UFC Predictions: UFC 265: Derrick Lewis vs Ciryl Gane 

#3 UFC 265: The Main Card

Surging welterweight contender Michael Chiesa features on UFC 265's main card.

In what sounds like a brilliant fight, surging welterweight contenders Michael Chiesa and Vicente Luque meet on UFC 265’s main card.

This fight should provide fans with an intriguing clash of styles. While Luque is a more than capable grappler, he clearly prefers to strike, and has picked up most of his submission wins over opponents he has already hurt with his striking.

LUQUE SUBMITS WOODLEY!🤫 @VicenteLuqueMMA the not-so Silent Assassin tonight! #UFC260 pic.twitter.com/q9JWFA311v

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) March 28, 2021

Chiesa, meanwhile, is practically a pure grappler, preferring to drag his opponents to the ground with his surprising strength and then either hunting for a choke or simply blanketing them with heavy top control and strong ground-and-pound.

This one is tricky to pick, but it is worth noting that the ageing Tyron Woodley aside, Luque has not faced a wrestler nearly as good as ‘Maverick’ in his entire UFC career. And to add to that, Chiesa is remarkably durable, and has never been stopped via strikes. With that considered, Chiesa via decision is the pick.

In a strawweight rematch, Tecia Torres and Angela Hill will face off. The first time these two fought was way back in 2015 at UFC 188, where Torres largely blanketed Hill with top control for a decision win.

Can she repeat the feat? It could be tricky. ‘The Tiny Tornado’ has won her last two UFC bouts, but they were both against overmatched opponents, and before that, she was on a four-fight losing streak.

And more to the point, Hill has improved dramatically since that first meeting with Torres – enough to be able to arguably beat Claudia Gadelha last year, although she came out at the wrong end of a controversial decision. This one should be close, but the pick is Hill via decision.

Finally, Song Yadong takes on Casey Kenney in a bantamweight clash. Both of these men are coming off losses, but remain two of the 135 lb division’s best prospects.

It should also be a close fight to call, as both men have excellent skills in all areas. However, Yadong appears to be the slightly more explosive fighter, and almost certainly hits a little harder than Kenney. If he doesn't gas out, Yadong should be able to win this one by decision.

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#4: UFC 265: The Prelims

Picks in bold

UFC lightweight division: Bobby Green vs Rafael Fiziev.

UFC bantamweight division: Vince Morales vs Drako Rodriguez.

UFC light-heavyweight division: Ed Herman vs Alonzo Menifield.

UFC strawweight division: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Jessica Penne.

UFC flyweight division: Manel Kape vs Ode Osbourne/

UFC bantamweight division: Miles Johns vs Anderson dos Santos/

UFC flyweight division: Victoria Leonardo vs Melissa Gatto.

UFC bantamweight division: Johnny Munoz Jr. v. Jamey Simmons/