Lightweights
Natan Levy (8-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. Pete Rodriguez (5-1, 1-1 UFC)This should be an enjoyable ride for as long as it lasts. It will be interesting to see if Israel’s Levy can hone his approach into something more focused, but it is hard to complain about the excitement he has brought to the cage thus far. Levy is obviously a top-tier athlete and leverages those abilities to make his game effective. It is unclear what Levy will try from moment to moment, whether it is a spinning strike or a low-percentage submission, but it comes with enough speed and power that he is almost always a threat to his opponent. The inefficiency of that approach means that Levy is usually gassed by the latter stretches of his fights, but he has been able to coast to decision wins in his last two appearance as he continues to compete through that exhaustion. Next up for Levy is Rodriguez, who is looking to keep his head above water in the UFC while he learns on the job. “Dead Game” has some potential as a knockout artist, but he came to the UFC on late notice in early 2022 and is about as raw a prospect as you will find at this level. His entire pre-UFC career consisted of about five minutes of fight time, and Rodriguez still has not had a pro bout hit the three-minute mark. Levy might not take the cleanest route to a win, but he is a much quicker athlete than anyone Rodriguez has faced thus far and should be able to catch him off-guard, whether on the feet or by leaning on a clear wrestling and grappling advantage. The pick is Levy via first-round knockout.
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McGee vs. Brown
Williams vs. Sherman
Stamann vs. Silva de Andrade
Levy vs. Rodriguez
Kim vs. Bohm
Green vs. Battle
Clark vs. Lisboa