UFC Predictions: UFC Vegas 33: Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland 

After an excellent show this past weekend, the UFC returns to its APEX center this Saturday for UFC Vegas 33: Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland.

UFC Vegas 33 definitely lacks some name value, but with a number of exciting fighters in action, this should be a watchable show nonetheless.

No better way to close out an action-packed July 💥 🗓 #UFCVegas33 happens NEXT Saturday! pic.twitter.com/fV4kVOnlAh

— UFC (@ufc) July 25, 2021

So with that in mind, here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Vegas 33: Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland.

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#4. UFC middleweight division: Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland

Uriah Hall is currently on a four-fight win streak in the UFC

While he hasn’t lived up to the “new Anderson Silva” billing he got following his run on TUF 17, it’d be unfair to say Uriah Hall has been a flop in the UFC.

Right now, the Jamaican-born middleweight is probably on the best run of his UFC career. Since the start of 2017, Hall has gone 5-1 in the octagon, with his only loss coming at the hands of top contender Paulo Costa.

He’s currently on a four-fight win streak, although his last victory – a rematch win over Chris Weidman – must be seen with a caveat due to the horrific injury suffered by the former UFC champion.

Ranked at #8, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that ‘Prime Time’ could work his way up to a title shot in the near future. This is especially likely if current UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya continues to clean the division out. Hall is probably as good as recent challenger Marvin Vettori, for instance.

Silva is down!@UriahHallMMA drops the Spider but is halted by the bell 😲 #UFCVegas12 pic.twitter.com/Cm643YSsRQ

— UFC (@ufc) November 1, 2020

But to get that title shot, Hall will need to defeat Sean Strickland this weekend. And in all honesty, that isn’t going to be that easy.

‘Tarzan’ is an intriguing fighter in that he’s been in the UFC for seven years with plenty of ups and downs, but he’s still just 30 years old. In a way, his career is perhaps comparable to someone like Charles Oliveira.

Strickland is currently on a four-fight win streak, and he hasn’t lost since moving back to middleweight last year. His most outstanding performance? A TKO win over Brendan Allen that saw Strickland show some real improvement in his striking.

Given that Hall’s takedown defense is solid and Strickland isn’t exactly the best wrestler in the 185lbs division, it’s likely that this fight will be decided on the feet. Which throws up a couple of major questions:

Firstly, can Strickland’s technical, workmanlike approach really work against someone as explosive as Hall? ‘Tarzan’ does everything correctly, right down to his head movement and the fact that he fights behind a stiff jab. However, he simply isn’t the quickest fighter in the division and that might leave him open to eating something nasty.

Then again, Hall has never been the most durable fighter in the UFC. He’s lost three times via TKO and while he isn’t a glass cannon per say, he can definitely be hurt. Therefore, Strickland might be confident that he can perhaps stun ‘Prime Time’ with a stiff jab and then put him away.

This is a close fight to call, but considering that Strickland has been knocked out by an unorthodox fighter before – Elizeu Zaleski – and Hall is probably confident from beating Anderson Silva, the pick is ‘Prime Time’ via second round stoppage.

The Pick: Hall via second round TKO

#3. UFC heavyweight division: Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Chris Daukaus

Heavyweight prospect Chris Daukaus is 3-0 in the UFC thus far

This is an interesting pick for a co-main event, particularly as Shamil Abdurakhimov hasn’t actually fought in the UFC since 2019. However, it seems more likely that the promotion is putting its weight behind Chris Daukaus as a prospect to watch.

The brother of UFC middleweight Kyle Daukaus, Chris came into the UFC on relatively late notice last August and has already put together an impressive 3-0 record.

His last win came over the highly rated Aleksei Oleinik. While ‘The Boa Constrictor’ is clearly slowing down at the age of 44, anyone who can take him out inside two minutes has to have some talent.

There’s no denying that Daukaus has looked good thus far. In terms of physical shape, he’s clearly not as imposing as someone like Ciryl Gane or Francis Ngannou. In fact, he more closely resembles Roy Nelson.

However, he’s surprisingly quick for a big guy, carries heavy power in his hands, and definitely isn’t a sloppy striker either. He prefers to throw straight punches and use the clinch to do a lot of damage too.

There are plenty of questions around him, though – namely over his grappling and cardio. Abdurakhimov should at least be able to test those.

The Dagestan native has an underrated record in the UFC. Abdurakhimov debuted back in 2015, and has gone 5-3, with his only losses coming to Tim Johnson, Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes.

Along the way, he’s used his grappling and heavy hands to beat Walt Harris, Andrei Arlovski and Marcin Tybura. This makes him one of the more accomplished heavyweights on the UFC’s roster to never really climb into title contention.

However, he’s a slower fighter, even for a heavyweight, he’s hittable, and doesn’t really weather punishment all that well.

Essentially, if Daukaus can keep this fight standing and hurt Abdurakhimov early, it should be his fight to win. If the Dagestani can land some takedowns and start to wear the big man down, then it’ll probably go the other way.

It’s hard to call, but the fact that Daukaus has fought three times in the past year while Abdurakhimov hasn’t fought since 2019 probably gives him a slight edge.

The Pick: Daukaus via second round TKO

#2. UFC Vegas 33: The Main Card

UFC veteran Sam Alvey is in action on the main card this weekend

In the UFC strawweight division, Cheyanne Buys takes on Gloria de Paula. Both of these fighters have similar records – 5-3 and 5-2 – and are looking for their first win in the UFC, so quite how this has made the main card is a mystery.

Neither woman has shown all that much thus far in their UFC careers, but Buys appears to have a slightly higher athletic ceiling, so the pick is Buys via decision.

In the bantamweight division, Kyung Ho Kang takes on veteran Rani Yahya. This should be an interesting fight as Kang is aggressive to a fault and has an excellent UFC record – 6-2-1 – with a current three-fight win streak.

By all rights, Yahya should be slowing down now. He’s 36 and has been around for years, debuting professionally back in 2002. However, he won his last fight impressively, and is still one of the more dangerous grapplers in the division.

Kang should be able to win this fight by using his hyperactive style to wear Yahya out, but if he makes one error, he may well fall into a submission. However, ‘Mr Perfect’ via decision is the pick.

In a middleweight bout, Sam Alvey faces Roman Kopylov. This might be the last chance saloon for Alvey, as he hasn’t won a fight since 2018 and has gone 0-5-1 in the years that have followed. Worryingly, ‘Smilin Sam’ seems to have been exposed as a one-trick pony, and if opponents can avoid his counter right hook, they’re usually okay.

Kopylov, meanwhile, came into the UFC with a reputation as a heavy hitter, but his rep took a dent when he was submitted by kickboxer Karl Roberson in his octagon debut. This seems to be a more winnable fight for him, as long as he can avoid that right hook. Kopylov via TKO is the pick.

Finally, Bryan Barberena takes on Jason Witt in a welterweight bout. Witt was whitewashed in his short-notice UFC debut, but did pick up a win over Cole Williams last year before falling to a TKO earlier in 2021.

Barberena meanwhile has been around a long time, and he’s essentially a welterweight Darren Elkins – a hard-nosed, durable wrestler who’s capable of grinding out wins, but tends to lose to more explosive opponents.

Basically then, is Witt as good as Vicente Luque, Leon Edwards or even Randy Brown? Probably not, so the pick is Barberena via decision.

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#1. UFC Vegas 33: Preliminary bouts

Picks in bold

UFC welterweight division: Mounir Lazzez vs. Niklas Stolze

UFC bantamweight division: Wu Yanan vs. Nicco Montano

UFC featherweight division: Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. Colin Anglin

UFC lightweight division: Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Rafa Garcia

UFC featherweight division: Danny Chavez vs. Kai Kamaka III

UFC strawweight division: Jinh Yu Frey vs. Ashley Yoder

UFC bantamweight division: Ronnie Lawrence vs. Trevin Jones

UFC welterweight division: Philip Rowe vs. Orion Cosce

UFC flyweight division: Zarrukh Adashev vs. Ryan Benoit