The UFC 226 card has shaped up to be the best looking card of the year so far with the main event arguably being the most significant in UFC history as Daniel "DC" Cormier, the light heavyweight champion, takes on Stipe Miocic, the heavyweight champion, in attempts to unify the two biggest belts in the sport. This looks like it will be a long grinding fight as both opponents are two of the best to ever do it, Miocic has defended his belt more than any heavyweight before him and Cormier is undefeated at heavyweight.
For this fight I'm betting on Stipe to get the win either by TKO in the 4th or by a split decision, although I don't think the height advantage means much in this match up I think Stipe has the slight edge firstly because DC hasn't been in the heavyweight division since he joined the UFC, even though he is undefeated at heavyweight he may fair differently now he is that bit older. Secondly I would say Stipe is on a better run at the moment and he has recently convincingly beat some scary individuals, whereas DC has had a slightly more bumpy run with his rivalry against Jon Jones and it is clear the Jon is still in DC's head leading up to this fight making DC feel he has more to prove.
Although this is a relatively even match up with two amazing fighters both with different strength I just think Stipe has better form at the moment, also being that bit younger could come into play however I think there is just something about Stipe as he always gets the job done, it doesn't matter how he does it, he just does. My money for this one is on Stipe undoubtedly.
The rest of the main card are also great fights each being hard to predict for their own reasons however I'm going to do my best.
For the Co-main we have Ngannou v Lewis both two of the biggest hitters in the game at the moment. Ngannou has the slight power advantage however he seems to have lost a little bit of the muscle since his last fight, a loss against Miocic, where he gassed out early after going for another spectacular KO. It looks Ngannou has learned from his loss and is going into this bout with a better game plan and likely better cardio. However Lewis is not an easy opponent by any stretch not only having a lot of power but also a formidable ground game and Ngannou got dominated on the ground in his last fight. This really is a tough call but I think Lewis will take the fight via TKO and if I had to guess a round I would say the 3rd.
Perry is undoubtedly a skilled fighter however his record in the higher ranks of the UFC isn't looking amazing after losing his last two fights due to wanting to have a brawl, which is Perry's style however as he has seen brawling is hard to pull of against more technically skilled opponents and Felder is just that. Felder is an all round mixed martial artist who take pride in learning all aspects of the game, he is also a smart fighter who likely won't fall into the trap of brawling a brawler. Felder also commentates for the UFC which shows he has an in-depth knowledge of the sport. If Perry was to implement more of his skill set into this fight I think it would make things a little closer but of recent performances I would say Felder takes the edge because of his intelligence in the octagon. Although I am a fan of Perry and his out of cage antics my money is on Felder unanimous decision.
Both of these fighters are looking to get into title contention however after missing weight Chiesa has said after this fight he will be moving up a weight class. Chiesa has the reach and weight advantage going into this fight and as we have seen over this past year fighters that miss weight seem to win a lot and I could see that playing a big role in this fight especially has Chiesa is naturally the taller man. Although Pettis is undoubtedly a great fighter as he is a former champ however Pettis hasn't performed well against top competitors in recent years and has lost five of his last seven. Due to recent form and the height and weight advantage I have Chiesa to take it and I'm going to guess sub in the second.
I think this fight is going to be a straight slug fest with big punches and big kicks from off the bat and it could come down to who lands a big shot first however Saki is the much more experienced fighter with a record of 83 wins 12 losses in his kickboxing career, Saki also brings immense speed for his weight and because of that my money is on Saki, KO in the 1st.
