Middleweights
Edmen Shahbazyan (8-0) vs. Charles Byrd (10-5): Whatever shine Shahbazyan is getting from the UFC is surely due to Ronda Rousey being his manager, but he is still an interesting prospect. It is hard to know what to make of him just yet, though. He was your typical quick knockout artist before his UFC debut, but said debut saw him strangely pivot to out-wrestling Darren Stewart for three rounds, exhausting himself in the process and still forcing Stewart into passivity. We will see how he shows up here in his sophomore effort against Byrd. A Fortis MMA product, Byrd’s rise through the ranks mostly saw him rely on his power and strength, as he would either wing big punches or bull his way through grappling exchanges, but he was showing a much more strategic and effective form before suffering a sudden knockout -- to Stewart of all people -- in his last fight. Shahbazyan’s trashy wrestling probably cannot get it done here against a stronger fighter in Byrd, though it is difficult to have much confidence in either guy. If Shahbazyan goes back to trying to win a firefight, that might be his best path to victory, but the call is for him to wear himself out in a more patient fashion, leading to a third-round Byrd stoppage. ODDS: Shahbazyan (-135), Byrd (+115)Women’s Bantamweights
Gina Mazany (5-2) vs. Macy Chiasson (3-0): The most recent season of “The Ultimate Fighter” probably was not worth the effort, but at least it dug up Chiasson, who looks to be the rare women’s bantamweight prospect with some potential. On a season built around potential knockouts, Chiasson was one of the few to provide them thanks to a vicious clinch game, but she also showed that she can use her frame on the ground, scoring a slick submission of Pannie Kianzad to win the season’s tournament. For her sophomore effort, Chiasson takes on Alaska’s Mazany, who has impressed relative to expectations thus far. Mazany had little in the way of meaningful experience before getting signed as a late injury replacement, but her grinding style has seen her beat Yanan Wu and hang tough with Lina Lansberg. Her tendency to go into the clinch will probably get her nuked here, and if not, Chiasson looked more than capable of catching her with some sort of choke. The pick is Chiasson via first-round submission. ODDS: Chiasson (-420), Mazany (+335)Bantamweights
Marlon Vera (12-5-1) vs. Frankie Saenz (13-5): Vera is an eternally frustrating prospect, and this is his latest chance to finally break through. Vera was a sentimental favorite on the inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America,” as he fought to raise money for his daughter’s surgery, but his performance inside the cage has been inconsistent. Thanks to starting his career so young, Vera has developed a style based on winning moments rather than rounds, so while he is capable of busting out some impressive finishes, if he finds himself outmatched, he tends to coast to a decision loss in frustrating fashion. Riding a two-fight winning streak, he could finally move up a tier with a win over Saenz, who has been shockingly successful for someone who made his UFC debut at age 34. Saenz is a fairly straight-ahead grinder with some solid boxing who looks to make fights ugly, and while he never quite got to the level that his huge 2015 upset of Iuri Alcantara suggested, he has hung around as a solid gatekeeper in a deep bantamweight division. Vera is more than capable of pulling off some sort of big submission or knockout blow, but Saenz should be able to control the balance of this fight and take a decision. ODDS: Vera (-220), Saenz (+180)Women’s Strawweights
Polyana Viana (10-2) vs. Hannah Cifers (8-3): Both of these strawweight prospects could really use a win here. Viana is theoretically interesting, as she has a strong Brazilian jiu-jitsu background and looked good blowing through competition in the Brazilian ranks, but her August loss to J.J. Aldrich badly exposed that she has no fallback plan beyond getting a quick finish. She takes on Cifers, who put forth a game effort in losing her UFC debut against Maycee Barber, but there are some questions about how her game is going to translate up a level. She has toughness and some natural knockout power, but she has a compact build and a fairly structureless approach to things. Aldrich is among the worst athletes on the roster -- even if she is a technically sound fighter -- and she managed to control Viana for 15 minutes, so it is entirely possible that Cifers can bull the Brazilian into the clinch and do the same thing. However, Cifers is also fully capable of making a defensive mistake, and Viana’s submission ability is worth banking on here. The pick is Viana via first-round submission. ODDS: Viana (-330), Cifers (+270)Related Articles
