UFC Fight Night 62 takes place tomorrow night in Brazil and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.
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Main Card:
Demian Maia vs. Ryan LaFlare
Not a great main event is it? If this one stays standing I like LaFlare, but during his welterweight run to date Maia has mostly been going back to his roots and taking his opponents to the mat, though sadly more often than not failing to show off the submission skills that made him so exciting early in his UFC career.
It’s quite possible that LaFlare could use his wrestling to stop Maia getting the fight where he wants it, but I’ll go for the Brazilian’s tenacity to pay off, leading to a somewhat uneventful encounter as he controls his opponent on the mat, but fails to find a finish.
Demain Maia to win by decision.
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Josh Koscheck vs. Erick Silva
This fight just doesn’t seem like a good idea for Koscheck who was already on a four fight losing streak prior to accepting this encounter with Silva on short notice.
Silva can be a bit of a liability at times as he throws caution to the wind one too many times during his fights in pursuit of a finish, but on his day he’s faster, younger, more dynamic and more dangerous than Koscheck who’s definitely past his best and I like the Brazilian to get a finish one way or another here in the first half of the fight.
Erick Silva to win by submission in Rd2.
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Leonardo Santos vs. Tony Martin
Martin is the more well-rounded fighter here and has youth on his side compared to the aging Santos. He has enough of a wrestling advantage to ensure Santos can’t just take him down at will to implement his ground game and I believe he’ll do enough to come away with a win on the scorecards tomorrow night.
Tony Martin to win by decision.
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Amanda Nunes vs. Shayna Baszler
This fight reminds me of the Koscheck Vs Silva fight further up the card with Baszler already looking like someone who’s got one foot in the door to retirement, while Nunes is something of a firecracker on the feet and I’m taking her to come out with all guns blazing and find an early finish here.
Amanda Nunes to win by TKO in Rd1.
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Gilbert Burns vs. Alex Oliveira
Oliveira has promise, but he’s making his UFC debut on short notice here against a very capable opponent in Burns who excels on the mat, but isn’t out of his element on the feet either. I’ll take Burns to go 3-0 in the UFC with a second round submission.
Gilbert Burns to win by submission in Rd2.
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Godofredo Pepey vs. Andre Fili
This should be fast and furious as two fighters who are much more concerned with offense than defense go head-to-head. Pepey’s chin is questionable and I think that’ll be his downfall here as Fili finishes him in the middle stanza.
Andre Fili to win by TKO in Rd2.
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Prelims: (Predicted winners in bold)
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Akbarh Arreola
Kevin Souza vs. Katsunori Kikuno
Leandro Silva vs. Drew Dober
Leonardo Mafra vs. Cain Carrizosa
Jorge de Oliveira vs. Christos Giagos
Bentley Syler vs. Fredy Serrano
