Bantamweights
Batgerel Danaa (12-4, 3-3 UFC) vs. Brady Hiestand (6-2, 1-1 UFC)Hiestand continues to learn on the job. The runner-up on Season 29 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, “Bam Bam” impressed on the show but remains extremely raw; the 23-year-old’s pre-UFC run consisted of only a few fights, mainly against weak competition. Hiestand is at his best fighting with pure aggression to get to his wrestling and grappling but without much thought in the way of defense or nuance. His first post-UFC fight, a November win over Fernie Garcia, mostly sums up the Hiestand experience. He almost immediately got knocked out in the first minute of the bout but eventually embraced the grind to get a decision victory. He gets a big step up in level of competition here against Mongolia’s Danaa, even if there are some advantages in the style matchup that Hiestand might be able to leverage open. Danaa was a bit of an afterthought as part of the UFC’s efforts to add talent from mainland Asia, but “Storm” eventually carved out a surprising niche as a brutal knockout artist, mostly behind his signature left hook. Danaa has become a bit more of a one-dimensional headhunter, as he has fallen in love with the knockout and hit a wall as a result, dropping his last two fights. Danaa can also tire over the long haul, which means this fight figures to go one of two ways. Hiestand can outwrestle Danaa to a decision win or even a late finish, but there is also the huge risk that he immediately runs into a knockout punch. Danaa is the much more proven fighter and is also the most dangerous opponent Hiestand has ever seen, so he gets the nod. The pick is Danaa via first-round knockout.
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Danaa vs. Hiestand