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#3 Lightweight: Alexander Hernandez vs. Drew Dober

Alexander Hernandez is one of the Lightweight division's most gifted athletes

A likely contender for the Fight of the Night award, this Lightweight clash should be a lot of fun. Young gun Alex Hernandez burst onto the scene in 2018 with an upset win over Beneil Dariush and followed that up with a win over Olivier Aubin-Mercier, but Donald Cerrone proved to be a step too far for him.

'The Great' picked up a lone win last year – a controversial decision over Francisco Trinaldo – but it was a fight that largely saw both men cancel one another out. This fight won't likely follow that pattern. As a striker, Trinaldo is somewhat of a counter-fighter, where Dober tends to really push the fight, swinging heavy punches at his opponent.

Not that Drew Dober is a crude brawler; his boxing game has steadily improved across his UFC career to the point where he's now on the verge of the top fifteen. With a solid wrestling background to fall back on, the Nebraska native has solid skills in all areas.

The issue for him here could be the raw athletic talent of Hernandez. 'The Great' is remarkably quick even for a Lightweight, and while Dober is technically a better striker than him, the 27-year old is almost certainly more explosive. Throw in a superior wrestling game – he comfortably outgrappled Aubin-Mercier, not the easiest thing to do – and it definitely feels like if Hernandez fights to his potential, he should win this one.

To beat Dober though, he'll have to be very careful. He can't simply wade in as he's tended to do in his previous fights. But having said that, his experiences with Trinaldo may have taught him that lesson as the surprisingly athletic Brazilian was able to catch him when he did come in with hard counters.

Overall I feel like Dober has a solid puncher's chance in this one, but I don't think he's beaten anyone as athletically gifted as Hernandez before and historically, he does tend to struggle with fighters capable of taking him down and working their ground game – as we saw in his losses to Dariush and Aubin-Mercier, both of whom Hernandez defeated.

With that in mind – and the fact that Hernandez has had a long time on the shelf to improve his skills – I'm taking 'Alexander the Great' to win this fight via submission, with the caveat that if he zigs when he should zag, there's a definite chance that Dober switches his lights out.

The Pick: Hernandez via second-round submission