The First card of the year and OH WHAT A CARD IT IS!!!!The UFC starts 2021 with a banger of a card. No Title fights but a lot of future and former stars on the main card. My 2020 KO of the Year winner Joaquin Buckley is set up for a nice fight to see if he’s the real deal. A potential #1 contender fight on the main and at the return of the best ever fighter coming out of Argentina in Santiago Ponzinibbio. I’ll give you a Mini Breakdown of the card and my picks.
Punahele Soriano (7-0) vs Dusko Todorovic (10-0)
Both Undefeated and both with a lot to prove. Todorovic has the advantage with his experience in the Octagon. Todorovic opens at -160, that’s a big advantage but we’ve see guys come in with a bit of hype and get KOd. I think it’ll be Unanimous Decision in favour of the beast from Montenegro
Alession Di Chirico (12-5) vs Joaquim Buckley (12-3)
Buckley is the favourite at -270 here and for good reason. He’s coming off highlight of the year spinning heel kick KO. So I can see the line move towards Italian born Alessio Di Chirico. I already bet on Buckley on a parlay but I think Di Chirico a good striker and a grinder. I see him winning a decision over Buckley. It’s a good bet at +230.
Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-3) vs Li JianLiang (17-6)
The return of Ponzinibbio is something that I’ve been very excited for. His last fight was December 2018. He’s facing off against an abosulte unit of a fighter. Li Jiangliang is off a tight decision loss to Neil Magny. The kid can brawl and take a beating. He throws punches and bunches and never takes a step back. JiangLiang is underdog +260. That’s where I’m going
Carlos Condit (31-13) vs Matt Brown (24-17)
This is one notch away from a legendary fight. Condit, a former Interim Welterweight Champ vs Matt Brown. Brown literally came back from the dead and is still fighting at 40 years old. Brown coming off a KO loss to up and coming monster Miguel Baeza. Condit just fought another TUF legend in Court Mcgee and won but The Natural Born Killer lost his previous five fights. Condit will surely win this fight since it seems that Brown’s chin is gone. Condit by TKO 2nd round. Moneyline win gets you -170, but Condit 2nd round finish pays +850 – Love that.
#6 Calvin Kattar (22-4) vs #1 Max Holloway (21-6)
I’m so torn on this like most MMA fans. I like that Holloway is very durable, but how long can that last. Kattar is a monster that won’t stop pushing until his opponent quits. The problem is that Max never quits!! He’ll take it. Holloway is coming off a loss to get his belt back from Volkanovski. Loss by a tight decision, I thought Holloway won, but it is how the cookie crumbles. Hard to bet on this because my heart says Holloway but my mind says Kattar. The line is thin but Kattar at giving 2.35 is a nice Moneyline.
Watch Episode 1 of my MMA show in collaboration with Tarps OFF MMA. Jack Gotsell and Host Chris “The Seltzer King” Mancuso have invited me onto their show to breakdown upcoming fights.