Ferguson vs Gaethje because Khabib and Tony will never fight. Gaethje has been stopped by an accumulation of body shots that led to going back upstairs and being finished ala Eddie Alvarez. Poirier also, similarly used his range and reach and combination of weapons to put Gaethje away late in the fight. Gaethje has famously predicted he'll either put Ferguson away early or get choked out late, and while that is a sensible prediction on his part, no man with his level of success is the mindless brawler he purports himself to be. I think much like McGregor he is a shrewd tactician and much smarter fight IQ wise than he is given credit. That being said Ferguson has a ton of damaging weapons and a style that both damages and drains his opponents. I'm interested to see either man face Khabib as Gaethje is a dangerous puncher who doesn't need kicks to win fights (thus better suited to defend the takedown) and Ferguson can keep a pace despite being hurt on the ground that would wear on Khabib late in the fight.
At any rate, they're fighting one another and my pick is Ferguson. Ferguson's make weight campaign even after the event was canacelled was a real mind warfare flex move. Ferguson is the type of multi-faceted striker who has beaten Gaethje previously (kicks+ knees+range punches+ elbows) rather than the basic kick+ punch rudimentary kickboxers you tend to see in MMA.
I could see Ferguson punshing Gaethje and being punished in return and locking up a Darce late in the fight.
Cejudo vs Cruz: wow. Cruz really comes out of the woodwork to jump back into 5 round fights. If he dethrones Cejudo, Cruz goes down at the best bantamweight of all time (he already is and newer fans forget just for how long he ruled the roost). Cruz's gameplan has changed little in years and that razor thin decision winnning gameplan ultimately got exposed by Garbrandt (I actually thought Cruz won that fight or barely lost depending how you scored one of the rounds). Cruz has one of the most studied games in MMAas evidenced by how Dillashaw and Garbrandt and others have borrowed elements of what he does. I HATE betting on fights on guys coming off of long layoffs, but Cruz has demonstrated previously that he can jump back into top flight competition. Cejudo is not invincible, as evidenced by the fights with Mighty Mouse. A true mixed martial artist can find success against Cejudo in transition and he is not impossible to take down or punish. He is however young in his MMA career and still can weather those scary spots and pour it on shortly thereafter. Cejudo has come a long way from being stopped by a knee to the body by Mighty Mouse to then beat him later but I suspect Mighty Mouse had more to due with title fatigue and feeling unappreciatd by US audiences as much as it did with Cejudo's growth as a fighter. Cejudo has only grown in skill and confidence but his comical coaching staff I suspect will utlimately be his downfall as happened with Rousey who eventually saw that lack of top flight preparation cost her when her natural skills and carryover wrestling attritbutes failed. I do not trust Cejudo's camp and head coach but I implicitly trust Cruz's analysis of fighters and ability to prepare a fight came down to the razor's edge (much like hearing Kavanaugh or McGregor discuss the nuances of fighting and preparation). My pick is Cruz by fairly dominant decision as an increasingly desparate Cejudo chases him around the cage over the course of the last 2 rounds.
Ngannou vs Rozenstruick: Wow. Someone is going to sleep. I don't typically bet on HW fights for just that reason. Ngannou has more mileage but the edge in experience obviously, but we've seen time and time again in HW fights that in the weight class where the first punch landed can lead to the last a few seconds later that matters much less than in other weight classes. I'm gonna give this one to Rozenstruick as he takes the new moniker as the fearsome puncher no one wants to get CTE from.
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