The UFC heads to Louisville, KY for its next event on Saturday night, and MMA KO’s Drew Beaupré is here to provide predictions for the entire 14-fight card.
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Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov
I’m a little surprised to see Imavov as the slight favorite here, but he does have a style that could frustrate Cannonier over five rounds and keep the former title challenger from landing anything big. There’s a strong chance that this bout plays out at a fairly slow pace, but at 40 years old I’ll pick Cannonier to fight with enough urgency to get the win and make his case for another title shot.
(Pick: Cannonier)
Dominick Reyes vs. Dustin Jacoby
Reyes’ fall from grace after nearly taking Jon Jones’ light heavyweight title has been precipitous, and after suffering three-straight knockout losses “The Devastator” finds himself matched up with a dangerous striker. A layoff of more than a year and a half has hopefully benefited Reyes, but this seems like a difficult matchup based on how his last few fights have gone.
(Pick: Jacoby)
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios
Originally scheduled to take place at UFC Mexico City, this fight is a chance for Rosas to further distance himself from his first career loss as well as the illness that forced him to withdraw mid-card in February. Turcios is more than capable of playing spoiler here, but I’ll side with Rosas to control the fight with his grappling and pick up another UFC victory.
(Pick: Rosas Jr.)
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Brunno Ferreira vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
Stoltzfus could be fighting for his spot on the roster here after going 2-4 since joining the UFC off Dana White’s Contenders Series. Only one of those four losses have come via knockout, but Ferreira is going to be swinging hard from the opening bell and has the kind of power that only requires him to land one good shot and end the fight.
(Pick: Ferreira)
Julian Marquez vs. Zach Reese
This matchup was pretty clearly put together in the hopes that it would produce a finish, and although Reese came up short in his UFC debut that loss to Cody Brundage did preserve his streak of never seeing a second round in his professional career. “Savage” is more than capable of ending things himself, but I’ll side with Marquez to rebound from a pair of losses against a higher level of competition.
(Pick: Marquez)
Punahele Soriano vs. Miguel Baeza
Soriano is another fighter that may be competing for his job in Louisville, while Baeza is currently on a three-fight skid and hasn’t fought since April 2022. The extended time off has hopefully allowed him to recover from back-to-back knockouts, and if that is the case he should get back into the win column here.
(Pick: Baeza)
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Preliminary Card
Thiago Moisés vs. Ľudovít Klein
This is one of the most well-matched fights on the card and may play out as a classic grappler vs. striker affair. Klein is no slouch on the ground, but his best path to victory will come by forcing Moisés to stand and trade strikes with him.
(Pick: Klein)
Charles Radtke vs. Carlos Prates
This matchup should produce fireworks right from the opening bell, and I expect that Prates’ significant edge in experience will help him add a second UFC victory to the lengthy win streak that he carried into the promotion.
(Pick: Prates)
Brad Katona vs. Jesse Butler
Butler received a rude welcome to the UFC when he stepped in to face Jim Miller last year, and unfortunately he’s been handed another difficult assignment for his second outing against a well-rounded veteran in Katona.
(Pick: Katona)
Andrea Lee vs. Montana De La Rosa
The loser of this fight may end up being cut from the UFC, and while I expect both women to fight with that in their minds I’ll pick Lee to hand De La Rosa a fourth-straight loss and snap her own four-fight skid in the process.
(Pick: Lee)
Daniel Marcos vs. John Castañeda
This is an outstanding bantamweight tilt that should be one of the more entertaining fights on the card, and I’m going to side with “Sexi Mexi” to come out on top and hand Marcos the first loss of his career.
(Pick: Castañeda)
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Eduarda Moura vs. Denise Gomes
This is another one of the underrated fights at UFC Louisville, and after coming up short against Angela Hill in her last outing I’ll pick Gomes to get back on track and spoil another unbeaten record against Moura.
(Pick: Gomes)
Cody Stamann vs. Taylor Lapilus
It’s a surprise to see a pair of such experienced bantamweights this far down the card, but this should be a fun fight that will see Stamann test Lapilus’ takedown defense after the Frenchman returned to the UFC last year.
(Pick: Lapilus)
Puja Tomar vs. Rayanne Amanda
Tomar will make history as the first Indian woman to fight in the UFC once she enters the Octagon on Saturday night, but I’m siding with Amanda to spoil that moment somewhat by picking up the first win of her own UFC career.
(Pick: Amanda)
MMA KO will be providing comprehensive coverage for UFC Louisville all throughout fight week, and be sure to check back on our homepage for a preview of the event as well as live results and highlights on fight night.
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