Bantamweights
Miles Johns (11-1) vs. Anderson dos Santos (21-8)Odds: Johns (-160), dos Santos (+140)
This should be a fun fight, with each man being flawed enough in a way to make this interesting. Johns is obviously the higher-upside prospect of the two, and "Chapo" has been an odd mix of intriguing and frustrating in his three UFC fights. The best part of Johns' repertoire is his wrestling, but even when Johns can get that part of his game going, it's hard to say he does a ton with it -- he can get takedowns, but hasn't found much in the way of control or submission finishes at a high level. And while his striking has a lot in the way of good ideas, he's yet to become a natural at that phase of the game, the gears are obviously turning in his head before he makes his next move, enough so that he's able to get caught cold, like in his loss to Mario Bautista early last year. There's a lot to like about Johns, but there's an overall sense that things have yet to fully click, which makes dos Santos a solid next test.
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Brazil's "Berinja" had a well-traveled career before getting the late-notice UFC call in late 2018, and he has about the game you'd expect of a battle-tested veteran; able to hold his own anywhere and scrap things out, but also without one real standout phase to his approach. He put in a game effort in clear losses to Nad Narimani and Andre Ewell, but finally got his first UFC win in November, earning a quick submission over Martin Day to show how dangerous he can be. Johns' wrestling and athletic advantages should be enough to carry him through a win here, but there are enough defensive holes in his approach that dos Santos should make him uncomfortable at points, particularly on the feet. The pick is Johns via decision.
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