UFC Fight Island 8: Main card picks and predictions
Lerone Murphy vs. Douglas Andrade. Murphy, who is 1-0 with 1 Draw in the UFC thus far, has gone up against stiff competition in his first two fights. Andrade, 4-3 in the UFC, has some suspect losses on his record. With one of those losses being to Zubaira Tukhugov, a tough, well-rounded fighter who Murphy fought to a draw, I’m going with Murphy in this fight. In addition, Murphy is coming in the bigger, more youthful fighter.
Murphy via decision
Tyson Nam vs. Matt Schnell. In this fight I’ll be going with Nam. He is the more experienced fighter going into this fight and he has fought tougher competition in my opinion. Nam is currently on a two-fight winning streak, winning both fights by knockout. Schnell, although proven to be a tough out in the UFC, I just don’t believe has the same momentum right now coming off a long layoff, and his last fight ending up in a first round knockout loss to Alexandre Pantoja in December of 2019.
Nam via Decision
Roxanne Modafferi vs. Viviane Araujo. Both women are coming off of wins in their last fights. However I believe the X factor here is Modafferi’s streak of upsets. In addition to her streak of upsets, she is also the bigger fighter in this fight. I believe Modafferi will look to use her size advantage to take this fight to the ground which is where she is strongest.
Modafferi via Submission (Round 3)
Ike Villanueva vs. Vinicius Moreira. Both fighters are yet to pick up their first wins in the UFC. With five losses between them in five combined fights, and all five fights ending in a finish with only one of them making it out of the first round, this really is a pick em’ fight. Moreira, the taller, rangier fighter, should use that to his advantage to get the job done against his opponent.
Moreira via Decision
Warlley Alves vs. Mounir Lazzezz. The co main event is great matchmaking by the UFC in my opinion. Lazzezz, the striker in this match up, debuted last July against Abdul Razak Alhassan where he defeated the powerful striker by unanimous decision in an impressive performance to say the least. Lazzezz has another similar match up against Alves, however, he may look to mix it up a little more in the grappling department. This should be a good test for Lazzezz.
Lazzezz via TKO (Round 2)
Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny. More great matchmaking by the UFC. Chiesa is 3-0 since moving up to welterweight following his last defeat at lightweight in 2018 to former champ, Anthony Pettis. Magny, the winningest welterweight of all-time with 17 wins in the division, is the favorite heading into this match up. However I will be going with Chiesa by submission. I believe that Chiesa has what it takes to out grind Magny with his grappling heavy style in this fight, which will cause him to slowly run away with the fight on the judges scorecards as it goes into the later rounds.
Chiesa via Submission (Round 4)
