The final UFC event of the year, ‘UFC Fight Night 58’ takes place tomorrow night in Brazil and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.
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Main Card:
Lyoto Machida vs. C. B. Dollaway
Dollaway has done well to get to this point with his skill-set, but I just can’t see him getting past a top contender like Machida.
He’s fairly slow and predictable with his offensive output on the feet and that plays right into Machida’s swift, counter-striking style.
Dollaway’s best best would be to take the fight to the mat, but I suspect Machida will be far too elusive for him and at the very least he’s looking at a one-sided decision loss, but I’ll take ‘The Dragon’ to stop him with strikes in the second round.
Lyoto Machida to win by TKO in Rd2.
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Renan Barao vs. Mitch Gagnon
Barao finally returns to action and this feels like something of a warm-up fight to get him back on track before an inevitable rematch with TJ Dillashaw for the title next year.
That’s not to say Gagnon is a bad fighter-by any means he’s an industrious bantamweight with an effective choke-based submission game, but Barao’s too savvy to get caught up in that and has the advantage both on the feet and on the mat toverall to stop Gagnon before the final bell.
Renan Barao to win by TKO in Rd3.
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Antonio Carlos Jr. vs. Patrick Cummins
TUF Brazil 3 winner Carlos Jr has shown himself to have a good ground game with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu being his stock in trade and he’ll probably need to make use of it off his back as Cummins is a strong wrestler with good ground and pound.
On the feet it’s closer with both men being a bit rough around the edges, but I think this one will be won or lost in the grappling exchanges with Cummins wrestling being the deciding factor.
Patrick Cummins to win by decision.
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Elias Silverio vs. Rashid Magomedov
A competitive lightweight match-up here between two fighters trying to push towards a spot on the official rankings.
Striking and clinch work will likely be the order of the day here, though Magomedov’s wrestling is superior if they go to ground and overall I favor him to have a little more to offer over the course of 15 minutes to earn the nod on the scorecards.
Rashid Magomedov to win by decision.
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Erick Silva Vs Mike Rhodes
Silva is still not living up to his full potential, and perhaps he never will due to his high-octane and at times reckless pursuit of a finish.
He tends to slip up against a higher level of opposition than Rhodes though who’s a reasonably solid fighter but has struggled to make his mark in the UFC so far and I think this is the kind of match-up that Silva can win convincingly and end the year back in the win column. I like him to hurt Rhodes on the feet and then finish by submission.
Erick Silva to win by submission in Rd2.
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Daniel Sarafian Vs Antonio dos Santos jr
Sarafian has struggled to keep his head above water in the UFC so far, but he’s got a good opportunity to get a win under his belt against late replacement and UFC newcomer Dos Santos Jr, and I think he’ll take it courtesy of his superior submission skills.
Daniel Sarafian to win by submission in Rd2.
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Prelims:
Marcos Rogério de Lima vs. Igor Pokrajac
Darren Elkins vs. Hacran Dias
Leandro Issa vs. Yuta Sasaki
Márcio Alexandre jr vs. Tim Means
Vitor Maranda vs. Jake Collier
