UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Duncan Predictions

UFC Fight Night 272: Moicano vs. Duncan takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at the Meta Apex 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 Fight Night 272 Predictions

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Renato Moicano vs. Chris Duncan Prediction

After a four-fight winning streak, Renato Moicano was handed a very short notice 155lb title shot against Islam Makhachev early last year, but lost that and has picked up another defeat since. Now he returns to headline this show against Chris Duncan, who has put together four wins in a row.

The 36-year-old Moicano is a very good grappler who has proven to be adept at taking the back and sinking in chokes over the years, with 10 submission finishes to his name, and he has decent takedown ability too. Meanwhile, Moicano lacks stopping power on the feet, but is a solidly technical striker who prefers to deploy his punches and kicks from range. Moicano’s chin became a concern a few years ago, suffering three relatively quick losses via strikes in four fights between 2019-2020, but to his credit he’s not been finished in that manner since. He has lost three times in the past five years though, with a few of the division’s elite operators on the mat managing to get the better of him there, but not many others would be able to replicate that.

A former Bellator fighter, Duncan first appeared on the Contender Series in 2021, but suffered a KO loss. A year later he was the one delivering a knockout finish to earn a spot in the UFC and has gone 6-1 since. Duncan is 32-years-old and initially arrived as a good-sized, rugged striker who was willing to eat strikes to land his own, relying on his punching power, mental toughness and durability to gain the upper-hand. However, Duncan has since exceeded expectations by developing a more well-rounded approach, showing a willingness to mix things up by going to the mat, where he’s revealed a solid offensive grappling game that’s produced three submission wins in his last four Octagon appearances.

Both fighters have a solid chance here, with Moicano having the offensive grappling advantage, while Duncan is the harder-hitting striker. Duncan also has the more durable chin though and I think that will be a factor here as he puts pressure on Moicano and comes away with a 2nd round TKO finish.

Chris Duncan to win by TKO in Rd2

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Virna Jandiroba vs. Tabatha Ricci Prediction

Virna Jandiroba failed in her shot to win the vacant strawweight title last year, ending a five fight winning streak. Now she returns to fight Tabatha Ricci, who won her only fight in 2025 by TKO.

At 37-year-old Jandiroba remains a tough, gritty fighter who is not the most polished or impactful fighter on the feet, but makes up for that with good takedowns and very strong control on the mat. Her assured grappling ability has delivered 14 submission wins from 22 career victories, though only one of them came in the last five years. Given that she’s also only ever stopped one fight via strikes it’s clear that she’s more of a patient grinder than a finisher these days. On the flip-side though her toughness and tenacity means she’s never been finished in her 12-year career.

The 31-year-old Ricci will be giving up 2″ in height and 3″ in reach to Jandiroba on Saturday night, but she’s strong for her size. Ricci has a fairly well-rounded skill-set that includes respectable boxing ability, good volume and fast movement on the feet, but her TKO stoppage last time out was only the 2nd of her career. Ricci has a background in judo and is happy to clinch and look for takedowns from their, while she’s also a capable grappler. However, Ricci hasn’t proven to be much of a finisher on the mat either, with just three submissions to her name. On the other hand though she does have a a solid 7-2 winning record in fights that go the distance.

Ricci is the younger fighter and will have an advantage on the feet here due to her speed and athleticism, but Jandiroba is such an experienced, dependable grappler that I think she will be able to get the fight to the mat and control the fight there to win out on the scorecards.

Virna Jandiroba to win by decision

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Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev vs. Brendson Ribeiro Prediction

Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev won his UFC debut by submission in just 33 seconds late last year and now prepares to fight Brendson Ribeiro, who is coming off back-to-back TKO defeats.

Yakhyaev has ran through the majority of the opposition in his 8-0 career so far, picking up four wins via submission and three via strikes along the way. He has a well-rounded game and will take the fight to his opponents from the opening bell. Yakhyaev applies pressure on the feet with hard-hitting strikes and often uses that to set up takedowns and clinch-work. He’s a strong wrestler, has violent ground-and-pound and a very good submission game too. The only thing the 25-year-old doesn’t have yet is experience fighting a decent level of opposition to really judge how far he can go, but he’s certainly an exciting prospect with real potential.

The 29-year-old Ribeiro has struggled to make his mark in the UFC so far, only managing a 2-4 run. He can be dangerous offensively as he’s big, has a powerful striking arsenal at his disposal, and is a submission threat too. In fact, all but one of his 17 wins have come inside the distance, including 9 finishes via strikes. However, the flip side is that he has a habit of getting too wild offensively and burning through his energy reserves too quickly. That becomes even more problematic when combined with his questionable chin, as three of his four UFC defeats have been strikes, while he was also finished a couple of times in the 1st round just two years before he joined the UFC.

Yakhyaev just seems to be the better fighter wherever the fight goes here and I think he’ll take Ribeiro down and finish him via ground-and-pound in the 1st round.

Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev to win by TKO in Rd1

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Ethyn Ewing vs. Rafael Estevan Prediction

Ethyn Ewing won his UFC debut by decision back in November of last year to go 9-2 in his career overall and now fights the undefeated Rafael Estevam, who has won all three of his fights in the Octagon to go 14-0 overall.

The 26-year-old Ewing’s pro-career got off to the worst possible start, losing his first two fights, but he’s gone unbeaten in the three years and nine fights since then, including eight stoppage victories. Ewing turned heads in his UFC debut as he was only a week removed from a KO win on the regional scene when he suddenly found himself in a short-notice fight against Malcolm Wellmaker, and managed to best him over three rounds. Ewing is primarily a striker with good boxing, while his head kicks are also a threat and he applies pressure nicely while still staying responsible defensively. Nearly all his finishes have been via strikes, but he can work in some takedowns. However, while he performed well last time out, his own takedown defense hasn’t always been convincing on the regional scene.

The 29-year-old Estevam has remained undefeated for a decade, but he’s been struggling to make the flyweight limit recently, so this fight sees him move up to bantamweight. As such he’ll be giving up some of his usual size advantage, but the switch might benefit his late-fight cardio. Estevam can strike, but he is much more focused on being a dominant wrestler and is always on the hunt for takedowns, and has shown an ability to land them repeatedly, while also applying grinding control on top.

Ewing really exceeded expectations in his debut so it’ll be interesting to see if he can continue to rise to the occasion here, but I think Estevam’s relentless wrestling pressure will be his undoing here in a fight that’ll got the distance.

Rafael Estevan to win by decision

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Tommy McMillen vs. Manolo Zecchini Prediction

Tommy McMillen arrives from the Contender Series for his UFC debut with a 9-0 record and will be going up against Manolo Zecchini, who was KO’d in his first Octagon appearance over two years ago.

The 28-year-old McMillen is undefeated and has brushed aside most of his opposition in less than a round. However, he didn’t have it all his own way in his Contender Series fight last time out, having to show his toughness and endurance to battle through real adversity in the opening round to eventually emerge with a majority decision win. McMillen is a big featherweight at 6ft tall and so will have a 3″ height and 5″ reach advantage on Saturday night. He has solid striking, can operate in the clinch and is a capable wrestler too. He also has five submission wins, including winning three fights in a row via guillotine choke.

The 29-year-old Zecchini arrived in the UFC in 2023 from Italy, where he’d compiled an 11-3 record, including 9 wins via strikes. He was KO’d by a body kick in his UFC debut against Morgan Charriere though, and suffered an injury in the fight that’s kept him out of action since. Zecchini likes to brawl, throwing power punches, head kicks and big knees, but he doesn’t have the best defense when it comes to either striking or takedowns, and he has been finished a couple of times via strikes in the past.

Zecchini is just trying to find his feet again in the UFC after a long lay-off, but I think McMillen is the bigger fighter with a better all-round skill-set and will fight his way to a 2nd round submission finish.

Tommy McMillen to win by Submission In Rd2

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Jose Delano vs. Robert Ruchela Prediction

Jose Delano is another Contender Series newcomer who holds a 16-3 career record and will be fighting Robert Ruchala, who was beaten in his UFC debut last year, leaving him with an 11-2 record.

The 29-year-old Delano is a well-rounded fighter with a good level of experience, having had extended stints in promotions like LFA and Shooto Brazil. Delano is quite composed and calculated on the feet, showing a good level of comfort at both distance and closer quarters while serving up a varied selection of strikes. He’s also a competent wrestler and has demonstrated his grappling ability with 5 submission wins. He does have three losses on his record, but only one of those came in the past decade.

The 27-year-old Ruchala arrived in the UFC as a former KSW champion and had a tough first test against William Gomis in his promotional debut, losing out by decision. On the feet Ruchala likes to use his kickboxing from range and throws spinning strikes into the mix, but while he’s capable he’s not the most technical and can verge towards being awkward at times. He’s not the best wrestler, but he does have a solid grappling game if he can get the fight there.

Delano seems like the more polished fighter here overall and I think his edge in the striking and wrestling will help him fight to a win on the scorecards.

Jose Delano to win by decision

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UFC Fight Night 272 Prelims

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(Predicted winners in bold)

Guilherme Pat vs. Thomas Petersen
Alessandro Costa vs. Stewart Nicoll
Lando Vannata vs. Darrius Flowers
Alice Pereira vs. Hailey Cowan
Azamat Bekoev vs. Tresean Gore
Dione Barbosa vs. Melissa Gatto

MMA Writer

Ross Cole

Ross Cole is one of the most prolific mixed martial arts writers in the world.

Having written more than 22,000 MMA news stories for MMA Insight, which he founded in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Few people know the UFC and the sport of MMA like Ross, and he has built a solid reputation for being one of the best MMA tipsters in the world.

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