UFC 234: Whittaker vs. Gastelum - Predictions and Picks

#7 The Prelims (Fight Pass card)

Flashy striker Lando Vannata headlines the Fight Pass portion of UFC 234

After a pair of shows with no Fight Pass bouts, the UFC’s streaming service resumes with this show with a trio of fights. Headlining this portion is exciting Lightweight striker Lando Vannata, who takes on the debuting Marcos Rosa. I admit that I’ve never properly seen Rosa fight – footage on him is sparse – but this looks like a bad match given he’s just 6-4 on the Brazilian circuit with no standout names on his record. Vannata meanwhile hasn’t lived up to his early hype, but the UFC clearly still sees something in him, and so I’ll take him to win this one via knockout.

At Lightweight, Jalin Turner – who was easily beaten by the dangerous Vicente Luque in his Octagon debut – takes on Aussie newcomer Callan Potter. It’s a tough one to pick as I don’t know a lot about either man, to be honest, but given Turner’s debut didn’t really impress I’m going with Potter to win in front of his home crowd, probably by TKO.

Finally, at Bantamweight, Jonathan Martinez faces China’s Wuliji Buren. China has begun to produce some solid fighters recently, but judging by his previous UFC outings, Buren probably isn’t one of them – one-sided losses to Marlon Vera and Rolando Dy make up his Octagon experience. Martinez meanwhile looked excellent in a losing effort against Andre Soukhamthath in October, and I think he’ll have more than enough to take out Buren here. Martinez via TKO is my pick.