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<\/a><\/p>\nABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – AUGUST 03: (R-L) Marlon Vera of Ecuador punches Deiveson Figueiredo of Brazil in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Etihad Arena on August 03, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges\/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Zuffa LLC via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Bantamweight: Marlon Vera (+110)<\/a> vs. Aiemann Zahabi (-130)<\/a> Though boxing is undoubtedly the strongest asset of each man, they go about their work in different ways. Vera is a powerful and extremely composed sniper. His defense is tight, allowing him to work behind the jab and line up heavy counter connections. Zahabi, conversely, is a smart combination punches who builds off his success very well. He\u2019s not an overwhelming athlete, yet Zahabi\u2019s comfort in the pocket and quality head movement nevertheless allow him to beat up his foes in exchanges.<\/p>\n It\u2019s so hard to trust Vera these days. He\u2019s lost three of his last four, and volume was an issue in all of those defeats. Great defense and an iron chin don\u2019t matter if Vera doesn\u2019t throw back. Subsequently, he falls into the Diaz brother problem category of \u201cwould be unbeaten if rounds never ended\u201d \u2026 but that\u2019s not the game!<\/p>\n Is Zahabi the guy to take advantage? I\u2019m not so sure. Vera has only been flustered by longer, faster, and\/or more powerful athletes, and Zahabi doesn\u2019t fit any of those descriptors. He\u2019s more likely to give Vera the fight he wants, and \u201cChito\u201d does have a good deal more sting on his shots. In addition, Vera seems well-equipped to pull ahead on the strength of his kicks (if he remembers that part of his game).<\/p>\n There can be no trusting Vera, but he\u2019s the better fighter and should win.<\/p>\n Prediction: Vera via decision<\/p>\n MONTREAL, QUEBEC – MAY 10: Manon Fiorot of France prepares to face Valentina Shevchenko of Kyrgyzstan in the UFC flyweight championship bout during the UFC 315 event at Bell Centre on May 10, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Women\u2019s Bantamweight: Manon Fiorot (-225)<\/a> vs. Jasmine Jasudavicious (+185)<\/a> Fiorot is one of her division\u2019s best athletes. Her background in kickboxing and karate shows up in every fights, as she\u2019s a serviceable boxer but really shines at distance when able to break her opponents down with kicks. Jasudavicious, conversely, is a mauler on the canvas. At 36 years of age, she\u2019s only recently started blending her kickboxing and wrestling together, which has really improved her success rate in dragging foes down to the canvas.<\/p>\n I like Jasudavicious and her recent improvements, but this is a brutal match up for her. Fiorot is one of the best sprawl-and-brawl fighters in the division \u2014 ask Erin Blanchfield! She\u2019s incredibly strong in the clinch and will be the much more fluid striker here. Unless Jasudavicious can somehow knock down Fiorot, she\u2019s going to seriously struggle to take or hold down the French contender.<\/p>\n Most likely, Jasudavicious ends up on the end of the side kick for long periods of time.<\/p>\n Prediction: Fiorot via decision<\/p>\n LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 15: (L-R) Cody Gibson punches Da\u2019Mon Blackshear in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 15, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Bantamweight: Cody Gibson (-166)<\/a> vs. Aoriqileng (+140)<\/a> Gibson is all about offense. He\u2019s a strong wrestler with a heavy top game, but Gibson is more than willing to throw punches-in-bunches until able to find his way to the takedown. Aoriqileng, conversely, is a more single-minded slugger. He\u2019s down for a brawl though, happy to take a punch to land one if needed, and his takedown defense has improved quite a bit in the four years he\u2019s been on the UFC roster.<\/p>\n I\u2019m torn here. On one hand, Gibson is definitely the better wrestler and ground fighter, and he also throws in combination more than \u201cThe Mongolian Murderer.\u201d However, Aoriqileng has fewer miles on the tires, and he\u2019s definitely sniping with more raw power.<\/p>\n I enjoy watching \u201cThe Renegade\u201d fight, but he often sets a pace he cannot maintain. Against a younger and likely better athlete in Aoriqileng, it feels likely that the effort of grounding Aoriqileng will take a lot out of Gibson\u2019s tank. Then, he\u2019ll be dealing with a faster, heavier puncher who will be catching him coming in.<\/p>\n Barring a quick finish, that\u2019s not a recipe for success.<\/p>\n Prediction: Aoriqileng via decision<\/p>\n ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY – MARCH 30: (R-L) Kyle Nelson of Canada punches Bill Algeo in a featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Boardwalk Hall Arena on March 30, 2024 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Zuffa LLC via Getty Images<\/p>\n Lightweight: Kyle Nelson (-102)<\/a> vs. Matt Frevola (-118)<\/a> Nelson is something of an overachiever. After a 1-4 (1) start to his UFC career, \u201cThe Monster\u201d fought his way back to a three-fight win streak over solid competition. He\u2019s a crafty kickboxer who lands with enough power to slow opponents down and convince them to play his game. Frevola, conversely, is a very aggressive slugger with a scholastic wrestling background. Nelson is an explosive athlete with good power, but he also has issues with running into counters and setting too intense of a pace.<\/p>\n I agree with the pick \u2019em odds here, as there are obvious advantages for both. Frevola is the better athlete and stronger wrestler, but Nelson is the more technical kickboxer and has picked apart fatigued foes in the past. For me, the deciding factor is that Nelson is coming up from Featherweight. Frevola should be able to find better success with his takedowns as a result of the size advantage, which could be the deciding factor in a competitive striking battle.<\/p>\n Prediction: Frevola via decision <\/p>\n \u2018X-Factor\u2019 Picks for 2025: 51-25<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This weekend (Sat., Oct. 18, 2025), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventures forth to Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,40762,785,85,45879,19458,19457,7990,1647],"class_list":["post-216286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-latest-ufc-mma-news","tag-mma","tag-sports","tag-ufc-on-espn-fight-night","tag-ufc-odds","tag-ufc-predictions","tag-ufc-previews","tag-upcoming-ufc-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a>Best Win for Vera? Sean O\u2019Malley For Zahabi? Jose Aldo
Current Streak: Vera has lost two straight, while Zahabi has won his last six bouts
X-Factor: Vera can be too patient
How these two match up: If you like MMA boxing, this is an amazing match up.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/a>Best Win for Fiorot? Erin Blanchfield For Jasudavicious? Jessica Andrade
Current Streak: Fiorot lost her last bout to champion Valentina Shevchenko, while Jasudavicious has won five in a row
X-Factor: How does Fiorot rebound from his first UFC defeat?
How these two match up: This is a well-deserved step up for Canada\u2019s finest female fighter.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/a>Best Win for Gibson? John Dodson For Aoriqileng? Johnny Munoz Jr.
Current Streak: Both men lost their last bout
X-Factor: Both men are kill-or-be-kill fighters
How these two match up: This is going to be chaos for however long it lasts!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/a>Best Win for Nelson? Bill Algeo For Frevola? Drew Dober
Current Streak: Nelson lost his last bout, while Frevola has lost two in a row
X-Factor: Nelson is back up at Lightweight after years at 145 pounds
How these two match up: I declare this match up to be a certified Lightweight banger.<\/p>\n