UFC Fight Night 31, aka ‘Fight For The Troops 3’ goes down in Fort Campbell, Kentucky tomorrow night and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.
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Main Card:
Tim Kennedy vs. Rafael Natal
Kennedy tends to fall just short when facing the very best middleweights, but that aside his solid, dependable jack-of-all-trades skill-set usually stands him in good stead.
That should be the case against Natal who’s notched up a number of wins in the UFC, but against low level opposition. He’ll struggle to get Kennedy to the mat, and will get outboxed and outworked on the feet en-route to a decision loss.
Tim Kennedy to win by decision
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Liz Carmouche vs. Alexis Davis
Two talented ladies, but I think Carmouche will prove to be too big and strong for the always game Davis here and should be able to outgrapple her to a win on the judges scorecards.
Liz Carmouche to win by decision
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Ronny Markes vs. Yoel Romero
This is a fight that could go either way. Markes has already proven he can hang with some solid middleweights and has more cage experience, but Romero has better wrestling and packs a mean punch.
Markes could gain the upperhand if he can takes Romero into deep waters, but I see Romero starting strongly and finishing him in the second round with ground and pound.
Yoel Romero to win by TKO in Rd2.
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Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov
Interesting fight here. Masvidal is a stylist on the feet and definitely has the better striking here, while Khabilov is relentless in his pursuit of takedowns and has mastered the suplex.
Masvidal is actually no slouch on the mat, but I don’t think this is a great stylistic match-up for him, particularly as he’s more of a patient counter-striker, whereas in this fight he really needs to impose his will when given the opportunity to strike. Therefore, I see Khabilov landing frequent takedowns over the course of three rounds to win by decision.
Rustam Khabilov to win by decision
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Colton Smith vs. Michael Chiesa
These two are fairly evenly matched, with both being gritty fighters who are at their best on the mat.
It’s a fight that could go either way, but chiesa’s proven to be a crafty fighter who keeps a cool head and has a knack for finding a way to win so I favor him to find a late submission here.
Michael Chiesa to win by submission in Rd3
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Prelims:
James Krause vs. Bobby Green
George Roop vs. Francisco Rivera
Dennis Bermudez vs. Steven Siler
Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie
Chris Camozzi vs. Lorenz Larkin
Yves Edwards vs. Yancy Medeiros
Neil Magny vs. Seth Baczynski
Derek Brunson vs. Brian Houston
