Flyweights
Denys Bondar (14-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Carlos Hernandez (8-2, 1-1 UFC)The UFC has consistently added flyweight talent in recent times, and Bondar’s return gives the company another interesting name to throw into the mix. Ukraine’s “Psycho” has a fun approach built around all-out aggression, striking his way into close quarters and then looking to outscramble his opponents until he finds a finish. That worked well on the regional scene, and Malcolm Gordon set up as a solid opponent for Bondar’s 2022 UFC debut. However, the action never really got out of the gates before Bondar suffered a gruesome arm injury in a scramble that brought the fight to a sudden end. Now healed about a year and a half later, Bondar gets a second chance to make a first impression. Hernandez is a well-rounded fighter who is essentially the archetypical flyweight looking to scrap and keep up a pace in all phases of the fight. It has been a double-edged sword in the UFC. He successfully outworked Victor Altamirano but quickly got tapped out by Allan Nascimento. The bet is that Bondar can get to work quickly enough to lead the fight and find a submission of his own, with the caveat that the Ukrainian still has plenty of question marks in terms of moving up a level in competition and how the injury layoff has affected him. The pick is Bondar via second-round submission.
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Barcelos vs. Johns
Costa vs. Flick
Quinonez vs. Kang
Bondar vs. Hernandez
Zhumagulov vs. Bunes
Bleda vs. Fernandes
Lawrence vs. Argueta
Bukauskas vs. Pauga