Bantamweights
Daniel Marcos (15-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. Qileng Aori (25-11, 3-3 UFC)Marcos proved to be an exciting and UFC-ready fighter in 2023, so it is nice to see him back in the cage. He showed up on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022 and became the latest Peruvian fighter to overachieve relative to his regional film. In Marcos’ case, his DWCS fight marked his return from a two-and-a-half-year layoff where he looked impressively sharp. That is essentially the sum of Marcos’ game, as he looks to keep throwing volume in the hopes of overwhelming his opponents. He blew through Saimon Oliveira in his UFC debut early in 2022 and somewhat surprisingly walked away with a decision win over Davey Grant in July. Marcos has tried to keep active but had multiple opponents fall through in the back half of last year, eventually landing here against Aori. The 30-year-old Aori is also a fighter who brings the action, as he has earned his “Mongolian Murderer” nickname, though he has had more struggles during his time on the UFC roster. Initially a high-powered flyweight with clear cardio issues, Aori moved up to 135 pounds in 2022 and became a much more consistently effective fighter, though he is still struggling to rein things in. At this point, he seems more comfortable striking with counters, though a June knockout loss to Aiemann Zahabi showed that he is vulnerable to a sharp counter coming back the other way. Aori looks to be the harder shot-for-shot hitter, but Marcos appears to be the much more comfortable fighter in a fast-paced brawl. Add in the Peruvian’s durability, and it seems like Marcos should be able to find a knockout as long as he keeps up the pace and keeps exchanges going. The pick is Marcos via second-round knockout.
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Giles vs. Prates
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Marcos vs. Aori