UFC Fight Night 257: Walker vs. Mingyang takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at the Shanghai indoor stadium in Shanghai, China – 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!
Featured Betting Sites
Use Code: 'GOBET500'
✨New Betting Site!✨Use Code: 'DASH500'
Launched July 2025Use Code: GOBET250
Login to View Offers!
Use Code: 'GOBET500'
Use Code: 'GOBET500'
Login to View Offers!
Use Code: 'GOBET500'
Use Code: 'GOBET'
Use Code: 'WELCOME'
Use Code: 'GOBET500'What's gambling really costing you?
Set a deposit limit.
UFC Fight Night 257 Predictions
—
Johnny Walker vs. Zhang Mingyang Prediction
Johnny Walker has suffered knockout defeats in his last two Octagon outings and now goes up against China’s own Zhang Mingyang, who has won all three of his UFC fights so far.
This isn’t the first time in his UFC career that the 33-year-old Walker has gone through a rough patch as despite an exciting start to his time in the Octagon with three fast finishes between 2018 and 2019, he then went on to lose four of his next five fights. From 2022 to 2023 he steadied the ship with three wins in a row, but in hindsight he was perhaps fortunate that his opponents, Ion Cutelaba, Paul Craig and Anthony Smith, were also going through tough times in their careers. He’s since been knocked out in back-to-back fights, and having been KO’d six times in total in his career that’s now a big concern. With that in mind it’s probably for the best that he’s had over a year out since then. And Walker continues to be a genuine threat on the feet with his 6ft 5″ frame and 82″ reach giving him a 3″ height and 7″ reach advantage this weekend to help deliver his versatile and potent striking arsenal that’s led to 16 T(KO) wins over the years. Aside from his chin, Walker’s other main issue is his fight IQ as he’s struggled to fully curb his naturally aggressive instincts and can be reckless at times, while never seeming to be fully comfortable or convincing operating in a more patient, controlled manner.
The 27-year-old Mingyang is an aggressive, heavy-handed striker who isn’t the most technical on the feet, but has proven to have strong finishing ability, going unbeaten over the past five years while competing in China and then in the UFC, with all 12 of his win coming inside the distance. It’s not always been this way though as earlier in his career Mingyang only held a 7-6 record, and his tendency to leave himself open defensively resulted in three losses via strikes and two by submission back then. Also, given that his biggest win so far was against a long past-his-best Anthony Smith and not many other notable victories beyond that, the Chinese fighter still has to prove he can replicate his form against ranked opposition.
Walker is always a tricky opponent to deal with offensively, but it’s hard to back a fighter who has such a questionable chin and often makes poor decisions in his fights. So, while the jury is still out on Mingyang, he feels more sturdy and dependable here, and certainly has the raw power to trouble the Brazilian, so I’ll take him to get the better of the first round fire-fight to claim a TKO victory.
—
Brian Ortega vs. Aljamain Sterling Prediction
Brian Ortega fought to a win and a loss in his 2024 campaign and now returns to fight Aljamain Sterling, who also went 1-1 last year after moving up from bantamweight.
Given the hype around Ortega early in his UFC run it’s disappointing that since first making his way to a title shot back in 2018 he’s only had six fights and lost four of them. Long lay-offs and injury woes haven’t helped, and he’s now no longer in his prime at 34-years-old. With that said though he is still a talented fighter who excels on the mat with his high-level BJJ ability and predatory instincts when it comes to seizing upon fight-ending submissions, while he’s also very good in scramble situations too. He’s not the best wrestler though and at times does have to resort to trying to pull guard to get the fight to the mat. Meanwhile, on the feet Ortega’s striking has progressed during his time in the UFC and so his boxing is more technical nowadays and he has good natural power. He’s also very mentally tough and hard to finish, which is just as well as he’s certainly more hittable than he should be.
The 36-year-old former 135lb champ Sterling is a good athlete and well-rounded fighter who like Ortega tends to be at his best on the mat. Sterling is the better wrestler of the two, so he’s able to get the fight where he wants it easier, and has very good control once on top. He’s an assured grappler, and while he’s perhaps not quite as active or deadly as Ortega offensively on the mat, he’s still a clear threat via submissions. Meanwhile, on the feet Sterling has good technique and strikes in volume, though he doesn’t have a great deal of stopping power.
So, two very talented grapplers here who can also mix it up on the feet too. Ortega has the greater finishing potential wherever the fight goes and is more durable, but I think Sterling’s wrestling advantage, strong top control and good cardio could help him to grind out a decision win over five rounds here.
—
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta Prediction
Sergei Pavlovich comes in off a decision win earlier in the year to fight Waldo Cortes-Acosta, who is on a five-fight winning streak.
It was only a couple of years ago that Pavlovich was steamrolling his way up the heavyweight ranks during a six-fight winning streak that saw him finish all his opponents via strikes inside the opening round, including the likes of Curtis Blaydes, Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa. However, Tom Aspinall did the same thing to him in their interim title fight in late 2023, and a subsequent loss on the scorecards to Alexander Volkov last year completely halted his momentum. The 33-year-old is coming off a decision win against Jairzinho Rozenstruik though, and is still very much in the mix at No.3 in the rankings. Pavlovich is primarily a boxer who has proven to be one of the hardest hitters in the sport and is aided by a large 84″ reach, giving him an extra 6″ over Cortes-Acosta. Traditionally Pavlovich likes to stalk his opponent from the opening bell behind the jab and then sooner rather than later pick his moment to unleash rapid-fire barrages of punches that often lead to a swift finish. However, both Aspinall and many years ago Alistair Overeem managed to give him a taste of his own medicine, and in his last couple of fights he’s been fighting more tentatively, resulting in both going to the scorecards.
The also 33-year-old Cortes-Acosta turned to competing in MMA at the relatively late age of 24 after a spell in pro-baseball and went on to win LFA’s heavyweight title before fighting his way to the UFC. He’s performed solidly so far, compiling a 7-1 run in the promotion and picked up his most notable win yet over Sergey Spivak last time out, That being said, his overall record has been padded out a bit by fighting some over-the-hill veterans and also-rans of the division. Cortes-Acosta doesn’t have the broadest or most eye-catching skill-set, but he’s athletic and has nice speed and footwork, decent boxing fundamentals and kicks, respectable power and is durable too.
Pavlovich is the more dangerous fighter of the two, but if he’s as cautious as he has been in his past couple of fights Cortes-Acosta’s volume-striking could win out here. I think we’ll see Pavlovich return to his faster-starting, more aggressive style that’s paid off for him often in the past though, leading to a first round TKO finish.
—
Su Madaerji vs. Kevin Borjas Prediction
Su Mudaerji snapped a three-fight losing slump back in April with a split-decision win and now fights Kevin Borjas, who was defeated in his first two Octagon appearances, but earned his first UFC win earlier this year.
The 29-year-old Mudaerji is a striker with a 17-7 overall MMA record, with 13 of his wins coming via strikes. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that many of those big finishes came against weaker opposition on the Chinese regional circuit, and though he did KO Malcolm Gordon in the UFC back in 2020, his other three victories during his 4-4 run so far in the promotion were by decision. Mudaerji is a fast, accurate puncher though and has a dynamic kicking game too. His ground game leaves something to be desired however, with weak takedown and submission defense having led to him being submitted six times in his career, with three of those coming during his UFC run.
The 27-year-old Borjas isn’t the kind of fighter who is likely to test Mudaerji on the mat as he too is a striker who prefers to keep the fight upright. Like his opponent, Borjas enjoyed success in his homeland (Peru) prior to the UFC, going 9-1, including eight finishes via strikes, but has lost two out of three fights since arriving on the big stage. Borjas is a pressure striker who uses his good cardio to operate a volume-based approach with compact boxing and nice knees. While he was TKO’d in his 2nd UFC fight that was primarily down to heavy leg kicks, so generally speaking he is durable, but relies on that too much instead of being more defensively sound.
I’d expect a close fight here, but I’ll take Mudaerji to rise to the occasion in front of his home fans to edge out a hard-fought decision win.
—
Taiyilake Neuraji vs. Kiefer Crosbie Prediction
Taiyilake Nueraji comes in with an 11-1 record to make his UFC debut against Kiefer Crosbie, who has lost both his UFC fights so far.
Known as ‘Super Saiyan’, the 24-year-old Nueraji had a fight on ‘Road To UFC’ Season 2 back in 2023, winning by KO, and has since put together another three 1st round wins on the regional scene to finally earn his spot in the promotion. Nueraji is an aggressive striker whose offensively-minded instincts have paid off for him in his career so far, with all 11 of his wins coming inside the distance, and 10 of those via strikes. He’s a big welterweight who will have 3″ in height and 5″ in reach over Crosbie, but he’s fast too and uses that to explode forward with powerful punches and kicks, while he has good elbows and knees too. He’s not as polished as he could be though and can leave himself open defensively by putting everything into his strikes. He’s also not the best on the mat, but has more to offer there than his opponent.
The 35-year-old Crosbie made it to the UFC after registering back-to-back 1st round victories via elbow strikes on the regional scene a couple of years ago, but before that he’d only gone 4-3 in the Bellator promotion, and an 0-2 start in the UFC means he’s got a love to prove here. Crosbie does have good power, but he’s not very technical and can be quite reckless as he likes to come forward winging punches. Even more problematic though is his weak ground game, and both of his Octagon defeats having come via submission.
Crosbie has a puncher’s chance, but I don’t he has the skill-set to be in the UFC for long, and feel Nueraji will be able to match his intensity while proving to be the better all-round fighter, leading to a 2nd round TKO finish.
UFC Fight Night 257 Prelims
(Predicted winners in bold)
Maheshate Hayisaer vs. Gauge Young
Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Charles Johnson
Rong Zhu vs. Austin Hubbard
Michel Pereira vs. Kyle Daukaus
Yi Zha vs. Westin Wilson
Xiao Long vs. You Su-young
Uran Satybaldiev vs. Diyar Nurgozhay
