UFC Predictions: UFC 254 - Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje predictions and picks

#8 The Prelims: UFC Fight Pass card

The UK's Nathaniel Wood is a top-rated prospect at 135lbs.

Three prelims will also be shown on UFC Fight Pass this weekend. Firstly, we’ve got a Catchweight 140lbs bout between Nathaniel Wood and Casey Kenney. The UK’s Wood is an excellent technical fighter, possessing some beautiful kickboxing and an equally dangerous ground game. Sure, he was beaten by John Dodson, but there’s no shame in that really.

Kenney is really a fellow jack of all trades, and he’s looking to pick up his second UFC win in a month as he only beat Heili Alateng on October 4th. However, this is a tricky fight for him, in my opinion. Both men are similar, but Wood has superior finishing skills, and if he gets Kenney hurt, he’s likely to put him away. Sure, Kenney’s never been finished before, but there’s a first time for everything. I like Wood via late submission here.

At Flyweight, Liana Jojua faces Miranda Maverick. This will be Maverick’s UFC debut after putting together a solid 7-2 record that’s seen her defeat some real veterans. Jojua, meanwhile, was last seen submitting Diana Belbita in the UFC in June.

This should be a close one to call as both women are dangerous, particularly on the ground. However, Maverick appears to be the slightly stronger fighter, so I’ll take her to win this one by decision.

Finally, Joel Alvarez takes on Alexander Yakovlev in a Lightweight tilt. A longtime veteran, Yakovlev, has picked up some solid wins in the UFC but tends to struggle against better athletes. He’s also 36 years old and has been fighting since 2004, which is more than a little concerning.

Meanwhile, Alvarez has looked excellent in both of his UFC wins, submitting Joe Duffy and picking up a TKO of Danilo Belluardo. He’s got far less experience than Yakovlev despite having 19 fights, but I like him to win this one purely on the basis of him being in his athletic prime. Alvarez via TKO is my pick.