Bantamweights
NR | Douglas Silva de Andrade (26-4, 4-4 UFC) vs. NR | Gaetano Pirrello (15-6-1, 0-1 UFC)ODDS: Silva de Andrade (-245), Pirrello (+205)
This should be a banger. Silva de Andrade is one of the more underrated fighters on the roster, likely owing to his long stretches of inactivity. The Brazilian made his UFC debut early in 2014, but this will mark only his ninth fight inside the Octagon. “D’Silva” basically trained himself to start his career, which shows in his unorthodox range of techniques, but the whole package manages to work. Silva de Andrade has been fighting for almost 15 years at this point, and everything is held together by the fact that he is a high-level athlete. Silva de Andrade hit a clear ceiling at bantamweight back in 2018, beating Marlon Vera but losing to Petr Yan in one-sided fashion. However, after a two-fight stint up at featherweight, the Brazilian is back down at 135 pounds against Pirrello.
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Belgium’s Pirrello has made his hay with a simple approach, focusing on overwhelming his opponents with aggression and mostly doing so on the feet; if opponents can either survive or take down Pirrello, things tend to go south for “El Tigre.” That quickly happened against the wrestling-heavy approach of Ricky Simon in Pirrello’s UFC debut in January, and Silva de Andrade figures to win that war of attrition, even if he may not bring Pirrello to the point of implosion. The pick is Silva de Andrade via decision.
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