We have an exciting card that features 2 title fights tonight. In the co-main event we have Champ Demetrious Johnson vs Henry Cejudo. DJ has been the most dominate fighter in his division if not in the UFC. Henry is looking to avenge his 1st round KO from 2016 and dethrone the champ. In the main event we have another rematch. Champ TJ Dillishaw vs former champ Cody Garbrandt. This is a rematch from November 2017 when TJ ended the then champ Cody’s undefeated streak in the 2nd round. Both title fight rematches will be some exciting filled fights.

 

UFC Fight Pass Prelims 6:15pm

Wuliji Buren 9-4 vs Marlon Vera 10-5-1

Wuliji has 1 KO/TKO 4 submissions and 4 decision wins. This is his second fight and lost a close decision in his debut. He has won 3 of his last 4 fights and has 3 1st round finishes. He has a heavy wrestling background and will look to take the fight to the ground.

Marlon has 2 KO/TKO 6 submissions and 2 decision wins. He is 3-2 in his last 5 fights and has 5 1st round finishes. He has 2 Performance of the night bonuses. He is a brown belt in Jiu jitsu and loves to setup any submission from the triangle.

Should be an exciting fight to start the event off. Marlon has the octagon experience which will help him. Both fighters will most likely take the fight to the ground. Wuliji will look to use his explosive wrestling background for takedowns and top pressure game. Marlon will look for transitions to get the submission win tonight.

Danielle Taylor 9-3 vs Weili Zhang 16-1

Danielle has 3 KO/TKO 1 submission and 5 decision wins. She has won 4 of her last 6. She has a notable win over Jessica Penne. She is a LA County Deputy Sheriff, so she will have a huge hometown following for this fight. She is well rounded fighter.

impressive 16 fight win streak. She has 9 1st round finishes. She will try and utilize her Muay Thai clinch work to end the fight.

Great matchup between a hometown hero and a UFC debut. Danielle must keep away from the striking abilities her opponent has. Weili will try and use some clinch work to throw elbows and knees. Overall, I see this fight mostly on their feet. Despite Danielle having the hometown crowd in her corner Weili will end this fight with strikes in the 2nd round.

Ricardo Ramos 11-1 vs Kyung Ho Kang 14-7

Ricardo has 3 KO/TKO 6 submissions and 2 decisions. He is on a 3-fight win streak. He has 6 1st round finishes, which include 3 wins in under a minute. He is a world class Brazilian Jiu jitsu champ.

Kyung has 2 KO/TKO 10 submissions and 2 decisions. He has 7 1st round finishes. Very well-rounded fighter. He has a Fight of the night bonus. This is his 2nd fight back from serving his mandatory 2-year Military Service in South Korea.

Should be an excellent fight. This fight will be decided on the ground. Both have great grappling skills.  With that said, it won’t look like a very exciting fight. Ultimately when the dust settles I see Ricardo coming out on top via judge’s decision.

Jose Torres 8-0 vs Alex Perez 20-4

Jose has 4 KO/TKO 2 submissions and 2 decision wins. He has 3 1st round finishes. He has a kickboxing and wrestling background. In college he had over 100 wins in wrestling. Is a Pan Am kickboxing champ. His cardio can go for days.

Alex has 3 KO/TKO 6 submissions and 11 decisions. He is on a 7-fight win streak. He has 7 1st round finishes. He has an 85% takedown defense rate.

Going to be an exciting fight. Jose will use his kickboxing abilities and keep the fight standing. Alex is very comfortable on the ground and will submission hunt. Alex may have a hard time defending the shot but can use his ground game to his advantage. I see this fight going all 3 rounds and Jose out on top.

FX Prelims 8pm

Sheymon Moraes 6-1 vs Matt Sayles 7-1

Sheymon has 5 KO/TKO and 4 decision wins. He has won 2 of his last 3. He has 2 1st round wins. He is a 3-time Brazilian kickboxing champ and a 2-time Muay Thai champ. He is also a judo practioner.

Matt has 6 KO/TKO and 1 decision win. He has 5 1st round wins which 3 of those came under 1:15 seconds. He has held various International Muay Thai Titles.

This will be an explosive fight. I anticipate this fight to be on their feet the entire fight. Both have great Muay Thai backgrounds. Sheymon will need to get into the clinch to use his judo and take the fight to the ground. Matt will need to finish the fight fast. I see this fight ending in a KO and Matt coming out on top.

Ricky Simon 13-1 vs Montel Jackson 6-0

Ricky has 5 KO/TKO 2 submissions and 6 decision wins. He is on a 6-fight win streak. He has 6 1st round wins. He has a Fight of the night bonus. Has a wrestling background.

Montel has 5 KO/TKO and 1 decision win. He has 3 1st round wins. He will rely on his striking abilities to finish the fight.

Well matched up fight. Both fighters like to stand and throw punches. Ricky has gone all 3 rounds in half of his fights. Montel needs to push the pace and get the fast KO. I see Montel with another victory tonight.

Pedro Munhoz 15-3 vs Brett Johns 15-1

Pedro has 2 KO/TKO 9 submissions and 4 decisions. He has won 4 of his last 5 fights. He has 6 1st round finishes. He has a notable win over Jeff Curran. He has 3 performances of the night bonuses. He holds a BJJ black belt and won numerous titles He also has an extensive Muay Thai background.

Brett has 2 KO/TKO 5 submissions and 8 decision wins. His last fight was his first loss, but still received a performance of the night bonus, Very well-rounded fighter. He holds a Black belt in Judo, a purple belt in Jiu jitsu, and a brown belt in Muay Thai.

Very evenly matched contest. Brett will need to get in close and use his judo for big heavy throws. Pedro will work his Jiu jitsu once it hits the ground. Look for him to accept a takedown so he can start his guard work. I see this fight going the distance and Brett coming out on top.

Main Event PPV 10pm

Thiago Santos 17-5 vs Kevin Holland 12-3

Thiago has 12 KO/TKO 1 submission and 4 decision wins. He has won 8 of his last 11 fights. Has 8 1st round wins. He is a Muay Thai Champ. Holds a black belt in Muay Thai and a purple belt in Jiu jitsu. Has notable wins over Anthony Smith and Nate Marquardt. Has devastating kicks.

Kevin has 6 KO/TKO 5 submissions and 1 decision win. He is on a 4-fight win streak. Has 8 1st round finishes. Holds a 2nd degree black belt in kung fu and a brown belt in Jiu jitsu. This is his UFC debut.

Kevin has his work cut out for him in his first appearance in the octagon. He will need to use distance management and keep away from Thiago’s kicks but get into the clinch to take the fight to the ground. Thiago will use his experience to control the octagon and cut Kevin off. He will use his leg kicks to break Kevin down or go for the head kick KO. I see the UFC Vet Thiago with a huge KO win in this fight.

JJ Aldrich 6-2 vs Polyana Viana Mota 10-1

JJ has 2 KO/TKO and 4 decision wins. Her two KO wins were in the first round. She was on TUF 23 fighting on Team Joana. She holds a 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo and a brown belt in Jiu jitsu. She will utilize her Taekwondo skills to keep distance.

Polyana has 4 KO/TKO and 6 submission wins. She is on a 6-fight win streak. She has 9 1st round finishes. She is a multiple time State Brazilian Champ in Jiu Jitsu. Her favorite submission is any armbar.

A very exciting fight between 2 tough ladies. JJ will need to keep distance and keep this fight on her feet. She needs to stay away from Polyana’s ground game. Polyana will try and take the fight to the ground as fast as she can. Look for her to set up an armbar from any position she can. Winner in this one will be Polyana via submission.

Cub Swanson 25-9 vs Renato Carneiro 12-1

Cub has 11 KO/TKO 4 submissions and 10 decisions. He has won 10 of his last 14 fights. He has notable wins over Jeremy Stephens, Dennis Siver, and Dustin Poirier just to name a few. Holds a black belt in Jiu Jitsu. He has many Pan Am titles for grappling.  He has an impressive 9 Fight of the night, and 2 Knockout of the night bonuses. He is a UFC Vet.

Renato has 5 submission and 7 decisions wins. He has won 7 of his last 8 fights. All his submissions are via rear naked choke. He has notable win over Jeremy Stephens. He has a fight of the night bonus which was a loss to Brian Ortega. Well versed in Muay Thai as well as Jiu Jitsu.

Will be an amazing fight. Renato is looking to make a statement with a big win over UFC Vet Cub. He will need to work his Muay Thai and keep the fight standing as much as he can. If it goes to the ground, look for him to tray and take Cub’s back for a rear naked choke. Cub will use his experience to slow the pace and control the octagon. He will look to mix it up both standing and on the ground. I see Cub getting another win tonight

Co-Main Event

Demetrious Johnson 27-2 (Champ) vs Henry Cejudo 12-2

Demetrious has 5 KO/TKO 11 submissions and 11 decision wins. He is on a 13-fight win streak. He is widely considered the King of the Flyweights. Has the record for most successful title defenses. He has notable wins over John Dodson, Ray Borg, and Henry Cejudo. He has 4 Performance of the night, 2 Fight of the night, 1 Knockout of the night, and 1 submission of the night Bonuses. He is very fast and technical.

Henry has 4 KO/TKO 1 submission and 1 decision win. He is on a 2-fight win streak. He has notable wins over Sergio Pettis and Wilson Reis. His win over Reis got him a performance of the night bonus. He was the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in Freestyle Wrestling. He is a ground and pound specialist. Also has a technical boxing background.

This is an amazing fight. DJ has gone through everyone in the division. He will use his speed once again to stop his challenger. Last time they fought DJ ended the fight in the 1st round by way of knee strikes. He will need to stay away from Henry’s explosive wrestling background. Henry needs to be patient in this fight. It will be about timing DJ’s strikes for him to get a chance of the takedown. He will need to control the octagon to help in his favor with the judges. I see this fight not going the distance and may last to the 3rd round. DJ will retain his title. I see this as the last fight for him in this division and may move up and possibly fight the winner of the main event.

Main Event

TJ Dillishaw 16-3 (Champ) vs Cody Garbrandt 11-1

TJ has 7 KO/TKO 2 submissions and 5 decision wins. He has won 11 of his last 13 fights. He has notable wins against Cody, and Renan Barao which he beat twice. He is a ground and pound specialist. He has 4 Performance of the night and 3 Fight of the night bonuses. Was a 3-time NCAA qualifier at Cal State. He has an 85% takedown defense rating. Very well-rounded fighter.

Cody has 9 KO/TKO and 2 decision wins. He is coming off his only loss to the Champ. Has a wrestling background and holds a 32-1 amateur boxing record. He has 7 KO/TKO in the 1st round. Has a great takedown defense. Has lots of heart. He uses his very good friend and cancer survivor Maddux.

This is up to this point the best fight and rematch for 2018 that the UFC has put together. This is a fight between a veteran fighter and an rising star looking to take over. This fight is also between 2 former teammates at Team Alpha Male. This has been the fuel to the fire for both and Cody citing Loyalty issues with TJ. I see this fight going just like it did last time. Both fighters looking to knock each other’s heads off early and fast. TJ needs to get in for an early takedown and start his ground and pound strategy. He will need to keep pressure on Cody always. Cody must keep his hands up and be ready for the takedowns. He needs to use his striking to keep TJ at a distance but not swing so wildly. In the end I see Cody getting the win and this would setup a trilogy sometime this winter.

Example Lineups

Example GPP

FighterSalary
VERA$9,300
GARBRANDT$8,000
JOHNS$7,400
ZHANG$8,700
PEREZ$8,400
JACKSON$7,700

Example Cash

FighterSalary
MOICANO$9,100
JOHNSON $9,400
HOLLAND$7,000
MORAES$7,900
TORRES $7,800
RAMOS$8,600