Women’s Flyweights
#1 WFLW | Katlyn Chookagian (12-2, -155) vs. #5 WFLW | Jennifer Maia (17-5-1, +135): It may not be the most exciting bout, but this could determine the next title challenger for Valentina Shevchenko. Chookagian has been surprisingly successful with what is essentially an ersatz Holly Holm impersonation. She is not nearly the athlete Holm is, but she is able to constantly stay mobile and frustrate her opponents with a high-volume, low-power striking game. As for Maia, it is a much more straight-ahead approach, literally. The former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder is more than content to turn things into a grind, and she has been able to set that up with a power striking game that is slowly becoming more and more varied. Maia probably cannot catch Chookagian enough to slow things down, so this looks like the classic type of split decision that a lot of Chookagian’s fights turn into. Chookagian can probably land at a much higher clip and spend most of the fight circling outside, but Maia will have her moments to hit the more damaging blows of the fight. The pick is Chookagian via decision in what is a pure coinflip.Welterweights
NR | Lyman Good (20-5, -125) vs. NR | Chance Rencountre (14-3, +105): For the second year in a row, Good gets a hometown fight at Madison Square Garden, as the former Bellator champion is one of the few UFC fighters to hail from the borough of Manhattan. Good’s approach is fairly straightforward, as he is a bricked-up power puncher with enough takedown defense to usually keep things standing, except against Demian Maia in February. There is no shame in that loss, but Good looks to rebound against Rencountre, who has been a pleasant surprise. Rencountre was a relatively anonymous fighter until a breakthrough win in July against Ismail Naurdiev, as he managed to apply some pressure behind an aggressive wrestling game. Rencountre may just be able to win this on pace over the relatively low-output Good, but again, the New Yorker has typically been able to keep his fights on the feet, where Rencountre’s lack of defense should eventually become a liability. The pick is Good via second-round knockout.Featherweights
NR | Hakeem Dawodu (10-1-1, -130) vs. NR | Julio Arce (16-3, +110): It was the lone loss thus far of his UFC career, but Arce’s last outing in Madison Square Garden served as a breakthrough affair, as the New Yorker battled Sheymon Moraes in a bloody war that narrowly went to the Brazilian. Arce’s willingness to keep moving forward turned things into an all-action affair, and this bout against Dawodu looks to be an attempt to recreate those fireworks. Calgary’s Dawodu is a straight-ahead striker in his own right, which cost him in his UFC debut, as Danny Henry managed to catch him with a quick club-and-sub finish. However, Dawodu has since looked absolutely excellent, pressuring forward and overwhelming three straight opponents with his own brand of brutal offense. This is almost guaranteed to be fun, as both men prefer the approach of charging forward and smashing into their opponents, but Dawodu looks to be the much more powerful hitter. The pick is for Dawodu to win a war of attrition via third-round stoppage.Related Articles
