Heavyweights
Marcin Tybura (17-5, -115) vs. Augusto Sakai (13-1-1, -105): The heavyweight division continues to sort itself out with this fight, which will not be particularly pretty. Poland’s Tybura hit some initial trouble in the form of Timothy Johnson in his UFC debut, but he did well to adapt. His previous grinding style did not look to net him much success against the larger fighters in the UFC, so he developed a decent striking game to round out things. That earned him a winning streak and even a headlining spot against Fabricio Werdum, but “Tybur” has seen his luck reverse, losing three of his last four fights. Two of those were come-from-behind affairs against Derrick Lewis and Shamil Abdurakhimov, so Tybura could still get back to his winning ways here. Sakai is an effective but not particularly exciting prospect, enough so that Bellator MMA cut him after his first career loss against Cheick Kongo. However, Sakai landed on his feet in the UFC, and he has done well in his two UFC bouts thus far, even if his wins over Chase Sherman and Andrei Arlovski did not exactly capture the imagination. Sakai is faster than his ample frame would suggest, but Tybura should be the quicker fighter on the feet in what should mostly be a kickboxing match. With that said, there is some intrigue surrounding whether or not Tybura decides to focus on his wrestling, given his previous struggles against larger opponents. Still, the pick is Tybura via decision in a slow-paced affair.Advertisement
Bantamweights
Miles Johns (8-0, -130) vs. Cole Smith (7-0, +110): Thanks to a lack of available footage, Smith was a mystery man upon his short-notice UFC debut, but the British Columbia native was a pleasant surprise, showing off some impressive skills on his way to a narrow win over Mitch Gagnon in May. This time around, he gets a hometown fight against a debuting Dana White’s Contender Series alum in Johns, who worked his way through the Legacy Fighting Alliance ranks before earning a contract. Smith has some decent range striking and some aggressive grappling without much in the way of connective tissue, so while he should have his moments, Johns’ approach is put together much better. Add in that Johns is the more powerful and quicker athlete, and this is the newcomer’s fight to lose, even though his gas tank may become a bit of a concern in the latter stretches of the fight. The pick is Johns via decision.Middleweights
Marvin Vettori (13-4-1, -300) vs. Andrew Sanchez (11-4, +250): This should be a fun fight between two middleweight prospects who looked to have turned the corner. Sanchez looked like he could move quickly up the ranks coming off “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2016, as he showed both a strong grappling game and knockout power. However, in fight after fight, Sanchez’s willingness to empty his gas tank would eventually cost him. There is no shame in a late loss to Anthony Smith, but giving up a fight to Ryan Janes was a huge warning sign. In his last two fights, Sanchez has at least shown a willingness to take his foot off the gas. While his cardio is still a bit of a concern, he has managed to see things through to the final horn and earn a decision win. He will take on Italy’s Vettori, who has been improving from fight to fight. Vettori came as close as anyone to upending the hype train of Israel Adesanya back in 2018. While “The Last Stylebender” has gone on to championship glory, Vettori was forced to serve a suspension due to a tainted supplement. At least “The Italian Dream” used the time well, as he showed a significantly improved pressure game in taking apart Cezar Ferreira in his return fight in July. It will be interesting to see if Sanchez can slow this down with his wrestling, but if he fails to do so, Vettori’s pace should eventually wear him out. The pick is Vettori via decision.Bantamweights
Brad Katona (8-1, -165) vs. Hunter Azure (7-0, +145): Katona has been a mildly interesting prospect since coming off “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2018. A Winnipeg, Manitoba, native who has since relocated to Ireland, “Superman” has developed a well-rounded set of skills. However, one of the drawbacks of being a jack of all trades and master of none is that opponents can press one particular strength, just as Merab Dvalishvili did in May. Katona found himself unable to find an answer to the Georgian’s relentless wrestling game. Katona is back for another fight on home soil, this time against a debuting Dana White’s Contender Series alum in Azure. A Montana native, Azure is an interesting prospect in his own right, owing to a strong wrestling base, and appears to have the aptitude and athleticism to develop into a top-tier talent. Azure could very well just rely on his wrestling to grind this one out, but the newcomer has his concerns. Whatever decent striking technique he has tends to go out the door as soon as Azure sees an opportunity for a finish, and his gas tank looks to be quite suspect. The latter point could hurt him here, as Katona looks to be his strongest opponent to date and the best equipped to neutralize Azure’s wrestling. Azure should have some success early, but the pick is Katona via decision.Featherweights
Jordan Griffin (17-6, -140) vs. Chas Skelly (17-4, +120): The UFC did well to re-book this fun fight, which fell apart shortly before UFC on ESPN 3 in June. Skelly has had an underrated amount of success -- including two wins in 13 days back in 2015 -- but the wheels may be falling off a bit for “The Scrapper.” Jason Knight and Bobby Moffett turned him back in his last two bouts, and it is also concerning that Skelly has spent most of the last two years on the shelf due to a cascade of injuries. After nearly a year off, he will look to get a return win over Griffin. An entertaining graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series, Griffin is more of an action fighter than any sort of championship contender. This fight should hinge on the grappling exchanges. Griffin can be outwrestled and that is Skelly’s preferred way to win a fight. At the same time, Skelly is not much of a control artist once he actually gets his hands on an opponent. Griffin has shown enough in the way of defensive skills that he can probably get out of any trouble Skelly tries to put him in, and if this fight winds up on the feet, Griffin’s aggression and pace should be enough to win rounds. The pick is Griffin via decision.Bantamweights
Louis Smolka (15-6, -220) vs. Ryan MacDonald (10-1, +180): It was nice to see Smolka make his way back to the Octagon late in 2018, since few fighters in recent memory have had such a precipitous fall. The Hawaiian was a rising contender in the flyweight division before suddenly suffering a 2016 loss to Brandon Moreno, at which point the wheels completely fell off. Smolka had some game performances but still wound up losing four straight fights and found himself out of the UFC. During his time on the regional scene, Smolka cleaned up his life -- this including kicking an alcohol habit -- and won fights until he got the call. He enjoyed a successful comeback, but his last fight against Matt Schnell did not go quite so well. He should be able to rebound against Nebraska’s MacDonald, who did not show much in his UFC debut against Chris Gutierrez in March. There is probably a decent fighter somewhere in there, but MacDonald fought such a low level of competition prior to his UFC callup that it is difficult to find someone who will not overwhelm him on the main roster. Smolka should be able to press his grappling advantages and win this rather handily. The pick is Smolka via first-round submission.Lightweights
Austin Hubbard (10-3, -145) vs. Kyle Prepolec (12-6, +125): Two lightweights look to bounce back from debut losses here. Ontario’s Prepolec did not make his debut under the best circumstances. Mostly a career lightweight, he stepped in at welterweight on a week’s notice to take on Nordine Taleb and did not show much. He now returns to 155 pounds against Hubbard, who was signed shortly after capturing the Legacy Fighting Alliance lightweight crown and did well to survive three rounds against Davi Ramos in May, even if it was not a particularly competitive effort. This will be an interesting contrast in styles, as Prepolec looks to favor constant activity while Hubbard is more of a patient counterpuncher. Hubbard is the more consistent fighter, so the pick is for him to land the harder shots of the fight and earn a decision.Related Articles
