UFC on ESPN 9: Woodley vs Burns Predictions:
Woodley vs Burns: It's easy to forget Woodley's dominance after that smashing he got from Usman. Different theories have been floated such as burnout from being champ or dividing his time between other opportunities and actually just training to remain champ. Burns however has only looked better since no longer cutting an insane amount of weight. Does Burns have the heat in his hands to face down the bazooka one punch one shot Woodley power? I don't see Burns taking Woodley down as Woodley fights diligently backing up to line you up for that one shot punch to wobble of KO you. Woodley will also fight as boring a fight as possible to minimize risk taking.
Woodley by split decision.
Ivanov vs Sakai - Ivanov debuted in the UFC with a 5 round fight with Cigano. If that doesn't tell you he's top tier HW then I don't know what to tell you. He used more of his takedowns and grappling in Bellator to batter lesser skilled fighters but as of his UFC career has spent more time in kickboxing battles. Would love to see him go back to that wheelhouse but we may just get him looking to win the majority of 3 rounds standing up in this one. Sakai is no walkover prospect (in the eyes of UFC fans who don't know him). His only loss is a split decision to Kongo. He's 3-0 in the UFC with 2 stoppages. That being said, Ivanov is a slick veteran who has fought all over the world after a hiatus due to being stabbed nearly to death by gangsters. Ivanov has wone the PFL and WSOF belt. He was runner up in the Bellator HW tournament. Ivanov picks this one via split decision in a close fight. His best path to winning is using his comparable grappling to drag Sakai to the mat and not test the striking acumen of Sakai that recently put away Tybura.
Cifers vs Dern - Dern will drag this one to the mat and win by armbar.
Chookagian vs Schevchenko - Chookagian by decision in a mirror of her losing title fight effort.
Tim Elliott vs someone - I'd really like to see Elliott get back on track as I've always been a fan of his style and wild man skillset. Elliott by submission.
Louis Smolka vs someone - Also a big fan of Smolka and his submission wins. Hopefully he resists the urge to scrap on the feet and gets it to the mat and slaps on a submission
Woodley vs Burns: It's easy to forget Woodley's dominance after that smashing he got from Usman. Different theories have been floated such as burnout from being champ or dividing his time between other opportunities and actually just training to remain champ. Burns however has only looked better since no longer cutting an insane amount of weight. Does Burns have the heat in his hands to face down the bazooka one punch one shot Woodley power? I don't see Burns taking Woodley down as Woodley fights diligently backing up to line you up for that one shot punch to wobble of KO you. Woodley will also fight as boring a fight as possible to minimize risk taking.
Woodley by split decision.
Ivanov vs Sakai - Ivanov debuted in the UFC with a 5 round fight with Cigano. If that doesn't tell you he's top tier HW then I don't know what to tell you. He used more of his takedowns and grappling in Bellator to batter lesser skilled fighters but as of his UFC career has spent more time in kickboxing battles. Would love to see him go back to that wheelhouse but we may just get him looking to win the majority of 3 rounds standing up in this one. Sakai is no walkover prospect (in the eyes of UFC fans who don't know him). His only loss is a split decision to Kongo. He's 3-0 in the UFC with 2 stoppages. That being said, Ivanov is a slick veteran who has fought all over the world after a hiatus due to being stabbed nearly to death by gangsters. Ivanov has wone the PFL and WSOF belt. He was runner up in the Bellator HW tournament. Ivanov picks this one via split decision in a close fight. His best path to winning is using his comparable grappling to drag Sakai to the mat and not test the striking acumen of Sakai that recently put away Tybura.
Cifers vs Dern - Dern will drag this one to the mat and win by armbar.
Chookagian vs Schevchenko - Chookagian by decision in a mirror of her losing title fight effort.
Tim Elliott vs someone - I'd really like to see Elliott get back on track as I've always been a fan of his style and wild man skillset. Elliott by submission.
Louis Smolka vs someone - Also a big fan of Smolka and his submission wins. Hopefully he resists the urge to scrap on the feet and gets it to the mat and slaps on a submission
No comments:
Post a Comment