takes the fight on short notice and is only a slight underdog. Todorovic needs to gets his hands up, avoid head hunting and mix in leg kicks. If he doesn’t, Rodrigues has the size and power to make him pay and taking the fight on short notice could work for or against him.
We expect the Serb to make enough adjustments to get back on the winning trail but we can easily see him getting knocked out again.
Prediction: Todorovic via KO/TKO
Value Bet: Rodrigues via KO/TKO
TOM BREESE VS ANTONIO ARROYO
Although Tom Breese (12-3) has lost two of his last three, it is great to seem him active after injuries have tried to ruin his career. He fought once between 2016 and 2020 and made up for lost time by knocking out Dan Kelly. After suffering another lay-off, he has fought three times returning in February last year. However, he had a very tough return in Brendan Allen who knocked him out in the first round. He responded with an easy win over KB Bhullar knocking him out with a jab but is coming off another loss getting submitted by Omari Akhmedov.
Antonio Arroyo (9-4) is better than the record looks after it got dented in his first two UFC fights. After two appearances on the Contender Series earning a unanimous decision over Diego Henrique da Silva (2018) and then submitted Stephen Regman (2019), he got the call-up but failed to deliver losing unanimous decisions to Andre Muniz and Deron Winn.
PREDICTION
This is one of many exciting fights on the card. They are both assassins on the feet with solid grappling. They are almost identical physically and are both aggressive so we can expect a violent battle.
The striking exchanges will be fascinating. Breese is better technically and has knockout power. Arroyo also has knockout power and kicks like a mule so he should look to land early leg kicks to disable Breese’s movement.
If Arroyo can keep up a pace for three rounds, he is a problem for anyone, but his cardio is mediocre at best. His last fight was very disappointing getting ragdolled by Winn who was giving up a significant height and reach advantage. He was unable to land anything and gassed out quickly.
Breese does not have the wrestling of Winn but he has great cardio which swings this in his favour. As long as he avoids any big punches and leg kicks, he should walk away with a decision at least mixing in his striking with grappling.
Prediction: Breese via Decision
MONTANA DE LA ROSA VS ARIANE LIPSKI
Montana De La Rosa (11-6-1) has experienced mixed fortunes in the UFC recently. She responded to her first UFC loss which was a unanimous decision to Andrea Lee with a unanimous decision of her own against Mara Romero Borella. However, she then lost another unanimous decision to Viviane Araujo and followed it up with a draw with Mayra Bueno Silva back in February to go 4-2-1 in the UFC.
Ariane Lipski (13-6) is 2-3 in the UFC now after getting TKO’d by Antonina Shevchenko. That was back in November and it stifled some much-needed momentum after losing her first two UFC fights to Joanne Calderwood and Molly McCann. She earnt a unanimous decision over Isabela de Padua and tore Luana Carolina’s leg up with a savage kneebar but needs to dust herself off again after getting knocked out for the second time.
PREDICTION
We have an interesting clash of styles here. They both have decent jiu-jitsu, but De La Rosa’s strength is her wrestling whereas Lipski’s strength is her striking and Muay Thai.
Lipski has a clear advantage on the feet with her technique, speed and power but the worrying stat is her takedown defence which is only 45%. She has been taken down in every fight besides the Carolina one, so we expect De La Rosa to drag her down to the canvas.
Lipski has dangerous jiu-jitsu but she cannot rely on it as De La Rosa has a brilliant top game and if she gets top position, she will be aggressive and hunt the submission. Lipski needs to be aggressive from the bell and hunt De La Rosa’s chin.
It will be a matter of time before De La Rosa lands a takedown so Lipski needs to offload her knockout power as soon as possible but we are backing De La Rosa to land a takedown before that happens and grind out a decision with a potential late submission.
Prediction: De La Rosa via Decision
Value Bet: Lipski to win
TANNER BOSER VS ILIR LATIFI
Tanner Boser (19-7-1) makes the UFC walk for the first time this year and is coming off a unanimous decision loss which stifled some exciting momentum. After outpointing Daniel Spitz on his debut and then falling on the wrong side of a decision to Ciryl Gane, nobody was talking about Boser as he sat on a 17-6-1 record. However, he burst into life against Philipe Lins giving him a pummelling and finishing him in the first round and followed it up with another knockout over Raphael Pessoa. He made a third appearance last year but got handed a lesson from Andrei Arlovski who called upon all of his experience to earn the decision.
Ilir Latifi (14-8) has never quite lived up to his potential and is now 7-6 but that is mainly due to getting paired with abslote monsters and struggling to cut down to 205 lbs. He racked up some decent wins, but got streaks broken up by Gegard Mousasi, Jan Blachowicz and Ryan Bader. He responded to getting knee’d into next week by Bader by beating Tyson Pedro and Ovince Saint Preux, but is now on a three-fight skid. He lost a unanimous decision to Corey Anderson and then got knocked out by Volkan Oezdemir. He then tried his hand up and heavyweight, but lost a unanimous decision to Derrick Lewis, but it was a very close fight and looked good against the former and next potential contender for the heavyweight title.
PREDICTION
Boser is one of the smaller heavyweights which will wet the appetite of Latifi who is brutishly strong. He is a tank of a man but he will be giving up a two-inch reach and four-inch height advantage which will seem like more on the feet considering Boser’s speed.
Boser moves like a middleweight and will try and keep the fight on the feet at all costs. Expect him to utilise a lot off head movement and feints, bopping in and out of range to land on Latifi’s chin.
Latifi is dangerous on the feet as well with rocks for hands but expect him to call upon his wrestling. He needs to close the distance, tie Boser up and use his strength and technique to manhandle Boser and beat him up on the floor.
Boser will make that very difficult for Latifi. He has good takedown defence and his first line of defence may be an uppercut as Latifi shoots in. The swede does have a granite chin so Boser needs to prepare to go three rounds.
Latifi has the ability to take Boser down and keep him there for a full round but his gas tank is a real worry. If Boser can get out of the first round, he has the cardio to defend the takedowns in the second half of the fight and begin to piece a fatigued Latifi up on the feet to earn a decision.
Prediction: Boser via Decision
Value Bet: Latifi via Decision
MAKWAN AMIRKHANI VS KAMUELA KIRK
Makwan Amirkhani (16-5) is coming off his third loss inside the octagon after Edson Barboza schooled him on Fight Island on his way to a unanimous decision. He is 6-3 in the UFC now, but his losses were to beasts including Arnold Allen and Shane Burgos. He is clearly a talent though and his grappling is good enough to roll with anyone in the division as we saw when he submitted Chris Fishgold and Danny Henry and he was getting prepared to showcase those skills against Nate Lanwehr.
Unfortunately, Landwehr got injured scuppering the bout, but this has opened the door to Kamuela Kirk (11-4) to make his UFC debut. Kirk has been applying his trade for LFA and after submitting Boimah Karmo and Kevin Croom, he met Billy Quarantillo on the Contender Series but got knocked out in the third round. He then suffered another setback losing a split decision to Bruno Souza but he has bounced back superbly by knocking out Guilherme Santos and Daniel Swain this year.
PREDICTION
Amirkhani is understandably the favourite, but this is no gimmie fight at all. They are both phenomenal grapplers – Kirk’s bread and butter is his jiu-jitsu as a black belt and Amirkhani’s is his wrestling so it will be fascinating to see them tangle.
Amirkhani’s striking continues to improve but Kirk should have the edge on the feet. So, as the underdog, Kirk represents all the value. He is a good striker and he will be a threat in the scrambles when Amirkhani starts to wrestle.
Taking the fight on short notice is a significant disadvantage however as Amirkhani has good cardio and we expect him to trade on the feet but rely on his wrestling chaining takedowns together to wear down Kirk and seal a decision.
Prediction: Amirkhani via Decision
Value Bet: Kirk to win
FRANCISCO TRINALDO VS MUSLIM SALIKHOV
Francisco Trinaldo (26-7) is 42 years old, has 22 UFC fights under the belt yet is still beasting in the lightweight division. He has a remarkable UFC record of 16-6 and is building another win streak. After Kevin Lee snapped a seven-fight streak back in 2017, he went 2-2 with wins over Jim Miller and Evan Dunham and losses to James Vick and Alexander Hernandez but he is now coming off unanimous decisions over Bobby Green and John Makdessi and welcomed Jai Herbert to the UFC with a knockout last year.
We wish Muslim Salikhov (17-2) was more active as he has so much talent. After losing his UFC debut back in 2017 getting submitted by Alex Garcia, he has only fought four times. That said, they were four exceptional wins to inflate his impressive record. He knocked out Ricky Rainey and Nordine Taleb and then went on to earn hard-fought decisions over Laureano Staropoli (unanimous) and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (split) which was nearly a year ago.
PREDICTION
We know Salikhov is a monster on the feet with an extensive Sanda background and Trinaldo has it all with a wealth of UFC experience. Trinaldo is also a beast on the feet, but he has a clear advantage in the grappling department.
Salikhov has very good takedown defence so it will be a question of whether Trinaldo persists with his wrestling for three rounds. The Brazilian is fighting up a class at welterweight and he will experience is power against Salikhov so, if he fails a couple takedown attempts, he is likely to go back to his striking.
This will be exactly what the Russian wants. Trinaldo has a granite chin having never been knocked out but if the fight plays out on the feet, that chin will be tested and there is no guarantee it will hold up considering his age and Salikhov’s power.
We are backing Salikhov’s power and technique to defend the takedowns and win the striking exchanges earning a decision at least but as the Brazilian is the heavy underdog, he is worth a punt for a decision.
Prediction: Salikhov via Decision
Value Bet: Trinaldo via Decision
ALAN PATRICK VS MASON JONES
Alan Patrick (15-3) is 5-3 in the UFC, but he has been handed some very tough fights. The first loss of his career was to Mairbek Taisumov who knocked him out back in 2015. He went on to rack up three impressive unanimous decisions over Demian Brown, Stevie Ray and Damir Hadzovic but then got paired with Scott Holtzman and Bobby Green. Holtzman finished him again with some murderous elbows on the ground and Green earnt a unanimous decision, so Patrick is now without a win since 2018.
Mason Jones (10-1) made his long-awaited debut back in January after going 10 fights unbeaten and tearing up the Cage Warriors scene and becoming the lightweight and welterweight double champion. However, the bubble was popped by Mike Davis who won the unanimous decision. It was a setback for Jones, but this is a great opportunity to remind everyone of his talent.
PREDICTION
Jones is the heavy favourite here with Patrick coming off two losses and not getting any younger at 37 years of age. They match up very similarly physically and they are both very well-rounded.
Patrick is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu with decent striking and Jones is a terrific striker and solid grappler. We should see all their skills to be on display here but expect Patrick to rely more on his grappling and for Jones to do most his work on the feet.
If Patrick cannot secure a takedown, you have to back Jones all day who will keep up a ferocious pace on the feet. Patrick will throw some flare with spinning attacks, but Jones should have his number in the exchanges with relentless pressure and if the fight does go to the ground, do not be surprised if Jones finds top position and rains down the punches.
Prediction: Jones via Decision
MARYNA MOROZ VS MANON FIOROT
Unfortunately, we have only seen Maryna Moroz (10-3) once a year since 2016. She has been in the UFC for over six years and is 5-3 but is yet to make a real impression. She has the talent but just has not been active enough. She lost unanimous decisions to Carla Esparza (2017) and Angela Hill (2018) which was a valuable learning curve and although she has only fought twice since, the earnt very impressive unanimous decisions over Sabina Mazo and Marya Bueno Silva.
Manon Fiorot (6-1) made quite the impression on her UFC debut four months ago. She stepped up on short notice replacing Natalia Silva to take on Victoria Leonardo and proved she is more than worthy of her place on the roster. She schooled Leonardo on the feet and sealed a second-round knockout with a vintage head kick. That made it five knockouts out of her six wins transitioning brilliantly from her karate background.
PREDICTION
Fiorot is a welcome addition to the women’s flyweight as an aggressive and exciting striker with knockout power. However, this is a very tough match-up for her in just her second UFC and eighth professional MMA fight.
Moroz is a very slick boxer and has a significant advantage when it comes to experience. Fiorot’s grappling is a glaring question mark but fortunately for her, Moroz does not tend to grapple. She has the ability to, so if she can mix in clinch work and trips to close the distance, she can nullify Fiorot’s weapons.
Fiorot is clearly very dangerous on the feet, particularly her kicking game. If Moroz is passive and gives her room, expect Fiorot to eat her up attacking her legs and body, setting up that piercing front and head kick.
This is a close fight to call and if Moroz can sit behind her jab and then tie Fiorot up to expose her grappling, we can easily see her winning a decision, but Fiorot’s power may be too much and if she can overwhelm the Ukrainian for the first two rounds, she will earn a decision or even a knockout.
Prediction: Fiorot via Decision
Value Bet: Moroz via Decision
YOUSSEF ZALAL VS SEAN WOODSON
Youssef Zalal (10-4) is desperate for a big performance after losing his last two. After knocking out Jaime Hernandez for LFA with a beautiful flying knee, he went on to win his first three UFC fights – all via unanimous decision. He added Austin Lingo, Jordan Griffin and Peter Barrett to the win column to go 10-2 but has got stopped in his tracks by Ilia Topuria and Seung Woo Choi falling on the other side of unanimous decisions.
There was a fair bit of hype around Sean Woodson (7-1) a year ago sitting on an unbeaten record. He also got the UFC call-up after a flying knee knockout which was on the Contender Series against Terrance McKinney. He then made it 7-0 with a unanimous decision over Kyle Bochniak on his debut however, he took on Julian Erosa as a huge favourite but got caught in a brabo choke in the third round to deflate the hype.
PREDICTION
This is a very intriguing match-up. They are both very fluid strikers with great movement, and they throw a variety of attacks with all limbs.
Woodson has the range as he usually does boasting a six-inch reach and four-inch height advantage. If he get a read on Zalal early and control the distance, he has the technique to win the exchanges and build-up his output.
We expect Zalal to back himself on the feet, but he is better off relying on his grappling. He is very comfortable mixing in takedowns whereas Woodson offers little in defence as well as attack so if Woodson starts to land on Zalal, we can expect him to shoot in.
Woodson is the favourite, but if Zalal focuses on his grappling, he can easily capitalise on Woodson’s ground game and even pull off a submission. However, the longer the fight, the more you have to back Woodson.
Prediction: Woodson via Decision
Value Bet: Zalal via Decision or Submission
CLAUDIO PUELLES VS JORDAN LEAVITT
Claudio Puelles (9-2) has fought twice since November 2016. Back then, he made his UFC debut on The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 finale and it did not exactly go to plan getting knocked out in the second round by Martin Bravo. He returned to the cage 18 months later and got back on track with a brilliant kneebar on Felipe Silva. He took 16 months to return this time and bagged another win and unanimous decision over Marcos Mariano. 21 months later, the Peruvian is back for his fourth UFC fight.
Jordan Leavitt (8-0) appears for the first time this year, but he has been far more active. He fought four times last year and it could not have gone much better. He kicked off 2020 with a unanimous decision over Isaiah William (BCM Promotions) and followed it up with a submission and anaconda choke on Leivon Lewis (LFA) which earnt him a shot on the Contender Series. He took in style with another submission over Jose Flores and then pulled off an incredible knockout on his UFC debut by slamming the veteran Matt Wiman on his dome piece.
PREDICTION
Their activity is contrasting but their styles are similar as two expert grapplers with limited striking. They are also both southpaws, but this fight will be most exciting duked out on the deck.
There will be some striking, but it will be to set up takedowns. As the fight goes to the floor, expect Puelles to scramble hunting a submission but we expect Leavitt’s wrestling to control the fight and maintain enough top position to earn a decision.
A submission is possible but Puelles’ jiu jitsu should be good enough to defend and despite Leavitt burying Wiman with a slam, it was his first knockout on a fighter who should have retired years ago.