Here is a fight that is extremely high on our “must watch” list… a juggernaut who has defeated many of the best fighters in the division as an underdog versus a highly tenacious wrestler who has run his way through anyone who faced him. There is no doubt in my mind that we are about to see a clash of titans here, and with many fights like this, we are expecting a fast and frenetic pace. 

Du Plessis has a genuinely unique style of having an unreadable style. I often call him a book with no words written on it because that is essentially how he fights: he throws something out there in an incredibly unorthodox way, and it just works. His primary danger that he presents to Chimaev here is his striking; he is a rather high-level kickboxer who is likely to outclass Chimaev on the feet, as we have only seen a bit of what Chimaev has to offer in the striking department, and it leaves a lot to the imagination. However, that’s something we all know by now, but what is highly talked about is Du Plessis’ takedown defence… Du Plessis has not been challenged that many times on the ground, and when he has he has often found a way out of precarious positions. And if he is caught off guard by what Chimaev has to offer on the ground that leaves a whole lot of openings for Chimaev to attack a submission really quickly. 

With that said though, Chimaev’s cardio is a slight concern as he finishes fights in such a wrecking ball way that it would be only natural to think that he can blow his gas tank trying to settle down someone like Du Plessis in that first round where both fighters are fresh. I have noticed statistically that Chimaev’s output drops substantially in the second and third rounds so I am of the belief that we will see Du Plessis survive the first, and thrive in the next two rounds, potentially leading to a finish because Chimaev’s chin and striking defence are quite questionable. 

Hence, my advice here is to take the fight ending in the first, second or third round.

Now, the bet itself sounds safe, right? And those odds imply that it’s very likely to happen, but I will say that there will be moments during this fight that will have us holding our breaths! 

Murphy has steadily made his way through the division, defeating incredibly tough opponents like Josh Emmett, Dan Ige and Edson Barboza, but I would be remiss if I didn’t say that Pico could very well be his toughest challenge so far. Murphy has a bit of a striking advantage here given his reach advantage of 2.5 inches, and he also has edge in footwork and mobility too as he is quite well known for circling away from danger to reset and find a different angle for attack. That footwork is going to pay off huge here because Pico is going to have to get close enough to get a level change going in order to implement his high-level wrestling, and if Murphy is sticking and moving, that is going to shut down Pico’s ability to wrestle effectively real quick! 

With that said, there are some unknowns still with Pico as he is coming in after being inactive for a little over a year, and whilst we know that he is likely to do given his background in wrestling and how he performed in Bellator, what we don’t know is how much he has improved with his striking during that time away because he is a former Golden Gloves boxer, he does have a great left hook and uppercut and if he can create a bit of chaos in there, he can give Murphy a fair few things to think about, which further emphasises Murphys’ need to stick and move and not to be lured into a brawl.

Cannonier is fighting an uphill battle with this one. Not only does he have to contend with an incredibly sneaky viper of a striker in MVP, but he also has to conserve his cardio a bit because we know that Cannonier throws heavy, heavy shots and has sometimes looked fatigued in later rounds when those shots aren’t fight-enders.

The primary reason why I am taking MVP Moneyline here is simply because he is a test with no right answers, especially since Cannonier is exclusively a striker. MVP’s style is to stand at a very long distance and meet his opponents in the middle with a snapping jab-cross combination, he does this over and over again and is a primary reason why his striking accuracy stats are so high (62% in the UFC).

Cannonier has either two options, both are highly unlikely to work to great effect, either he will have to walk through fire to land his own heavy shots, or he will just stay at MVP’s range and force MVP to attack first, opening him up to counters and a collision. These two options will both not work and also work against him here because many have tried to do just that and they have all, for the most part, failed. 

So, this is why I think MVP at Moneyline is a fantastic bet to take here, those odds are great, this fight is going to have us on the edge of our seats because it’s between two heavy-hitting Middleweights, it’s just going to be great!

What a fantastic fight this is going to be! Andrade has tried a couple of times to jumpstart her Flyweight career recently, both times have led to failure, but now that she’s back at Strawweight with an opponent who doesn’t have a huge reach and height advantage over her, I expect to see a classic, competitive Andrade who is willing to take the fight into deep waters to reassert herself as a top level fighter. 

However, that is a tall task for Andrade as she faces a very competitive Godinez who doesn’t shy away from showing her high-volume takedowns and very crisp boxing. Whilst I do acknowledge that Andrade is going to have to be a bit careful with head hunting against Godinez, I do think her grappling decent is going to shine a bit here, and note that I said grappling defence and not takedown defence here because there is no way that Andrade can defend against the high volume of takedowns that Godinez is so well known for. I do think we’re going to be in for a bit of a back-and-forth fight here, a lot of fence and fighting for positional control, as I don’t think Godinez would want to be in a fist fight against someone who is notorious for her knockout power. 

I expect this fight to lead to the judges' scorecards here, both women are very well-rounded, very experience,d and have the cardio to go all the way to Bruce Buffer calling out the victor's name.