Lightweights
Mike Davis (9-2, 2-1 UFC) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (6-2, 1-1 UFC)It is nice to finally see Davis back in the Octagon. Davis first got on the greater radar with his Dana White’s Contender Series bout against Sodiq Yusuff in 2018. “Beast Boy” came out on the losing end but did so in an excellent three-round scrap that aged well with Yusuff’s subsequent success. Within a year, Davis got the call from the UFC as a late replacement in a tough spot against Gilbert Burns and has looked good ever since, though inactivity has kept him from gaining much in the way of momentum. Davis capped off 2019 with an uncomfortably extended shellacking of Thomas Gifford, then missed all of 2020 before kicking off 2021 with an absolute war against Mason Jones—a forgotten gem that saw him match a durable and persistent adversary every step of the way. Davis has the type of power and solid ideas to become a prospect to watch, but it is a bit worrying that he is coming off a nearly two-year layoff as a talent that needs experience more than anything else. He gets a potentially tough bout here. Borshchev was a late addition to the DWCS cast in 2021 and cashed in big on the opportunity with a knockout of Chris Duncan. While the early going of his proper UFC debut against Dakota Bush was a bit rough, “Slava Claus” closed the show with a shot to the liver that left people excited for whatever came next. As it turns out, that was a disheartening loss to Marc Diakiese in March that saw Borshchev never get going out of the gates, mostly thanks to his opponent’s grinding and control-heavy wrestling approach. This should be much more of a brawl, as Davis’ first idea seems to be to punch with his opponents and see if he can win a war of attrition. Davis seems durable enough to at least survive a battle on the feet, and if he does not come out ahead, he has historically shown an ability to wrestle as a change-up, which should cinch him the win. The pick is Davis via decision.
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Dern vs. Yan
Brown vs. Trinaldo
Barcelos vs. Jones
Yusuff vs. Shainis
Castaneda vs. Santos
The Prelims