UFC Fight Night 170: Lee vs. Oliveira - Predictions and Picks

The Prelims: ESPN+ card

Flashy striker Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos headlines this weekend's prelims

A bout order for this event – in terms of the prelims at least – has not been announced, but I’m willing to assume all 7 fights will be shown on the ESPN+ platform.

At the top of the card, we’ve got a Welterweight showdown between strikers Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos and Alexey Kunchenko. This should also be an interesting clash of styles between Kunchenko’s more standard kickboxing and Zaleski’s flashy, capoeira-infused style. I’m going with Zaleski in this one, probably by decision, as Kunchenko’s two UFC wins came against older, slower fighters while Zaleski’s speed is one of his big strengths, plus he’s got a dangerous ground game.

At Flyweight, Jussier Formiga returns to take on Mexico’s Brandon Moreno in a fight that seems tailor-made for the Brazilian; Formiga’s striking has improved but he’s still arguably the most dangerous grappler in the division, while Moreno’s own bread and butter is his grappling. ‘The Assassin Baby’ has struggled through his UFC career against fellow grapplers, so I’ll take Formiga to win by decision.

In a Flyweight battle, former Strawweight contender Maryna Moroz faces Mayra Bueno Silva. This is a classic striker vs. grappler match on paper at least; Silva submitted Gillian Robertson in impressive fashion in her UFC debut, while Moroz has made her name with a long striking game but has often struggled on the ground. I’m taking Silva in this one as she looks like the bigger fighter and given how good her grappling appeared to be against Robertson, she might have Moroz in trouble if she gets her down. Silva via submission is my pick.

Bruno Silva returns at Flyweight to take on late replacement David Dvorak and while the Czech fighter is on a strong run – 13 wins in a row – he’s taken this fight on a month’s notice and has never fought at this level before. I’m not sure how great Silva is and whether he’ll be capable of sticking around in the UFC, but I like the Team Nogueira product to win this one, probably by late submission.

At Bantamweight, Veronica Macedo faces Bea Malecki. ‘Bad News Barbie’ debuted last year with a rear-naked choke win over Duda Santana, but she also has only 3 professional fights to her name compared to 4 in the UFC alone for Macedo. It’s also worth noting that while she was beaten by Ashlee Evans-Smith, Andrea Lee and Gillian Robertson, Macedo was never blown out. I’m taking her to win this one by submission, but if Malecki is as good as her debut suggested, I could be wrong.

Finally, Strawweights Randa Markos and Amanda Ribas face off. Ribas has looked good in her UFC run so far; she’s 2-0 and outpointed dangerous grappler Mackenzie Dern in her last outing, but Markos is a different level entirely; with a little more consistency, she’d probably be a genuine title contender, and she has wins over the likes of Carla Esparza, Angela Hill, and Juliana Lima. I like Markos here, probably by decision.