Ufc 292 Breakdown and Picks

Ufc 292 is a banger of a card for the hardcore fans, casuals will tune in due to it being headlined by the megastar “suga” Sean O’Malley.

We will start off with the early prelims.

Karine Silva vs. Maryna Moroz

Silva who’s coming off 2 first round finishes in her first 2 outings in the UFC, making her the slight favourite in the betting odds. Moroz who’s 1-1 since her return in 2022, she’s yet to fight in 2023 but she’s looking to bounce back from her most recent UD loss to Jennifer Maia, I believe Silva will take this by a finish. She’s a overall better fighter I believe! I think her grappling will outwork Moroz, an her last 3 fights have been finished by Sub, I’m gonna make the call she gets it by ground and pound TKO Saturday.

Next up we have Andrea Lee vs. Natalia Silva

This is a fight I’m not to educated on but I have heard from numerous people that Natalia Silva is the real deal. She’s 9-0 since March of 2018, to rack up a 9 fight win streak you have to have that dog in you, but Andrea Lee has proved she has that dog in her as well. In Lees last bout she took now title contender Maycee Barber to a split decision loss, Barber is a heavy sought out contender in the 125 division.

I’m leaning towards Silva in this fight due to her 9 fight win streak alone, with 8 of them coming via finishes, but you never want to count out KGB Lee.

The final fight on the early prelims, Andre Petroski Vs. Gerald Meerschaert

This has the potential to be a interesting grappling match, I believe Andre will dictate how the fight goes, either on the feet or on the ground. Petroski who’s 4-0 since coming off season 29 of TUF. GM3 has has the potential to come out on top in this bout, Gerald “GM3” Meerschaert is a very dangerous submission specialist but believe Petroski’s strength will be too much to handle. My prediction Petroski by decision

Coming up is the prelims an opening the prelim card is.

Brad Katona vs. Cody Gibson. TUF 135 pound final.

Brad Katona who trains at sbg Ireland with the “Notorious” Conor McGregor under head coach John Kavanagh.

Katona who was originally picked by team Chandler made the move over to team McGregor after his first fight in the house to train with his home team. Katona is a skilled all around fighter who can contend with the best in the 135 division, with his only 2 losses coming from Merab Dvalishvili and Hunter Azure, the Azure loss is weird one but stepping in against Merab is a big feat. Since being cut by the UFC he has gone on to stack up 4 wins in Brave CF.

Now on to Cody Gibson. Gibson hasn’t fought in the UFC since 2015 and has had 9 fights since (7-2) with wins over current BKFC 125 champ John Dodson. Both men make it clear that they don’t like each other, showing in the latest episode of TUF they had a little back and forth but it seems Katona is under Gibson’s skin a little bit, and I believe that this will give Katona a edge, other then that I think both men are very closely matched skill wise.

My personal prediction on this one, Katona via Split Decision.

Next up is the 155 final of TUF.

Kurt Holobaugh vs. Austin Hubbard

Holobaugh who’s been cut from the ufc since 2019, doesn’t make it pretty when he’s in the cage, but he gets it done somehow. Holobaugh hasn’t had a professional fight since 2021 but went 2-0 on TUF.

Austin Hubbard who was cut in late 2021 stayed active an picked up 2 wins in 2022 and also went 2-0 in TUF house, Hubbard is a more technical fighter and better overall, an I think that he gets it done pretty candidly in either the 1st or 2nd rounds of the fight.

After those 2 we have “Robocop” Gregory Rodrigues vs. Denis Tiuliulin.

If mma math is correct (it never is) Robocop should take this one due to Denis’s last fight was a sub loss to Jun Yong Park, and back in 2021 Robocop knocked him out in 2 rounds.

Headlining the prelims is Chris Weidman vs. Brad Tavares.

Both men have something to prove in this fight, with Tavares being on a 2 fight skid, he’s looking to bounce back with a proper win over the former 185 champ Chris Weidman.

Chris Weidman, who hasn’t stepped into the octagon since April of 2021, the night he suffered the devastating leg injury that snapped his leg sidelining him for nearly 900 days.

Weidman is coming out with purpose and something to prove, the former champ feels disrespected coming into the fight, not by his opponent but by the fans and media counting him out due to his last fight.

People forget this is the man who beat Anderson Silva twice, Silva for the most part is the consensus GOAT in the ufc, Weidman wants some respect on his name.

My prediction for this one – Chris Weidman round 2 sub.

Starting off the banger of a main card for 292 is Marlon “chito” Vera vs. Pedro Munhoz.

Chito coming off a SD loss over Cory Sandhagen, and Munhoz coming off a UD win over Chris Gutierrez.

This is a weird fight, simply because Munhoz is so durable and has never been finished in his career, And Chito gets most of his wins by finishing his opponents, Chito is known for losing fights but figuring out way to get a finish.

I believe Pedro gets finished Saturday night, due to the fact he’s not getting any younger an tho he looked good in his last fight, I don’t think he’s the same fighter he once was! And for Chito, you can see the adjustments he makes every fight, tho he may not win every fight, you can see he’s better each time he steps into the cage.

Next up is Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Mario Bautista.

Blackshear who’s making a quick turnaround, fighting last Saturday and again this one. Getting only the 3rd twister submission in ufc history last week looks to stop the hype Bautista moving with. Bautista who’s currently on a 4 fight win streak is looking to make it 5 against Blackshear.

I think this turnaround will be bad for Blackshear, doing 2 weight cuts in less then 10 days is hard on the body and the mental. Even though he has a chance to make history, I think Bautista gets a finish over Blackshear unfortunately, I believe give Blackshear a full camp an this fight would be quite competitive, but I think this turnaround will get Blackshear finished within 3 rounds.

After that one we also have another short notice fight, Neil Magny vs. Ian Garry.

Garry, who was originally supposed to fight Geoff Neil, who pulled out roughly about 2 weeks ago due to a undisclosed injury was replaced by Neil Magny the person Garry originally wanted.

Garry who’s a rising star in the 170 pound weight division is looking to break into the top 10 with a big win over Neil Magny, Garry who seems ultra confident since the fight has been announced thinks he can beat Neil everywhere in the cage, he thinks his skill set is all around better then Neil’s, and I have to agree with Garry I think he’s gonna be too much for Magny, I think Garry pulls a UD victory over Magny.

In the co-main we have the women’s 115 belt on the line, with Zhang Weili looking to defend her title for the first time in her second tenure as the champ. She’s fighting one of the only females in the 115 division with serious KO power. Amanda Lemos, though she has that power in her hands, Zhang I think will just be too much for her, Zhang has proved time and time again that she’s a top dog in the straw weight division and I see it being no different Saturday night against Lemos.

Finally, One of the most anticipated Bantamweight fights in history, “Suga” Sean O’Malley looks to dethrone the arguable GOAT of the 135 weight class Aljamain “Funk Master” Sterling, who’s currently riding a 9 fight win streak going into this bout.

This is a pure striker vs. Grappler match Aljo being the grappler obviously, and O’Malley being the striker.

I think O’Malley takes it within the first 3 rounds, via KO/TKO. O’Malley has the highest significant strike accuracy in bantamweight history with it being over 60 percent.

Aljo is a great wrestler but dips his head quite abit on the feet and against someone like O’Malley that will get you put to sleep, you can’t make a mistake on your feet against someone like O’Malley, he’ll make u pay, an I truly think that’s what happens Saturday night in the fight.

If the fight goes all 5 rounds though, I think Aljo takes the victory, I think I’m the later rounds he has opportunity’s to take Sean down an hold him there generating 1-2 10-8 rounds in the late parts of the fight.

My official prediction, O’Malley via KO within 3 rounds.