Welterweights
Yusaku Kinoshita (6-2, 0-1 UFC) vs. Billy Goff (8-2, 0-0 UFC)Kinoshita really could use a rebound. Freshly turned 23 years old, Kinoshita figured to help lead the newest wave of Japanese talent in the UFC after earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022; his win on the show was not the smoothest, but the ending showed the type of brutal firepower Kinoshita can bring to the table, as he landed a beautiful third-round knockout. Consensus was that Kinoshita’s UFC debut against Adam Fugitt in February would be smooth sailing. Instead, Fugitt pulled off the massive upset, leaning on his durability and applying plenty of pressure to take Kinoshita out of his comfort zone and score a finish on the mat. This fight against a UFC newcomer in Goff, another 2022 DWCS alum, is Kinoshita’s second chance to make a first impression, as it looks to be a similar matchup to the Fugitt fight. Goff is a fairly straightforward pressure fighter with some power who, like Fugitt, leans on his durability to get things done. It is almost impressive how often Goff nearly gets finished early, only to storm back and eventually find a win. This is basically a coinflip, as Kinoshita might have the knockout power to succeed where others have failed in terms of sparking Goff. However, given each man’s recent fights, it is also hard not to pick a redux of both, with Goff making a comeback and finding a finish. The pick is Goff via first-round stoppage.
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Cortes-Acosta vs. Brzeski
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Kinoshita vs. Goff
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