UFC Fight Night Odds: Tuivasa vs Tybura Betting Analysis

UFC 299: O’Malley vs Vera 2 Betting Picks and Prediction | MMA Event

UFC heads to South Beach this weekend as Miami’s Kaseya Center is set to host UFC 299 on Saturday night. The headliner will feature Sean O’Malley defending his UFC Bantamweight Championship against Marlon Vera. Vera actually won their first meeting, back at UFC 252 in 2020, via TKO in the first round. In the co-main event, Benoit Saint Denis will meet former interim UFC Lightweight Champion Dustin Poirier. The main card will be available on pay per view, with the preliminary and early preliminary cards broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+. Read on for the complete fight card as well as our UFC 299 betting predictions about the top two fights.

Sean O’Malley -258 vs Marlon Vera +210

Sean O’Malley (17-1, 9-1 UFC) vs Marlon Vera (23-8-1, 15-7 UFC) is the latest step in O’Malley’s march toward long-term domination of his weight class. In his debut, he wasted a lot of energy but still beat Terrion Ware and then barely beat Andre Soukhamthath on the cards. He injured his foot in that win, though, and missing time for recovery and for drug-related suspensions, he vanished for a couple of years. During the time away, though, he developed his power punching game and beat Jose Quinonez and Eddie Wineland efficiently and ruthlessly. In his first fight against Vera, though, a kick led to a leg injury for O’Malley, and he could not fight through it and ended up getting finished. When he returned in 2021, UFC set him up with some tomato cans as a restart, but then a fight with Pedro Munhoz ended with an accidental eye poke. Next, he was matched with onetime champ Petr Yan, and he responded to the challenge by delivering some big bombs and winning on the cards. That made him a top contender, and he took the belt from Aljamain Sterling with a mammoth counter in the second round. While Merab Dvalishvili made a more logical title defense fight, the rematch with Vera has its own intrigue.

Vera lost his UFC debut to fellow Ultimate Fighter Latin America, falling easily on the cards. He built his striking game and earned his first win against Guangyou Ning. His competition improved, and so did Vera’s danger level, even if his results were uneven. He finished Brad Pickett and Brian Kelleher, but hardier athletes like Douglas Silva de Andrade and John Lineker were able to beat him. That win over O’Malley was his breakout, and then he knocked out Frankie Edgar in 2021. In that fight, he was behind on the cards before delivering the finish. Similar results against Rob Font and Dominick Cruz highlighted Vera’s reliance on landing big strikes to turn the tide in fights he was otherwise losing. If O’Malley can avoid Vera’s leg kicks this time around, he should be able to deliver enough volume to stack points.

Final Prediction: O’Malley wins via decision

Benoit Saint Denis 205 vs Dustin Poirier +170

Benoit Saint Denis (13-1, 5-1 UFC) vs Dustin Poirier (29-8, 21-7 UFC) will show us if Saint Denis is ready for legit contender status in the UFC Lightweight division. In 2021, he entered the promotion as an intriguing prospect, with more grappling prowess than striking talent. He had to move up to welterweight with little notice and got taken to the woodshed by Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. Taking a break and moving to 155 pounds were key steps, though. His grappling skills are now at UFC level, but what most observers notice is the inexorable pressure of his striking game. He excels at marching down opponents and either using a blitz approach to deliver a finish or wait for his opponent’s defenses to show a crack. He demolished Thiago Moises and Matt Frevola in violent fashion.

Poirier is on the edge of contender status, but his loss to Justin Gaethje and the difficulties of scheduling Islam Makhachev make moving up to actual contender status difficult. He has been part of UFC for 15 years and first earned his stardom with a highlight-reel fight in 2012 against The Korean Zombie. However, a knockout loss to Conor McGregor sealed his fate at 145 pounds. He moved up to lightweight and found that his power-speed combo was more effective. He did take a bad knockout from Michael Johnson but then beat Gaethje in a war. He lost title bouts to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira but did beat McGregor in back-to-back succession. His 2023 rematch with Gaethje ended in a head kick knockout for Poirier. Saint Denis is dangerous here, but in a five-round fight, cardio is key, and Saint Denis could run out of gas. In a close fight like this, I’m going with the experience and the value.

Final Prediction: Poirier wins via stoppage

UFC 299 Main Card

• Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera (UFC Bantamweight Championship)
• Dustin Poirier vs Benoit Saint Denis (Lightweight)
• Kevin Holland vs Michael Page (Welterweight)
• Gilbert Burns vs Jack Della Maddalena (Welterweight)
• Petr Yan vs Song Yadong (Bantamweight)

UFC 299 Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)

• Curtis Blaydes vs Jailton Almeida (Heavyweight)
• Katlyn Cerminara vs Maycee Barber (Women’s Flyweight)
• Mateusz Gamrot vs Rafael dos Anjos (Lightweight)
• Pedro Munhoz vs Kyler Phillips (Bantamweight)

UFC 299 Early Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)

• Ion Cutelaba vs Philipe Lins (Light Heavyweight)
• Michel Pereira vs Michal Oleksiejczuk (Middleweight)
• Robelis Despaigne vs Josh Parisian (Heavyweight)
• C.J. Vergara vs Assu Almabayev (Flyweight)
• Joanne Wood vs Maryna Moroz (Women’s Flyweight)

UFC Fight Night Betting Analysis: Moreno vs Royval 2 in UFC Mexico

UFC heads south of the border on Saturday night, as Arena CDMX in Mexico City will host UFC Fight Night 237. The main event is a rematch between former UFC Flyweight champ Brandon Moreno and one-time title challenger Brandon Royval, who held the LFA Flyweight belt before coming to UFC. Moreno won their first matchup by TKO in the first round at UFC 255 in November 2020. The co-headliner is another rematch as one-time title challenger Brian Ortega will face former interim UFC Featherweight champ Yair Rodriguez. Rodriguez won their first fight at UFC on ABC: Ortega vs Rodriguez via TKO in the first round as Ortega suffered a shoulder injury. You can catch the whole night’s action on ESPN+. We have the complete fight card for you as well as UFC betting predictions for the top two bouts.

Brandon Moreno -270 vs Brandon Royval +220

Brandon Moreno (21-7-2, 9-4-2 UFC) vs Brandon Royval (15-7, 5-3 UFC) is a rematch that was aloready trending in Moreno’s direction before Royval had to withdraw late in the first round due to injury. Moreno rode that momentum to a title bout with Deiveson Figueiredo, which turned into a highlight-reel draw. The rematch happened swiftly, leading to an historic four-championship fight series. The two passed the belt back and forth until Moreno beat Figueiredo in Brazil early in 2023. He lost his belt to Alexandre Pantoja, but if he can get the win against Royval, he will be right on the edge of the title picture again.

Royval has seen a lot of ups and downs since he met Moreno the first time. He took nine months to come back from the injury in his loss to Moreno, and Pantoja beat him easily in his return. He then worked on retooling his game, and then put together three straight wins to get a title shot against Pantoja. That streak included a win on the cards over Rogerio Bontorin, but he was so tentative that the judges almost voted against him. The next two wins, over Matt Schnell and Matheus Nicolau, were more highlight-worthy, but Royval just took advantage of Schnell’s overextension and found a crack in Nicolau’s defenses. Pantoja ended up just holding Royval in different wrestling positions, doing just enough to win on the cards. Royval has the length to take advantage of unwise aggression on Moreno’s part, but Moreno has an edge in the ground game here.

Final Prediction: Moreno wins via submission

Yair Rodriguez -166 vs Brian Ortega +140

Yair Rodriguez (19-4, 10-3 UFC) vs Brian Ortega (15-3, 7-3 UFC) is the next step in a unique progression for Ortega, who has advanced largely with his elite wrestling skills. He started his UFC career with a seven-fight winning streak but needed finishes to win all of them as he was behind on the cards in all of his fights. He earned a title challenge in 2018 against Max Holloway, and Holloway took him to the woodshed. An injury kept him out of the Octagon for two years, and when he returned, he had learned how to incorporate a striking game, which he used to stack up points and beat The Korean Zombie on the cards. He got another title fight, this time against Alexander Volkanovski, but while he was able to get the champ in a guillotine choke, Volkanovski somehow escaped and delivered a beating. Ortega then met Rodriguez, and Rodriguez was ahead on the cards before an armbar hurt Ortega’s shoulder. Nineteen months later, Ortega is back.

That win launched Rodriguez into contender status. He developed a reputation for creativity and athlieticism, but Franke Edgar put the clamps on all of that, bringing a wrestling game that ended things quickly. By 2018, it looked like Rodriguez was on the way out, but then he delivered a no-look elbow to knock out The Korean Zombie, lost to Holloway and then beat Ortega. That got him an interim title bout against Josh Emmett in early 2023, and Rodriguez dismantled Emmett. That led to a title bout against Volkanovski, which did not go well for him. Can Rodriguez avoid submission? He has the stamina to do it, and this fight takes place at elevation.

Final Prediction: Rodriguez wins via decision

UFC Fight Night Main Card at ESPN+

• Brandon Moreno vs Brandon Roybal (Flyweight)
• Yair Rodriguez vs Brian Ortega (Featherweight)
• Daniel Zellhuber vs Francisco Prado (Lightweight)
• Raul Rosas Jr vs Ricky Turcios (Bantamweight)
• Yazmin Jauregui vs Sam Hughes (Women’s Strawweight)
• Manuel Torres vs Chris Duncan (Lightweight)

UFC Fight Night Preliminary Card at ESPN+

• Christian Quinonez vs Raoni Barcelos (Bantamweight)
• Jesus Santos Aguilar vs Mateus Mendonca (Flyweight)
• Edgar Chairez vs Daniel Lacerda (Flyweight)
• Claudio Puelles vs Fares Ziam (Lightweight)
• Luis Rodriguez vs Denys Bondar (Flyweight)
• Victor Altamirano vs Felipe dos Santos (Flyweight)
• Erik Silva vs Muhammad Naimov (Featherweight)

UFC Fight Night 238: Rozenstruik vs Gaziev Fight Overview and Picks

UFC returns to Las Vegas this weekend as the UFC Apex center will host Fight Night 238, set for Saturday night. This card was originally scheduled for Saudi Arabia, but the hosting organization opted to wait for a more high-profile set of fights, so the promotion’s debut in that country will likely happen in the summer. The main event is a heavyweight tilt between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Shamil Gaziev. Vitor Petrino meets Tyson Pedro in a light heavyweight fight in the co-headliner. The whole night’s action will broadcast on ESPN+.

Read on to find the full card as well as our UFC betting predictions for the top two fights.

Betting UFC Fight Night 238: Rozenstruik vs Gaziev Fight Overview and Picks

Main Card (ESPN+)

Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Shamil Gaziev (Heavyweight)

Vitor Petrino vs Tyson Pedro (Light Heavyweight)

Alex Perez vs Muhammad Mokaev (Flyweight)

Umar Nurmagomedov vs Bekzat Almakhan (Bantamweight)

Matt Schnell vs Steve Erceg (Flyweight)

Preliminary Card (ESPN+)

Eryk Anders vs Jamie Pickett (Middleweight)

Vinicius Oliveira vs Bernardo Sopaj (Bantamweight)

Aiemann Zahabi vs Javid Basharat (Bantamweight)

Christian Leroy Duncan vs Claudio Ribeiro (Middleweight)

Ludovit Klein vs AJ Cunningham (Lightweight)

Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs Loik Radzhabov (Lightweight)

Jairzinho Rozenstruik (13-5, 7-5 UFC, +124) vs Shamil Gaziev (12-0, 1-0 UFC, -148) is Gaziev’s chance to get a breakout in just his second fight in the promotion. He got a convincing win in September on Dana White’s Contender Series, using a series of quick finishes that reflected his career-long trend. He has only had one fight go the distance, a split-decision win back in 2022. By the end of that fight, he looked completely drained, but his UFC debut may have done enough to allay concerns about stamina. He fought Martin Buday and delivered the second-round finish; the fact that he could finish so quickly against a heavyweight with Buday’s reputation for durability should be seen as a good sign. 

Rozenstruik has become UFC’s gatekeeper to the elite in the heavyweight division. He started his own UFC ascent with four straight wins in ten months, finishing with a knockout of Alistair Overeem. He relies heavily on counters in his striking, which can lead to lengthy stretches without much action. This desire to wait for opportunities has not paid off well against the division’s top ten, as his fights at this level basically come down to whether his late gambits work or not. Gaziev is the slight favorite, but given his lack of defensive savvy, Rozenstruik should have opportunities to deliver damage, so I’m going with the slight edge in value.

Final Prediction: Rozenstruik wins via knockout

Vitor Petrino (10-0, 3-0 UFC, -298) vs Tyson Pedro (10-4, 6-4 UFC, +240) is the next step in Petrino’s potential march toward contender status. His style to this point has seen him push forward with pressure, looking for the knockout, but over the last year he has also shown the ability to take down opponents and try for the submission. In his UFC debut, he beat Anton Turkalj in a chaotic struggle that saw both of them surrender several positions in grappling and wrestling exchanges, but Petrino remains unbeaten. Can he extend that streak against Pedro?

Pedro has been part of UFC since 2016, and he used a solid clinch and wrestling game to beat Khalil Rountree and Paul Craig in succession to open his time in the promotion. The comparative lack of Australian stars led UFC to give him some opponents for whom he was not yet ready, and so Ilir Latifi, Ovince St. Preux and Mauricio Rua all taught him some lessons. He hurt his knee in the loss to Rua, and the ensuing drama led to an absence of almost four years. Since he came back, he showed an improved striking game in victories over Isaac Villanueva and Harry Hunsucker, but when Modestas Bukauskas made it past the first round, he exposed Pedro’s lack of stamina; he still has yet to win a fight that goes past the opening three minutes. His win over Turkalj in September also came quickly, but it showed that Pedro might be able to take early advantage of Petrino’s pressure. Given Petrino’s track record of success against a number of other similar fighters, though, he is the worthy favorite here.

Final Prediction: Petrino wins via stoppage

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UFC 298 Betting Analysis: Volkanovski vs Topuria Featherweight Championship | MMA Event

MMA’s premier promotion heads to Anaheim, California, this Saturday for UFC 298 at the Honda Center. In the headliner, UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski will defend his title against Ilia Topuria. The co-main event pits Robert Whittaker against Paulo Costa in a middleweight tilt. The main card will be available on pay per view, and you can watch the preliminary and early preliminary cards on ESPN+. Read on to find the full fight card and our sports betting predictions for the top two fights.

Alexander Volkanovski -118 vs Ilia Topuria -102

Alexander Volkanovski (26-3) vs Ilia Topuria (14-0) is Volkanovski’s second title fight in as many appearances as he got a last-minute shot against UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev. He didn’t do so well in that matchup and may be showing signs of age. He has spent his career overcoming low expectations, though. He came in from Australia and dismantled his early opposition, but it was his comeback win over Chad Mendes in 2018 that showed his potential as a contender. He got an even more impressive win in his next victory as he had to fight against his usual strategy and use a range striking game to stop Jose Aldo. He followed that up with a beating of Max Holloway that brought him his belt. In his defense fights, he has escaped from a guillotine choke to beat Brian Ortega, run over Chan Sung Jung, and delivered an emphatic win over Max Holloway in their trilogy fight. Can he bounce back from the struggle with Makhachev and defend his belt?

Topuria entered UFC in 2020 as a last-minte replacement; in his debut, he outwrestled Youssef Zalal, but he was really impressive in his next win, a boxing-heavy win over Damon Jackson. He almost lost to Jai Herbert when weight cut issues pushed him up to 155 pounds, but he turned the tables and delivered a mighty knockout. His later fights showed a combination of striking power and wrestling savvy, but Volkanovski is a major upgrade in terms of opponent talent. If Volkanovski is just past his prime, this could be Topuria’s fight for the taking. However, Volkanovski has struggled mentally with last-minute fights, and that could have played a role against Makhachev.

Final Prediction: Volkanovski wins via decision.

Robert Whittaker -225 vs Paulo Costa +185

Robert Whittaker (24-7) vs Paulo Costa (14-2) brings us an all-time fighter in Whittaker, who really started to take off after moving up from welterweight. The change brought him an advantage in terms of cardio and striking speed. He earned contender status by beating Derek Brunson 2016, and his wrestling skill in his win over Jacare Souza really set him apart. He beat Yoel Romero to grab the interim title. After that, though, his title unification fight never came, and then major injuries pushed off title defenses against Kelvin Gastelum and Luke Rockhold. When he finally got to defend his belt, Israel Adesanya knocked him out in the second round. A loss to Dricus du Plessis has complicated Whittaker’s path to a belt, but beating Costa is the next step.

Costa entered UFC full of muscle and ready to establish himself as a power puncher. He got a title shot when he beat Romero on the cards, marching after him and winning with strikes. Since then, he has only fought three times in the last four and a half years; in his title shot against Adesanya, he took a second-round knockout and blamed the outcome on a wine hangover. He lost at 205 pounds to Marvin Vettori but at least looked better with his power, even if his cardio was off. It was another year before he would fight again, this time against Luke Rockhold. Given his cardio issues in recent years, it’s hard to see Costa stopping Whittaker.

Final Prediction: Whittaker wins via decision

UFC 298 Main Card (Pay Per View)

• Alexander Volkanovski vs Ilia Topuria (UFC Featherweight Championship)
• Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa (Middleweight)
• Geoff Neal vs Ian Machado Garry (Welterweight)
• Merab Dvalishvili vs Henry Cejudo (Bantamweight)
• Anthony Hernandez vs Roman Kopylov (Middleweight)

 

UFC 298 Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)

• Amanda Lemos vs Mackenzie Dern (Women’s Strawweight)
• Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs Justin Tafa (Heavyweight)
• Rinya Nakamura vs Carlos Vera (Bantamweight)
• Zhang Mingyang vs Brendson Ribeiro (Light Heavyweight)

 

UFC 298 Early Preliminary Card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)

• Josh Quinlan vs Danny Barlow (Welterweight)
• Oban Elliott vs Val Woodburn (Welterweight)
• Andrea Lee vs Miranda Maverick (Women’s Flyweight)

 

UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs Pyfer Betting Picks and Prediction | MMA Event

UFC will return to the Las Vegas area for Fight Night 236, with Jack Hermansson and Joe Pyfer squaring off in the main event. The co-headliner is a featherweight showdown between Dan Ige and Andre Fili. The event is set for the UFC Apex facility, and you can catch all of the action on ESPN+. Read on to get the full fight card as well as our UFC betting predictions on the top two fights.

Jack Hermansson +200 vs Joseph Pyfer -245

Hermansson (23-8, 10-6) vs Pyfer (12-2, 3-0) is Pyfer’s shot at moving from a prospect to a possible contender. He needed two stints on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn a UFC contract, and once he finally figured out his technique, he has impressed observers with his clean technique. His frame is sizable, and he brings big bombs, which helped him knock out Alen Amedovski and Gerald Meerschaert quickly. He used a solid grappling and wrestling game to submit Abdul Razak Alhassan in the second round. This combination of power and technique will cause problems for others in the middleweights as well. But is he ready for Jack Hermansson?

Hermansson has long been left on the outside of the circle of middleweight contenders. When he joined UFC, he had an effective striking game that could veer off into awkwardness at the wrong time. He changed his approach to ground-and-pound in 2017, and while it took a while to work, in 2019 he needed less than a minute to tap David Branch. He followed that up with his first main event win in UFC, stopping Ronaldo Souza. However, Jared Cannonier beat him in Copenhagen, and Hermansson has spent his time since then alternating victories and defeats for four years. He has a hard time with opponents who bring consistency and strength. However, when he can deliver a blow that opens things wide open, Hermansson can win in highlight-reel fashion, as we saw when he submitted Kelvin Gastelum and used his reach to demolish Chris Curtis. Pyfer might not be able to track Hermansson down, but he could find an opening and wind things up with a finish.

Final Prediction: Pyfer wins via submission

Dan Ige -175 vs Andre Fili +145

Ige (17-7, 9-6 UFC, -175) vs Fili (23-10, 11-9 UFC, +145) is a last-second booking between two veterans who can stack up highlights. Ige has never made it into the top ten of a talented UFC featherweight group, but he has overcome a shaky start in UFC. He lost is debut to Julio Arce but then finished Mike Santiago and Danny Henry before beating Edson Barboza on the cards. He got his first main event fight against Calvin Kattar, who showed some cracks in Ige’s defenses. He has a stocky build which keeps him from doing much damage from range, and he has lost five of his last eight – all against past and future contenders and some involving iffy decisions on the cards.

Fili entered UFC back in 2013 as a hyped prospect, but he took on Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez and Calvin Kattar to start his career, and things didn’t go well. Since then, he has worked his way to a solid technique, with nice striking and unexpected wrestling quality. He did get beaten by such elite athletes as Joanderson Brito, and this fight seems to show that Ige has an edge in striking power, which he should be able to use to exploit an opening.

Final Prediction: Ige wins via knockout

UFC Fight Night Main Card

• ESPN+ at 04:00 PM ET
• Jack Hermansson vs Joe Pyfer (Middleweight)
• Dan Ige vs Andre Fili (Featherweight)
• Robert Bryczek vs Ihor Potieria (Middleweight)
• Brad Tavares vs Gregory Rodrigues
• Michael Johnson vs Darrius Flowers (Lightweight)
• Rodolfo Vieira vs Armen Petrosyan (Middleweight)

UFC Fight Night Preliminary Card

• ESPN+ at 04:00 PM ET
• Trevin Giles vs Carlos Prates (Welterweight)
• Bolaji Oki vs Timothy Cuamba (Lightweight)
• Loma Lookboonmee vs Bruna Brasil (Women’s Strawweight)
• Devin Clark vs Marcin Prachnio (Light Heavyweight)
• Max Griffin vs Jeremiah Wells (Welterweight)
• Zac Pauga vs Bogdan Guskov (Light Heavyweight)
• Fernie Garcia vs Hyder Amil (Featherweight)
• Daniel Marcos vs Aori Qileng (Bantamweight)

UFC 297 Betting Analysis: Strickland vs du Plessis

For the first time since December 2018, UFC returns to Toronto on Saturday night, with UFC 297 set for Scotiabank Arena. The headliner is a tilt for the UFC Middleweight belt as Sean Strickland will defend his belt against onetime KSW Welterweight champ Dricus du Plessis. The co-main event is also a title bout as former UFC Women’s Bantamweight challenger Raquel Pennington will square off with Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant title. We have the Main card for this event as well as sports betting picks for the two title matchups.

Sean Strickland -115 vs Dricus du Plessis -105

UFC Middleweight Championship

Sean Strickland (28-5, 15-5 UFC, -135) vs Dricus du Plessis (20-2, 6-0 UFC, +114) is a championship bout that seemed impossible in 2022. Strickland had had to go up to 185 pounds in 2020; after that, he had developed a reputation for bringing pressure and volume, but his upright fighting stance made him a sitting duck for big bombs. He got knocked out by Alex Pereira and lost to Jared Cannonier on the cards. However, in 2023, he beat Nassourdine Imavov to start the year and then easily took down Abusupiyan Magomedov in a last-minute headliner. When UFC needed someone to fight Israel Adesanya in Australia, Strickland was the only fighter on the roster really available, and the upset was shockingly easy on the cards as Adesanya refused to bring pressure and move things forward.

Du Plessis is another surprise contender in his own right. He brings power but, at least at first, had no strategy. He was able to beat Darren Till and Derek Brunson with that power, but when he took down the division’s #2, Robert Whittaker, then his contender status became serious. Du Plessis was actually supposed to fight Adesanya in Australia, but an injury kept him off the card. Both fighters have flaws; Strickland has pressure without meaningful defense, while du Plessis simply has no technique. For Strickland to win, the fight needs to go safely, but du Plessis brings enough chaos to deliver the upset.

Final Prediction: du Plessis wins via knockout

Raquel Pennington +140 vs Mayra Bueno Silva -160

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship

Raquel Pennington (15-8, 12-5 UFC, +142) vs Mayra Bueno Silva (10-2-1, 5-2-1 UFC, -170) will yield the first new bantamweight champion for UFC since Amanda Nunes retired. Pennington has been part of UFC since 2013; she took some tough losses against Jessica Andrade and Holly Holm in the early going, but a four-fight winning streak that included a win over one-time champ Miesha Tate earned her a title shot. An ATV accident knocked hero out of commission for 18 months, but the shot was still there in 2018 when she returned. The beating she took from Nunes was hard to watch, since 2019, she has gotten herself back up and running, with sound technique giving her big wins – and she brings a five-bout winning streak into the Octagon.

Bueno Silva started as a flyweight, and she established a reputation for a ferocious grappling game. She picked up some impressive early submissions, but her striking game was not intimidating, and fighters who figured out how to keep things upright would beat her. She figured out how to solve that problem against Holly Holm, using a standing choke at the start of the second round to turn the fight in her direction. She is the better finisher in this bout, and she might be able to bring enough pressure to win on the cards as well. Pennington is better in terms of cardio, but Bueno Silva has more dangerous options at her disposal.

Final Prediction: Bueno Silva wins via stoppage

UFC 297 Preliminary Card

ESPN+/ ESPNews

Brad Katona vs Garrett Armfield (Bantamweight)

Charles Jourdain vs Sean Woodson (Featherweight)

Serhiy Sidey vs Ramon Taveras (Catchweight – 139.75 lbs)

Gillian Robertson vs Polyana Viana (Women’s Strawweight)

UFC 297 Early Preliminary Card

ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass

Yohan Lainesse vs Sam Patterson (Welterweight)

Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Priscila Cachoeira (Women’s Bantamweight)

Malcolm Gordon vs Jimmy Flick (Catchweight – 127.5 lbs)