UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Borralho Predictions

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UFC On ESPN 62 takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at the Apex Arena in Las Vegas, United States and we’ve got our UFC predictions for all the fights below and you can place your bets with the best betting sites Australia has to offer!

UFC On ESPN 62 Predictions

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Jared Cannonier vs. Caio Borralho Prediction

After being TKO’d by Nassourdine Imavov a couple of months ago, the No.5 ranked Jared Cannonier now returns to fight the undefeated Caio Borralho, who is ranked No.12 after winning all five of his UFC fights so far.

Given that he’s 40-years-old and last time out was coming off an MCL tear that had kept him out of action for a year, Cannonier did respectably enough against Imavov, though he did ultimately suffer his 1st TKO loss in 6 years in the 4th round. He’s still a good athlete for his age, he continues to dish out heavy leg kicks alongside his solid punches, and he carries his strength and power to the mat as well with good ground-and-pound. He doesn’t often go for takedowns though, he’s not really a submission guy and his own takedown defense is capable but not bullet-proof.

The 31-year-old Borralho is a fast, strong and athletic fighter with a well-rounded skill-set. He tends to be at his best on the mat as he’s a good wrestler and a skilled grappler, which enables him to takedown and control opponents for extended periods. He doesn’t have the most imposing record when it comes to finishes, but it certainly feels like he has the ability to do so if he really wanted to. On the feet he’s not the most active offensively, instead utilizing a lot of movement and picking his moments to engage with good speed and accuracy. This will be Borralho’s first five-rounder, but he’s proven to be well conditioned so far.

If this played out only on the feet then I could see it not being the most high-octane fight as both men can settle into a tit-for-tat style of engagement, but I’d favor Cannonier to get the better of it as he’s the more convincing, harder-hitting striker of the two. However, I don’t think that’ll be Borralho’s game plan and instead I’d expect him to be hunting out takedown attempts sooner rather than later. I think he can have some success with that, which will help wear on Cannonier as the fight goes on, making Borralho’s job a little easier in the later rounds as he goes on to grind out a decision victory.

Prediction: Caio Borralho to win by decision.

All odds are with Picklebet Use Code: 'GOBET500'

Angela Hill vs. Tabatha Ricci Prediction

Angela Hill comes in off back-to-back victories in the past 12 months to take on Tabatha Ricci, who beat Tecia Torres [now Pennington] by split-decision a few months ago.

While Hill has been a consistent performer over the years her results have been anything but, going 12-13 overall in the UFC, so it’s to her credit that at 39-years-old she’s actually gone 4-1 in her last five Octagon appearances. And that included picking up her first ever submission win last time out against Luana Pinheiro. Striking has very much been the hallmark of her style over the years though, making up for her lack of finishing power with high-volume fundamentals from range and good in-and-out movement, combined with dependable cardio that’s still with her even as she approaches her 40’s. Hill can also work from the clinch and has shown signs of improved wrestling and grappling recently.

10-years younger than Hill, the 29-year-old Ricci is a well-rounded fighter who is a bit shorter in stature, giving up a couple of inches in height and 3″ in reach here. In the striking department she has improved and moves well, has respectable boxing, and while she’s not known for her finishing ability on the feet she does put more into her strikes than Hill. Ricci’s quite strong and with a judo background she does well in the clinch and offers a takedown threat, enabling her to then control the action on top with good grappling. She has three submission wins on her record, though only one in the UFC from her seven appearances so far.

On the feet this should be competitive, and Hill has shown signs of improvement in other aspects of her game late in her career that could help her to try and keep the fight there. However, I do feel that Ricci’s better ground game will help her gain the upper-hand a few times over three rounds in a fight that could otherwise could hard to call. So I’ll take Ricci to edge out a decision victory.

Prediction: Tabatha Ricci to win by decision.

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Kaan Ofli vs. Mairon Santos Prediction

One of two TUF season 32 final’s on the UFC On ESPN 62 main card, this featherweight fight sees Kaan Ofli going up against Mairon Santos.

The 31-year-old Ofli hails from Australia and entered into TUF with an 11-2-1 record, and has gone on to pick up a unanimous decision victory followed by a 1st round submission finish on the show. He’s a fighter who likes to apply pressure with decent striking that can open up opportunities to transition to wrestling and make use of his black-belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has five submission wins in his career to date, in addition to grabbing hold of a fight-ending guillotine choke when taken down early in his TUF semi-final.

Meanwhile, Santos is only 24-years-old, but already has a 13-1 record under his belt, including a couple of fights in the LFA promotion, while he got to the final of TUF courtesy of two decision wins. Santos is a striker with seven TKO wins on his record and has shown an ability to fight effectively at range with good speed and picks his shots well, but he doesn’t have too much of a ground game.

Ofli is the more well-rounded fighter of the two, but Santos is the better striker and I’ll take him to keep his distance and land the better strikes to win by decision.

Prediction: Mairon Santos to win by decision.

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Robert Valentin vs. Ryan Loder Prediction

The other TUF 32 final takes place at middleweight. The 29-year-old Robert Valentin entered into TUF with a 10-3 career record and made short work of his opponents on the show, claiming first round TKO and submission victories. Now he faces the 33-year-old Ryan Loder, who holds a 6-1 record and won his quarter-final with a 1st round submission before going on to win by unanimous decision in the semi-final.

Valentin is the younger yet more experienced of the two here and he’s primarily an aggressive striker who attack with a variety of techniques, including frequent spinning attacks, which makes him unpredictable, but quite hittable at times, while he actually has more success finishing opponent via submission.

Loder comes from a wrestling background and so while he can strike to an extent he generally uses that to find a way into landing takedowns, at which point he is happy to just control the action on top, but he does also have solid ground-and-pound too.

I think Valentin’s striking style will open up opportunities for Loder to time takedown attempts and I think he’ll play it safe on top when he does get to the mat to grind out a decision win here.

Prediction: Ryan Loder to win by decision.

All odds are with Picklebet Use Code: 'GOBET500'

Neil Magny vs. Michael Morales Prediction

Neil Magny has been alternating between wins and losses for the last couple of years as he now prepares to take on the undefeated Michael Morales, who is 16-0 in his career to date, including four wins in the UFC since joining from the Contender Series.

The 37-year-old Magny has got a lot of miles on the clock and in recent times he’s come off second-best against fast-rising stars like Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Garry as well as former title contender Gilbert Burns. However he is settling comfortably into a gatekeeper role as his three wins in the past two years have seen him end Daniel Rodriguez’s four-fight winning streak as well as both Philip Rowe and Mike Mallot’s three-fight unbeaten runs. A tall, lanky welterweight, Magny is a true jack-of-all-trades who will use that to try to pick away at the weak spots in his opponent’s game. On the feet he like to use his long limbs to keep his opponents at bay with competent kickboxing, though his lack of power can make it difficult to fend off more determined, hard-hitting foes. He’s operate very well in the clinch, has solid offensive wrestling and can embrace the grind and maintain a solid pace over three rounds. Despite all his experience he can be taken down though and does have a weakness to submissions on the mat.

The latest rising fighter to be put to the test against Magny is Morales, who is still only 25-years-old and is looking to put himself firmly on the map and break into the 170lb rankings if he beats the veteran on Saturday night. Morales is 3″ shorter than Magny, but thanks to his large wingspan he’s only giving up an inch in reach. Morales is a far more potent striker than Magny on the feet, possessing both speed and power in his punches and kicks. He’s also physically strong, has good wrestling ability and given his age there’s still room to continue to develop his already impressive skill-set.

There’s a certain level of up-and-comers that Magny can still contend well against, but I don’t think Morales is one of them. The reality is this is a bad stylistic match-up for the veteran as he’s clearly at a big disadvantage on the feet, and Morales strength and solid wrestling means he’s going to have a hard time imposing that aspect of his game too. So I think Morales keeps this one upright and proves to be too fast and too powerful for Magny to cope with, leading to a 2nd round TKO victory.

Prediction: Michael Morales to win by TKO in Rd2.

All odds are with Picklebet Use Code: 'GOBET500'

Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Gerald Meerschaert Prediction

Edmen Shahbazyan racked up a first round KO victory in March and now fights Gerald Meerschaert, who earned a submission win on the same card.

It feels like Shahbazyan has been around for a long time, yet he’s still only 26-years-old. There was considerable hype around him early in his UFC run as he went on a four-fight winning streak, running through his opponents quickly with his aggressive offensive onslaughts, with his boxing in particular being a strong suit. However, the cracks started to show after that as his level of competition increased and when he couldn’t find a find a finish on the feet his early exertion tended to leave him burnt out and vulnerable, and so he’d lose four of his next five fights, including three by TKO. He’s changed camp these days, has cleaned up his striking a bit, and given his age there’s still time to shore up some of his weaknesses, but it remains to be seen if he can move past his inherent weaknesses.

A veteran of over 50 fights, Meerschaert is 10 years older than Shahbazyan, and has the kind of style that presents both an opportunity and a threat to the younger man. And that’s because in many ways he’s the opposite of Shahbazyan in that he’s more likely to be finished early in a fight, but has the tools and cardio to fare well beyond the opening five minutes. Aggressive strikers can prove problematic for him as he lacks speed, doesn’t have much in the way of power to fend them off and doesn’t have the strongest chin either. However, Meerschaert will do his best to operate from a safe distance with kicks, and as a wily veteran he is good at seeking out opportunities to work into the clinch or time takedowns when his opponent press forward in order to negate their offense and bring the fight into his world. And when he can get the fight to the mat he suddenly becomes a major problem as his submission ability is tried and tested, accounting for no less than 28 finishes from 36 career wins.

So this really feels like a two-outcome fight – either Shahbazyan starches his opponent early or Meerschaert goes on to submit him sometime beyond the mid-way point. I’m hesitant to pick Shahbazyan who hasn’t strung together back-to-back wins in the last five years, but I do feel he has the kind of power and intensity early on that has caused Meerschaert problems in the past, so I’ll lean towards him winning by 1st round TKO here.
Prediction: Edmen Shahbazyan to win by TKO in Rd1.

All odds are with Picklebet Use Code: 'GOBET500'

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