
The UFC is back in London, England today (March 21) for another UFC Fight Night event, and MMA KO’s Drew Beaupré is here to provide predictions for all 13 fights on the card.
The main event will see top-ranked contenders Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy both put their respective unbeaten records on the line, and the winner will almost certainly be positioned for a crack at the UFC featherweight title.
The co-main event also features another undefeated featherweight in Luke Riley, who is set to take on Michael Aswell Jr. after the former Cage Warriors star scored a third-round finish against Bogdan Grad in his promotional debut in November.
It’s rare to see matchups between two undefeated fighters in the UFC, and it will be an absolute travesty if the winner of this bout doesn’t get a featherweight title shot. Murphy will obviously be fighting in his home country and is coming off a sensational knockout of Aaron Pico, but I expect that Evloev will stifle “The Miracle” at UFC London.
(Pick: Evloev)
Riley getting a co-main event slot in his second UFC bout speaks volumes about what the promotion thinks of his potential, and most fans will be expecting the 26-year-old to put on another characteristically-violent showing against Aswell.
(Pick: Riley)
This fight represents a fairly-significant step up in competition for Patterson. Unless Page has slowed down considerably, he should be able to win the striking exchanges and make a successful return to the welterweight division.
(Pick: Page)
The matchmaking in this fight was openly criticized by fans when the bout was first announced, and Lane will almost certainly see his UFC career come to an end if he becomes the latest victim to undefeated knockout artist Baraniewski.
(Pick: Baraniewski)
Duncan seems to have finally hit his stride over his last few fights, and Dolidze would be a solid name to add to his record before hopefully setting up a matchup with someone in the Top 15 of the UFC middleweight division.
(Pick: Duncan)
The last of a number of fighters that will make their promotional debuts on this card, Campbell will likely be tested by Silva but should still get his hand raised and extend his undefeated record.
(Pick: Campbell)
Promotional brass knew exactly what they were doing when this fight was slotted in as the featured prelim for UFC London, and I think Jones will improve to 3-0 since rejoining the UFC in what should be one of the most entertaining fights on the entire card.
(Pick: Jones)
Keita has arguably been handed a tougher opponent here after being forced out of his original debut against Patricio Pitbull. I’m very tempted to pick Wood to pull off the upset, but I’ve been waiting too long to see Keita in the UFC to pick against him here.
(Pick: Keita)
I was much more interested in Pinto’s original matchup with Mick Parkin, and I expect that the Portuguese heavyweight will give Franco a rude welcome to the UFC when the pair meet in London.
(Pick: Pinto)
Torocoli has been stopped in all three of his UFC fights and is facing a debuting fighter known for winning by knockout, but I think “Malvado” will try and bring things to the ground quickly in order to hopefully extend his time with the UFC.
(Pick: Trocoli)
This feels like the kind of heavyweight tilt that’s difficult to call given that it may only take one clean punch to end things, and I’ll side with the favorite in Pericic to secure another victory after winning his UFC debut last year.
(Pick: Pericic)
It’s really tough to know what to expect from Al-Selwady given that he’s returning from a lengthy layoff, but I still have to pick him here given that Rock is a significantly larger submission threat than he is a knockout threat.
(Pick: Al-Selwady)
Oliveira is staring down the prospect of potentially being cut if she starts her UFC career with three-straight losses, and the promotion hasn’t done her any favors by booking her against a dangerous striker looking to make a strong impression in her UFC debut.
(Pick: Dyer)
MMA KO has been providing comprehensive coverage for UFC London all throughout fight week, and be sure to check back with us later today for live results and highlights from all the action.
More must-reads:
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!