UFC Fight Night 263 takes place tomorrow night in Las Vegas and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.

Main Card

Steve Garcia vs. David Onama

Steve Garcia has put together a six-fight unbeaten run in the Octagon to earn headlining duties this weekend against David Onama, who has compiled a four-fight winning streak.

Garcia is coming fresh off the biggest win of his career, having beaten Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision in July. That was actually the first time he’d gone to the scorecards during his recent run of form, having finished his other five wins by TKO to extend his overall record to 14 finishes from 18 career victories. Both fighters here are big for the division, but Garcia has a slight advantage with 1″ extra in height and 3″ in reach. Garcia is a fighter who likes to impose his will on his opponents with a high-volume mix of punches, kicks, elbows, and knees that are delivered with both power and accuracy. He continues that if the fight goes to the mat with aggressive ground-and-pound, but he’s not much of a submission threat and has been vulnerable to strong wrestlers in the past. It’s also worth noting that despite his current form, his time in the UFC began with two losses in his first three bouts, and he’d previously had a few setbacks in the Bellator promotion too.

Onama picked up his biggest win to date over Giga Chikadze on the scorecards last time out to go 6-2 in the UFC. Onama has good athleticism that’s evident on the feet with both his speed and power, although despite having secured 7 of his 14 career wins by strikes, his last three UFC victories have all come by decision. He’s a well-rounded fighter, capable of solid offensive wrestling too and boasting four submission wins, but his takedown defense isn’t as convincing, and his gas tank can start to run low in the latter stages of fights. Still, he’s proven durable, having never been stopped in his career.

A nicely matched fight here, but I think Garcia will continue to demonstrate his potent striking here with a 2nd round stoppage.

Pick: Steve Garcia wins by TKO in Rd2.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Ante Delija

Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s decision loss to Sergei Pavlovich a couple of months ago ended a five-fight unbeaten run in the Octagon. Now he’ll dust himself off and get back to business against Ante Delija, who won his UFC debut by KO.

A decade ago Cortes-Acosta left his pro-baseball career and began his combat sports career, initially focusing more on boxing, where he compiled a 6-4 record, before turning his sights more on MMA. And that boxing foundation has been the core element of his fighting style while stringing together a 14-2 record in the sport, including a 7-2 run in the UFC so far. It’s evident from the lack of depth and versatility to his game that the 34-year-old is not a lifelong martial artist, but Cortes-Acosta does have athleticism and good footwork on his size, which always helps in the heavyweight division. He’s also patient in his approach, preferring to work behind the jab and look to outpoint his opponents rather than go for a big finish. Meanwhile, his ground game is fairly basic, but that’s not been a problem for him so far, and he’s never been stopped in his career so far.

Delija is a 35-year-old former PFL tournament champion who holds a 26-6 career record. As such he’s certainly more experienced than his opponent here, and as such has a more well-rounded skill-set. Like Cortes-Acosta he has the ability to work his striking fundamentals at a steady pace, but he’s also proven to have more of a cutting edge to his work, with 13 of his 26 wins coming via strikes, including four 1st round finishes in his last five victories. Delija also brings capable wrestling, but while he also does have several submission wins on his record, the last of those was over a decade ago.

Two sturdy heavyweight here and so I think this one might go all the way to the scorecards, with Delija getting the nod thanks to being a bit harder-hitting and more well-rounded.

Pick: Ante Delija wins by decision.

Jeremiah Wells vs. Themba Gorimbo

Jeremiah Wells burst onto the UFC scene with four victories, but his momentum has since stalled with back-to-back losses. Next up Wells faces Themba Gorimbo, whose loss last December ended a four-fight winnings stretch.

It’s been a year-and-a-half since we last saw Wells and he’s just turned 39-years-old this week, so time isn’t on his side. Despite his age, the last time we saw him Wells was still a stocky, muscular athlete with explosive power on the feet. He complements that with strong wrestling and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which has earned him several submission wins over the years. The concern however, is that at this age and stage his cardio and durability are now on shaky ground, and there’s also the possibility of ring-rust too after his lengthy lay-off.

Gorimbo, 34, first gained attention when Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson gave him a home and financial support after learning that the Zimbabwean was penniless and sleeping in the gym. That generous intervention gave him stability and he went on to notch up wins over Ramiz Brahimaj and Niko Price before being submitted by Vicente Luque in the first round of his last fight. At 6’1”, Gorimbo will enjoy a 4″ height and 3″ reach advantage here. He’s not the most technical striker, but he’s a capable all-rounder who mixes up his striking with solid wrestling, clinch work, good ground-and-pound, and a submission threat. That said, both of his UFC defeats have come via submission, highlighting potential defensive concerns on the mat.

Wells relies a lot on his natural athleticism, and at his age it’s tough to continue to count on that, so I like Gorimbo’s chances of avoiding his early power shots and then getting the better of the later rounds to emerge with a decision victory.

Pick: Themba Gorimbo wins by decision.

Isaac Dulgarian vs. Yadier del Valle

Isaac Dulgarian enters this matchup with a 2–1 UFC record, while Yadier del Valle looks to build on a submission win in his UFC debut earlier in the year.

The 29-year-old Dulgarian was marked out as an exciting prospect very early in his career, resulting in him signing for the UFC after just five fights, each of which he’d won inside the first round. His game is built around his aggressive wrestling that’s used more as a platform to seek out a finish rather than simply control his opponent. As such, once on the mat he eagerly seeks out opportunities for heavy ground-and-pound or submission opportunities. He’s also a capable striker, but his energetic approach can drain his gas tank if he doesn’t get the finish he’s looking for. That was exposed in a split-decision loss to Christian Rodriguez in his second UFC fight. However, given that this came still relatively early in his career, it feels like it could be a learning experience that will help him become a better fighter in the long run.


The 29-year-old Del Valle is a Contender Series graduate who has gone 9-0 in his career to date. ‘The Cuban Problem’ is a fighter who can compete wherever the fight goes with solid boxing, dependable wrestling, and a submission threat that earned him a rear-naked choke win over Connor Matthews in his UFC debut. He’s not the hardest hitter though and he is comfortable just looking to best his opponents over three rounds, which he’s managed successfully on four occasions.

Del Valle is a capable prospect, but Dulgarian has shown more signs of being a fighter who can continue to climb the ladder, and so while there are still concerns over his ability to pace himself effectively, I do think he’ll have done enough in the opening two rounds here to ensure he emerges with a decision win.

Pick: Isaac Dulgarian wins by decision.

Charles Radtke vs. Daniel Frunza

Charles Radtke has been defeated in two of his last three fights, while Daniel Frunza looks to rebound from a TKO loss in his UFC debut.

The 35-year-old Radtke is a gritty competitor who relishes opportunities to just brawl with his opponent. He brings solid hand speed and genuine knockout power, but his willingness to trade has often left him vulnerable to being hurt. That’s now become a bigger concern given that both of his recent losses have come by knockout, though one of those was via a knee to the body. Radtke can also occasionally mix in some grappling, but he’s certainly happier and more of a threat on the feet.

The 31-year-old Frunza is something of a kindred spirit given that he also likes to battle it out on the feet. He’s not the fastest, but he carries heavy hands that’s led to all but one of his nine career wins coming via strikes, including in his Contender Series fight. However, his UFC debut went badly wrong as his attempts to scrap with Rhys McKee led to him being dropped three times in the opening round by before a doctor’s stoppage ended the fight. Combined with a couple of past submission losses, it’s clear Frunza is still quite raw at this stage in his career, so he’s got a lot of work to do to stick around in the UFC.

With both men being dangerous but also very hittable this looks like a volatile match-up that could well end early. Assuming they do stand and trade I think Radtke’s speed advantage could help him to land the killer blow first, leading to a first round TKO win.

Pick: Charles Radtke wins by TKO in Rd1.

Allan Nascimento vs. Cody Durden

Allan Nascimento enters this match-up riding a three-fight winning streak, while Cody Durden looks to halt a decline in form that’s seen him drop four of his last five bouts.

The 34-year-old Nascimento has had quite a stop-start journey to reach this point in his career. In his early years he was a very active fighter, but a loss on the Contender Series as far back as 2018 led to a three-year hiatus from competing. He resurfaced in 2021 was soon signed for the UFC, losing his debut but rebounding with three straight victories. However, his most recent win came in May after a two-and-a-half-year injury layoff. Nascimento is best known for his talented grappling, boasting 14 submission wins among his 22 career victories. While he can also strike, he tends to stick to a low-volume approach that largely serves as a set-up for his ground game.

The 34-year-old Durden has endured a turbulent past couple of years, with his run of defeats including the only two times he’s been beaten by strikes in his entire career. Durden isn’t a fighter who stands out in any particular regard, but he’s a solid enough all-rounder who has capable boxing, a background in wrestling and can present an occasional submission threat. That being said, defensively he’s less effective, having been submitted three times, while his recent durability issues also now make him more vulnerable.

I don’t see Durden having to worry about being finished on the feet on this occasion, but I do think Nascimento will prove to be problematic for him on the mat, leading to a 2nd round submission stoppage.

Pick: Alan Nascimento wins by submission in Rd2.

Prelims (Predicted winners in bold)

Billy Elekana vs. Kevin Christian
Timothy Cuamba vs. Lee Chang-ho
Donte Johnson vs. Sedriques Dumas
Ketlen Vieira vs. Norma Dumont
Alice Ardelean vs. Montserrat Ruiz
Philip Rowe vs. Ko Seok-hyun
Talita Alencar vs. Ariane Carnelossi