UFC On ESPN 67 takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa 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 67 Predictions
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Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo Prediction
Cory Sandhagen’s unsuccessful attempt to win the bantamweight title last time out ended a three-fight winning streak. Now he’ll take on former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, who is also coming off a loss after winning the first three bouts in his campaign at 135lbs.
The 33-year-old Sandhagen has never managed to get his hands on the 135lb title, but he’s been right in the mix for years now, fighting for both the undisputed and interim title, and has bested numerous highly regarded fighters along the way. In this match-up he’ll have a clear 6″ height advantage, though only an extra inch in reach. Sandhagen is a skilled striker who operates well from range with accurate straight punches and a versatile kicking game to all levels. Elbows and knees are brought in at closer quarters and he does a good job of mixing up his high-volume offense to stay unpredictable. While striking is his primary focus, Sandhagen isn’t adverse to seeking out the occasional takedown, while he can also work back to his feet if an opponents breaks through his takedown defense.
At 37-years-old Figueiredo is getting up there in years, but he’s still a good athlete. At 5ft 5″ he’s on the small side for the division, but he’s a talented striker who uses his speed well and has a lot of power for his size. He blends together his punches and kicks well with good accuracy, but while he’s well conditioned he’s not as active offensively as Sandhagen. Figueiredo can also wrestle and has solid submissions and good scrambling ability on the mat. Figueiredo has a lot of miles on the clock at this point, but the only two times he’s been finished in his career were during his classic four-fight series against Brandon Moreno.
It’s a testament to how good Figueiredo is that he’s been able to be so competitive at bantamweight. Sandhagen is a quality fighter in his own right though, and as the younger, bigger fighter with a more active striking game I think that he’ll be able to win the stand-up battle from range here to emerge with a decision victory.
Prediction: Cory Sandhagen to win by decision.
Reiner de Ridder vs. Bo Nickal Prediction
A former two-division ONE FC champ, Reiner de Ridder has earned back-to-back wins since joining the UFC late last year. Now he takes on the undefeated Bo Nickal, who is looking to push into the middleweight rankings after having won all four of his fights in the Octagon so far.
It’s no coincidence that the 34-year-old De Ridder has won both of his UFC fights so far by submission against Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland as grappling is unquestionably his strongest suit, with methodical control on top, good back takes and a total of 13 submission wins from 19 career wins. De Ridder’s striking is far less convincing however, not helped by his lack of speed and athleticism on the feet, so he’ll be looking to get the fight to the mat sooner than later if he can. Cardio can also be an issue for him at times.
The 29-year-old Nickal has been one of the most heavily hyped prospects out of the Contender Series for good reason as he’s a world class, decorated wrestler who has smoothly transitioned over to MMA with a 7-0 record so far. Nickal easily ran through his early opponents in the opening round, showing that in addition to his dominant wrestling game he was also a good athlete and a quick learner, having already developed a solid submission game. Nickal’s last fight was different though as he opted to focus on his striking ability against dangerous grappler Paul Craig, and despite his opponent’s sketchy stand-up game he still had to go the distance in a relatively uneventful fight to claim victory. It was a timely reminder that despite the hype Nickal remains a work-in-progress who is still less than three years into his MMA journey, and so he can be given a pass for outpointing a veteran with 20 more fights than him, while also getting his first full 3-round fight under his belt.
This could certainly be an intriguing stylistic match-up if Nickal opted to switch back to using his wrestling as De Ridder would certainly be a threat with his tried and tested grappling ability off his back. The former ONE FC champ may well struggle to get him down if Nickal opts to keep this fight on the feet though, and with de Ridder’s own striking being on the weak side I could see the still evolving and more athletic Nickal besting him there in much the same way as he did Craig last time out for another decision victory.
Prediction: Bo Nickal to win by decision.
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez Prediction
Santiago Ponzininbbio kicked off the year with a much needed win after having lost four of his previous five bouts. Now he’ll go up against Daniel Rodriguez, who is in a similar position, with a victory last October having ended a three-fight losing slump.
The 38-year-old Ponzinibbio has been delivering mixed results in the Octagon ever since serious health issues led to more than two years on the sidelines between late 2018 and early 2021 at a time when he’d been on a seven-fight winning streak. Since then he’s only managed to go 3-5, but he can can certain still put on competitive fights and pick up some solid wins along the way. Ponzinibbio isn’t quite as quick, active or durable as he once was, but he will still look to apply pressure and strike in volume with good technique and footwork. He had been capable of finishing opponents early in the past, but these days if he does so it tends to be later on as the damage starts to accumulate.
Rodriguez is also 38-years-old, and while he’s not been fighting in the Octagon for as long as Ponzinibbio there’s some similarities in their career trajectory as D-Rod went 7-1 in his first 8 UFC fights, but more recently is just 1-3. And Rodriguez is also primarily a striker who likes to press the action, showcasing solid boxing ability that’s primarily built off the jab, working nicely to the head and body. He too is more of a volume-striker who keeps up a good work rate, but has generally been less of a finisher and tends to get his wins by outpointing opponents on the scorecards.
There’s a lot of similarities between the two fighters here and I’d expect a close, back-and-forth striking battle as they look to outland each other. In their primes I’d favor Ponzinibbi here,, but it feels less certain now that both have shown signs of decline. I’m concerned about D-Rod’s significant dip in form, but he was losing to good fighters and I do feel he’s the more durable and consistent from round-to-round of the two at this stage, so I’ll take him to edge out a narrow decision victory.
Prediction: Daniel Rodriguez to win by decision.
Montel Jackson vs. Daniel Marcos Prediction
Montel Jackson has slowly but surely compiled a five-fight winning streak over the past four years and is now set to lock horns with Daniel Marcos, who is unbeaten in his 18-fight career to date, including four wins and a no-contest in the Octagon so far.
Despite his current winning streak, 14-2 overall record and having been with the promotion since 2018, this will actually be the 33-year-old Jackson’s first opportunity to fight on a main card. It’s a strange one when you also consider that he’s won his last two fights by 1st round KO, and actually holds the record for most knockdowns in bantamweight history (11). Jackson is big for the division and will enjoy a 3″ height and 6″ reach advantage over Marcos, but he’s also fast, and though he can be overly patient at times he has good boxing technique and proven knockout power when he goes on the attack. He also stays defensively sound, but while he’s not been stopped by either strikes or submissions in his career, he has been outwrestled a couple of times.
Unlike Jackson, the 32-year-old Marcos has had a couple of main card spots already. He’s an athletic fighter who competes with the confidence that comes from still being undefeated this far into his career. He fights at a good pace and has effective striking, making more use of kicks than Marcos and he has respectable power in his shots, but he isn’t as heavy-handed as his opponent. He can mix in the occasional takedown, but is certainly better on the feet.
This is a well-matched fight between two men on the rise, but while he’s not gained much attention this far, I think Jackson is the faster, harder-hitting striker while also being better defensively, and that’ll lead him to hand Marcos his first career loss via TKO in the 2nd round.
Prediction: Montel Jackson to win by TKO in Rd2.
Cameron Smotherman vs. Serhiy Sidey Prediction
Cameron Smotherman won his UFC debut last October and now fights Serhiy Sidey, who has gone 1-1 in the promotion.
The 27-year-old Smotherman fought on the Contender Series back in the summer of 2023, but suffered a 60 second TKO loss. However, he then went back to work in the regional circuit and put together a three-fight winning streak to earn a UFC call-up for a short-notice fight with Jake Hadley that he won by decision. Smotherman has solid boxing and can work nicely at a steady pace from range, but can also be drawn into a scrap at times. And that can be a problem, as while he has the power to trouble opponents, on the other hand his swift TKO loss on the Contender Series is only the second quickest defeat of his career as he’s also been stopped in just 13 seconds back in 2021. Meanwhile, Smotherman does have decent offensive wrestling on the occasions he’s willing to use it and did pick up his first submission win a couple of fights ago.
The 28-year-old Sidey is also primarily a striker, and while his opponent is a good sized bantamweight, the Canadian will still have an extra 2″ in height and 3″ in reach over him. Despite his size Sidey won’t just look to work on the outside though as he likes to apply pressure and push the pace behind a versatile striking game that will see him mix in knees and elbows along with his punches and kicks. It’s an offensively-minded approach that’s helped him win 7 of his 11 career wins via strikes. He does get hit more than he should though, but has shown good durability so far and his cardio is a positive too. Sidey can also wrestle and can grapple when required.
I’ll take Sidey to lean on his pressure and better durability to emerge with a 2nd round TKO victory here.
Prediction: Serhiy Sidey to win by TKO in Rd2.
Jeremy Stephens vs. Mason Jones Prediction
Nearly four years since his last UFC fight, veteran fighter Jeremy Stephens is returning for a one-off fight against Mason Jones, who is also returning for another stint in the Octagon after a four-fight winning streak in the Cage Warriors promotion.
The 38-year-old Stephens was last seen in the UFC back in 2021 suffering a submission loss that left him winless in his last six fights, albeit against a string of very good opponents. That put an end to his 14-year run in the UFC, and a subsequent spell in the PFL promotion didn’t go well either, losing two of his three fights there. However, things started looking up when he earned a split draw in a rematch with Jose Aldo in the boxing ring, and things got even better when he switched to bareknuckle boxing, going 3-0, including big wins over fellow ex-UFC veterans Jimmie Rivera and Eddie Alvarez, leading to an unlikely one-off return to the Octagon. It’s a similar story to Mike Perry, who also took to bareknuckle boxing like a duck to water after crashing out of the UFC, with their mix of heavy hands, rugged durability and scrappy boxing-orientated style being well suited to that particular sport. Given his age and being two-and-a-half years removed from his last MMA fight, it won’t be easy for Stephens to reverse his fortunes in MMA though, where his overall record stands at 29-21 (+1nc).
The 30-year-old Jones is also making a comeback to the UFC, having also exited the promotion back in 2022 after a disappointing run that saw him go just 1-2 (+1nc) during a year-and-a-half run. A former two-division Cage Warriors champion, Jones returned to that promotion afterwards and has since gone on a four-fight winning streak, including three TKO wins. Jones has solid boxing and an aggressive approach and will look to apply pressure, but he can lean on his durability a bit too much at times. He will look to mix in capable wrestling too, but though he has a few submission wins on his record, those were from very early on in his career.
I’m not reading too much into Stephens beating a 41-year-old version of Eddie Alvarez in bareknuckle boxing earlier this year. It does show he’s certainly still got some fight left in him, but age, speed and a more well-rounded approach all favor Jones, and so I’ll take him to best the veteran over three rounds to win on the scorecards.
Prediction: Mason Jones to win by decision.
Check UFC Offers!UFC On ESPN 67 Prelims
(Predicted winners in bold)
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Marina Rodriguez vs. Gillian Robertson
Gaston Bolaños vs. Quang Le
Thomas Petersen vs. Don’Tale Mayes
Juliana Miller vs. Ivana Petrović
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