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The final UFC card of 2021 is one of the best non pay-per-view cards of the year with some incredible matchups. Besides the big boy banger in the main event between Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukus, this card has a full slate of premium fights on the undercard that deserve a long look.
-250 Stephen Thompson (16-5-1: 7 KOs, 1 SUB) vs. +195 Belal Muhammad (19-3: 4 KOs, 1 SUB)
One of the most interesting matchups of 2021 between two fan favorites in Belal Muhammad and Stephen Thompson is a very important fight for each fighter’s trajectory. Thompson, who’s defying father time, is an elite karate kickboxer, who’s challenged for UFC belts before but has fallen short to only the elite of the welterweight division, faces a tough and always improving Muhammad. While the Chicago native Muhammad has shown the ability to hang with superior competition, I don’t see him being one of the very few to crack Thompson’s finely-tuned style. Expect Thompson to edge out a decision in this one.
Selection: Thompson via Decision
-210 Cub Swanson (27-12: 12 KOs, 4 SUBs) vs. +165 Darren Elkins (25-9: 9 KOs, 5 SUBs)
Surprisingly, Darren Elkins and Cub Swanson, two longtime vets in the UFC’s featherweight division, are clashing for the first time in their respective careers. Both men embody what it is to be a UFC fighter; enjoyment of competition and the undying will to win. Elkins is known for breaking his opponents’ will not only because of his technical skill, but because of his huge gas tank and never-quit attitude. Swanson, who’s faced better competition than Elkins, has shown major leaps in improvement throughout his career, but at the end of the day he won’t back down from a war either. I like Swanson to survive the chaotic pace of Elkins while also working in his beautifully technical boxing.
Selection: Swanson via Decision
-375 Amanda Lemos (10-1-1: 7 KOs, 2 SUBs) vs. +280 Angela Hill (13-10: 5 KOs)
While Angela Hill’s record isn’t the prettiest, it’s 100% not a reflection of her career. The Muay Thai specialist has had great success in her career but just hasn’t cracked through to that elite status of the UFC’s strawweight division yet. And no disrespect to Amanda Lemos who is a very gifted young fighter and who will try to use Hill’s name as a building block for something greater, but I got Hill marking her territory as the superior martial artist in this one.
Selection: Hill via Decision
-280 Ricky Simon (18-3: 5 KOs, 3 SUBs) vs. +215 Raphael Assuncao (27-8: 4 KOs, 10 SUBs)
New vs. Old. Longtime UFC vet Raphael Assuncao is facing the vibrant Ricky Simon in a battle for a seat in the top half of the stacked bantamweight division. Assuncao has fought the who’s who of the UFC’s division and has kinda been in a gatekeeper role lately for lower echelon 135-pound fighters. Is Simon ripe for the picking for the extremely well-rounded Assuncao? Or will Simon, the man with the mullet and the excellent grappling, grind his way to victory? It’s a really tough call here, but I like Simon to assert himself as a fighter that’s willing to make the right adjustments to preserve his distant title hopes.
Selection: Simon via Decision
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-210 Charles Jourdain (11-4-1: 8 KOs, 3 SUBs) vs. +165 Andre Ewell (17-8: 7 KOs, 4 SUBs)
This should be a fun shootout! Andre Ewell and Charles Jourdain are down for a stand-up war any day of the week! Both of these entertaining fighters possess sharp striking skills that could put away any fighter in the division on any given night. But, both men have failed to elevate themselves past being an entertaining fighter. However, this could be the single fight that puts them on a consistent winning path.. I like both of these guys a lot. Ewell has a great reach and some tight boxing, while Jourdain has strong kickboxing abilities matched with a gun blazing approach. So who will win? I like Jourdain to play things a little closer to the chest and be a bit wiser in his approach this time around.
Selection: Jourdain via 3rd-Round Submission
-195 Mateusz Gamrot (19-1: 6 KOs, 5 SUBs) vs. +155 Diego Ferreira (17-4: 3 KOs, 7 SUBs)
Boy oh boy is this a very interesting fight! It’s the perfect time for this fight in the lightweight division and it’s a great matchup of two highly-credentialed grapplers. Ferreira is a wiz in jiu-jitsu, but he lost momentum in his last Mixed Martial Arts fight when he was gassed out by another elite grappler in Gregor Gillispie. And for Poland’s Gamrot, his grappling resume centers around wrestling, similar to Gillispie. Unlike Ferreira, Gamrot is coming off a huge victory over a respected opponent. So does the Brazilian cool off Gamrot’s momentum or does Gamrot continue his surge towards greatness? It’s a close one, but I’m gonna lean toward the Polish prospect to avoid dangerous jiu-jitsu positions while accumulating damage to Ferreira.
Selection: Gamrot via 2nd-Round TKO
-195 Raquel Pennington (12-8: 1 KO, 3 SUBs) vs. +155 Macy Chiasson (7-1: 2 KOs, 2 SUBs)
Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Raquel Pennington and her opponent Macy Chiasson are each on a two-fight win streak against shared opposition. Chiasson comes from a respected fight team and is in rarefied air winning The Ultimate Fighter, one of the toughest tournaments in MMA. I’ve been picking against ‘Rocky’ Pennington over her last few fights and she has proved me wrong time and time again, but I like Chiasson here to use her versatility and longer weapons to get her hand raised.
Selection: Chiasson via Decision
Stay locked to NBCSE Monday morning for the combat sports weekend recap of Paul-Woodley and UFC Fight Night 199!
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