UFC Predictions: UFC 271: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2

#3. UFC 271: The Main Card

Jared Cannonier will hope to secure a middleweight title shot this weekend with a win over Derek Brunson

The biggest fight on the main card this weekend aside from the main and co-main events is a middleweight clash between Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier. Both of these men have been on excellent form and the winner may well fight for the UFC middleweight title in their next bout.

Brunson is perhaps the more complete fighter, as he’s a genuinely excellent wrestler and also possesses explosive power in his hands. However, ‘The Killa Gorilla’ might be the heaviest hitter in the division point blank. The way he switched the lights off on Jack Hermansson, for instance, was terrifying and he also hurt the tough Kelvin Gastelum badly in their fight.

Brunson can win this bout if he fights smartly and uses his speed to get inside, ground Cannonier and keep him there, but he’ll need to take risks to do so. Given Brunson’s penchant for over-reaching and becoming too aggressive, the pick is Cannonier via KO.

In a bantamweight bout, Kyler Phillips faces Marcelo Rojo. Phillips is coming off a loss to Raulian Paiva, but prior to that, he looked excellent in his three UFC wins, particularly his victory over Song Yadong. At his best, he’s an excellent striker and scrambler with cardio for days.

Rojo is far less proven and has lost two of his last three bouts, including his octagon debut against Charles Jourdain. He’s a finisher, with just one of his 16 wins going the distance, and that should make him dangerous here.

However, Phillips is far more proven at the top level. While he did show holes in his game in his last bout, he should win this one by decision.

Finally, veteran lightweight Bobby Green faces Nasrat Haqparast. Despite looking largely past his best over the last couple of years, Green rolled back the clock in November, producing his best performance in years to knock out Al Iaquinta.

Haqparast, meanwhile, was beaten by Dan Hooker in his last bout, but he’s still a hard hitter with a technical yet somewhat unorthodox striking style. He’s somewhat underrated on the ground, too.

This one should come down to which Green turns up. If ‘King’ can fight in an aggressive manner and use his boxing skills to back Haqparast up, there’s every chance he can outwork him to a decision. However, if he stands back, then there’s a chance that the German fighter does enough to edge it. The pick is Green, but it will likely be very close.

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#4: UFC 271: The Prelims

Picks in bold

Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski vs. Jared Vanderaa

Women's flyweight: Roxanne Modafferi vs. Casey O’Neill

Flyweight: Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell

Light heavyweight: William Knight vs. Maxim Grishin

Bantamweight: Leomana Martinez vs. Ronnie Lawrence

Lightweight: Renato Moicano vs. Alexander Hernandez

Light heavyweight: Carlos Ulberg vs. Fabio Cherant

Middleweight: AJ Dobson vs. Jacob Malkoun

Bantamweight: Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov

Welterweight: Jeremiah Wells vs. Mike Mathetha