Bantamweights
NR | Kris Moutinho (9-5) vs. NR | Guido Cannetti (8-6)Odds: Moutinho (-145), Cannetti (+125)
Well, Kris Moutinho certainly succeeded in making a name for himself in his UFC debut, though there are surely easier ways of doing so. Moutinho got the surprising late-notice call to make his UFC debut against Sean O’Malley in July, and figured to be light work as an opponent; Moutinho had been a fun regional fighter, but his messy aggression figured to set him up to eat a quick knockout. Come the fight, O'Malley did in fact get a one-sided win, but it took much more than anyone would've expected, as Moutinho ate an unholy amount of offense and just kept charging forward, absorbing shots until the fight was eventually stopped in the last minute of the third round. It was a memorable performance, such as it was, but with Moutinho now with his foot in the door of the UFC, he looks to score a win here against Guido Cannetti. Cannetti's quietly stuck around on the UFC roster since 2014, in part due to inactivity but also due to some well-timed wins over the years. Already 34 when he made his UFC debut, the Argentinian is an impressive athlete, riding a high-power striking game to his best moments. But now 42 years old, "Ninja" has shown the effects of age in recent years; he's leaned even more into a low-output approach, and his durability has abandoned him at moments, particularly in a 2020 knockout loss to Danaa Batgerel. Cannetti did manage to hang around for a split decision loss to Leomana Martinez in August, so there is some hope that he can ride out Moutinho's aggression and score a win, but with Moutinho seemingly being too durable for his own good, the American should eventually be able to tire Cannetti out through sheer attrition and take over from there. The pick is Moutinho via third-round stoppage.
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