Saturday, June 18th (7:00 PM EST Main Card, 4:00 PM EST Prelims)
Calvin Kattar vs. Josh Emmett
WATCH - #4 Kattar is known for his prolonged violence and incredible pace, as well as his granite chin that refuses to shatter. He may not always live up to the “boston finisher” nickname, but with 4 fight of the night bonuses it’s hard to fault him for that. This could be seen as an up and comer gatekeep test if you buy into the hype for #7 Emmett. But there are too many things that destroy that narrative. Kattar’s recent dominating performance against the even more hyped #8 Giga Chikadze shows he is truly a top 5 featherweight and an almost impossible test. And Emmett’s age doesn’t scream prospect since one has to wonder how much his inactivity in recent years has derailed his career. This fight is sure to be a banger, and the winner may have the best chance of getting the next title shot at featherweight after Volkanvoski vs Holloway 3.
Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon
WATCH - I don’t like writing about fights that I’ve already written about but were then postponed to another card. These two lightweight old-timers were known for their violence and activity in their primes, but have since fallen into losing streaks and pitiful performances. One last hurrah before they leave their gloves in the octagon, and we can only hope they go out with a bang.
Tim Means vs. Kevin Holland
WATCH - Kevin Holland is a fun fighter known for fighting a lot and talking to his opponents in the octagon. The MMA world fell in love with him when he won 5 fights in a row in 2020. But he hit a hard ceiling at middleweight in 2021 once he had a ranking next to his name and started facing killers like Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori. He’s now moved down to welterweight and had a successful debut earlier in 2022. But since his trouble at middleweight was getting gatekept by superior grappling, one has to wonder when his decision to move to a division known for being stacked with wrestlers will start to sour.
FGTDalgo Bet - Fight Does Not Go The Distance 1u @ -105 (better than -113.8)
Joaquin Buckley vs. Albert Duraev
WATCH - You will watch the Buckley spinning back-kick KO over and over again! You will pretend that he has a shot at becoming a ranked middleweight!
MMAalgo Bet - Joaquin Buckley 3.5u @ +185 (better than -184.8)
FGTDalgo Bet - Fight Goes The Distance 1u @ +140 (better than -111.1)
Damir Ismagulov vs. Guram Kutateladze
WATCH - Ismagulov is one of the most frustrating fighters on the UFC roster. A perennial top lightweight prospect who is completely unable to advance his position due to an abysmal rate of activity. He’s fought only once since 2019. Kutateladze is another top prospect riddled with inactivity. He has only one fight in the UFC, but it was a victory over Matuesz Gamrot who has now built up a good amount of hype with 3 impressive wins by finish since then and finds himself ranked #12 in the division. Ismagulov and Kutateladze are just as, if not more talented than the current crop of prospects entering the lightweight rankings such as Gamrot, Tsarukyan, Fiziev, and Riddell, but have only themselves and their inactivity to blame for why they aren’t in the rankings as well.
MMAalgo Bet - Damir Ismagulov 3.5u @ -155 (better than -171.5)
Julian Marquez vs. Gregory Rodrigues
WATCH - Fun unranked middleweights who have collected an incredible amount of performance bonuses relative to their short amount of time they’ve spent in the UFC so far. Can never count either man out with their ability to get a finish out of nowhere in any round. Enjoy them while you can until they naturally progress into safer and boring ranked fighters or utterly meaningless journeymen.
*Nothing contained in this post is financial advice, please bet at your own risk