UFC Vegas 96 Predictions

It's that time of the week when I make some predictions.

PRELIMS:

Cong Wang(5-0) V Victoria Leonardo(9-5)

We start with a bit of a lay-up in the women’s flyweight division. Cong Wang is coming in to make her debut after a win on Road to UFC. She has a win over Valentina Shevchenko in kickboxing and is someone with real potential. She faces Leonardo, who has struggled in the UFC, going 1-3, with her only win against Mandy Böhm, which isn’t anything impressive. Feels safe to say Wang wins and potentially with a finish.

Prediction: Wang by KO R3

Zygimantas Ramaska(9-2) V Nathan Fletcher(8-1)

This could be a fun fight with two guys coming from The TUF house. Ramaska was meant to have a chance to get to the final but lost the place as he wasn’t medically cleared for that fight during TUF filming. Fletcher lost his fight to finalist Kaan Ofli but is a promising fighter and has good experience in Cage Warriors. Ramaska likes to finish, and Fletcher is strong on the ground, so this fight can hopefully bring some fun and young fighters to the featherweight division. I’ve seen more of Fletcher and think he lost to someone in Ofli who will be in the UFC anyway, even if he loses his final fight.

Prediction: Fletcher by DEC

Josiane Nunes(10-2) V Jacqueline Cavalcanti(6-1)

This fights a fairly hard one to predict. Nunes is a small pitbull who throws heavy and hard whereas Cavalcanti is rangy and will want to use her reach and height to her advantage. Nunes has more experience in the UFC and think usually knows how to use her style well and could cause Cavalcanti to get confused.

Prediction: Nunes by DEC

Viacheslav Borshchev(7-4-1) V James Llontop(14-3)

Seemingly smart matchup of two guys who like to strike and hate wrestling. Borshchev has some real power and I think we see him get an early finish. Llontop will want to get his first win in the UFC so he should also bring it and we could see just big strikes and no defence.

Prediction: Borshchev by KO R2

José Medina(11-3) V Zach Reese(7-1)

This one has me weirdly excited for no reason other than that it should be funny, low-level MMA. Zach Reese is huge and rangy, and all his fights have ended in the first. Medina was on the Contender Series up at 205 and lost but showed real heart, which is his main attribute, which I think could come in handy here. Reese should be able to walk through him, but Medina’s hard to finish if he survives an early onslaught of Reese, he might be able to catch him later in the fight the more tired Reese is.

Prediction: Reese by KO R1

Dennis Buzukja(12-4) V Francis Marshall(7-2)

Fairly competitive fight between Buzukja and Marshall. They have had a similar time in the UFC with winning one fight and losing two. Buzukja likes to strike and Marshall likes to wrestle so this could be a back and forth fight with both guys finding success. I feel Marshall has fought the harder opponents and even though he’s coming in short notice I feel he will handle Buzukja well.

Prediction: Marshall by DEC

MAIN CARD:

Edmen Shahbazyan(13-4) V Gerald Meerschaert(36-17)

Two guys who have been around the middleweight division kick off the main card. Classic striker vs grappler matchup. Shahbazyan has struggled with people taking him down but is coming in on a win and will want to replicate his last fight. Meerschaert is a veteran and very good on the ground so its very possible he can get Shahbazyan on the ground and submit him.

Prediction: Shahbazyan by KO R2

Michael Morales(16-0) V Neil Magny(29-11)

Time for another Neil Magny test for an up-and-coming welterweight prospect. Morales has the potential and has won his fights, but he feels like he is missing one final thing that helps bring him to the next level. If he can handle Magny, then he will do well in the rankings. Magny will do what he usually does and clinch heavily, which will make it up to Morales not to fall into his game. I feel like Morales will show up for this fight as it is a real step up for him, and he wants to win well here.

Prediction: Morales by DEC

Kaan Ofli(11-2-1) V Mairon Santos(13-1)

In the final of the TUF32 featherweight division we have Kaan Ofli against Mairon Santos. I really like this matchup as both guys looked good on the Ultimate Fighter and we could see a high level fight here. Both guys are very well rounded. Hope both give a good account of themselves and see them both staying in the UFC no matter who wins or loses.

Prediction: Santos by DEC

Ryan Loder(6-1) V Robert Valentin(10-3)

In the middleweight final of TUF32 we have Loder against Valentin. It’s a classic grappler v striker matchup. Loder is a wrestler and not much else so that will be his plan of attack whereas Valentin is mainly a striker and he hits hard. I favour Valentin as I think he’s the overall better fighter and more exciting.

Prediction: Valentin by KO R2

Angela Hill(17-13) V Tabatha Ricci(10-2)

The co-main is a ranked straweight fight between Hill and Ricci. Hill is a gatekeeper of the divison who will most likely always be ranked but never really contend for the title. Ricci is still reasonably young and coming off a win after losing to Loopy Godinez. I think Hill has a better chance of winning but I do like Ricci so I think she gets it done.

Prediction: Ricci by DEC

Jared Cannonier(17-7) V Caio Borralho(16-1)

It's a big step up for Borralho here with Cannonier. Borralho fights out of Fighting Nerds, so he has a big name to uphold as a fighter for them. Cannonier will hope to get back in the win column after losing to Imavov last time out by a fairly early stoppage. Cannonier is always a contender in the division, so Borralho will need to step up and compete with him. I think Borralho will improve with the step up in competition and will shock Cannonier. Either way I do like this main event and think it should be a solid fight.

Prediction: Borralho by DEC