UFC Fight Night 72 takes place in Glasgow, Scotland tomorrow and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.
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Main Card:
Michael Bisping vs. Thales Leites
Leites has been on a fantastic run of late, but this is his toughest test yet. As much as Leites striking has improved, Bisping will still be the more technically accomplished on the feet and won’t be a duck out of water should the Brazilian take him to the mat.
Bisping should also have the cardio advantage, particularly in a five round fight like this, so I favor the Brit to come out on top here via decision.
Michael Bisping to win by decision.
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Evan Dunham vs. Ross Pearson
Dunham is a good all-rounder who’s better than his recent 2-5 record in the UFC would suggest. I anticipate a relatively close, competitive encounter here, but I feel Pearson will be able to keep it standing and he’s got more power in his punches and is sound enough defensively with his footwork and head movement to outpoint Dunham on the scorecards.
Ross Pearson to win by decision.
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Joseph Duffy vs. Ivan Jorge
Duffy was the last man to beat Conor McGregor and that was no fluke – he’s definitely another talented fighter from the Emerald Isle who’s capable of putting on a show wherever the fight goes. He’s probably not going to reach the heights that McGregor has experienced, but he’s got enough in his locker to get past a solid, but not spectacular opponent like Jorge.
Joseph Duffy to win by TKO in Rd2.
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Joanne Calderwood vs. Cortney Casey
Calderwood has won over fans with her butter-wouldn’t-melt personality and gentle Scottish lilt, but she’s yet to really live up to the early hype in the Octagon. While she’s a good muay-thai stylist who works well from the clinch, she’s not the most athletic strawweight out there and has some defensive frailties on the mat, but I’d expect her to get a comfortable win under her belt here on home soil against late replacement newcomer Casey.
Joanne Calderwood to win by decision.
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Leon Edwards vs. Pawel Pawlak
We should be in for a striking battle in this welterweight match-up and both men have the ability to finish this one inside the distance, but Edwards has the bigger stopping power overall and should emerge with his hand raised.
Leon Edwards to win by TKO in Rd2.
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Leonardo Mafra vs. Stevie Ray
Ray hails from Scotland, so expect him to get some major support tomorrow in Glasgow. He’s the more well-rounded of the two fighters here and by mixing up his strikes with some takedowns and spells in top control he’ll give the home support something to cheer about.
Stevie Ray to win by decision.
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Prelims: (Predicted winner in bold)
Paddy Holohan vs. Vaughan Lee
Ilir Latifi vs. Hans Stringer
Mickael Lebout vs. Teemu Packalen
Paul Redmond vs. Robert Whiteford
Marcus Brimage vs. Jimmie Rivera
Chris de la Rocha vs. Daniel Omielanczuk
