UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Hunt will air on June 11, 2017, in Auckland, New Zealand.
#6 DERRICK “THE BLACK BEAST” LEWIS (18-4-0, 1 NC) vs. #7 MARK “THE SUPER SAMOAN” HUNT (12-11-1, 1 NC)
This is a five round main event in the heavyweight division. Lewis brings boxing which has made him one of the deadliest strikers in the heavyweight division. Hunt brings boxing, kickboxing, and jiu-jitsu giving him hardcore knockout power. In this fight are two of the heaviest and deadliest hitters the UFC has ever seen and what better way to see who is deadlier than to have them face each other in a five-round war. The fight could easily go to either fighter, but from what each has accomplished so far Lewis looks to take this fight in the bag as he has gotten better and more aggressive in every fight where Hunt seems to stay the same and has already shown signs of slowly down along with losing his chin power that will surely be a big weakness against a beast of a fighter like Lewis. The only way Hunt could put the fight away is to fight Lewis’ weak spot early in the first round because after that he will most likely gas and Lewis will tear him apart like he has done to most of his previous opponents. My prediction: Lewis wins via knockout in Round 2.
#8 DEREK “THE LAW” BRUNSON (16-5-0) vs. #15 DAN KELLY (13-1-0)
This is a three round co-main event in the middleweight division. Brunson brings boxing, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling giving him knockout power and grappling control. Kelly brings striking, judo, and jiu-jitsu giving him grappling control and cardio. In this fight are two fighters looking to prove to the world what they are capable of and when it all comes down to what they are capable of in their current state I see Brunson taking this fight with his knockout power and wrestling combination that Kelly does not see fit for? Yes, Kelly has striking and jiu-jitsu combination to try and challenge Brunson, but I just don’t believe his combination is as good as Brunson’s and why I see this being another easy fight. My prediction: Brunson wins via TKO in Round 3.
DAN “THE HANGMAN” HOOKER (14-7-0) vs. ROSS “THE REAL DEAL” PEARSON (21-13-0, 1 NC)
This is a three round fight in the lightweight division. Hooker brings kickboxing, Muay Thai, and jiu-jitsu giving him knockout power and grappling control. Pearson brings boxing, Muay Thai, judo, taekwondo, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling giving him knockout power with grappling control and cardio. Since both of these fighters are almost identical in techniques it’s hard to choose a favorite, but looking deeper at their careers I see Hooker taking this fight with his great combination of ground-and-pound that I do not think Pearson will be able to stand against. The only way I see Pearson taking this fight is to get Hooker up against the cage and just unleash a fury of strikes upon him with hopes of getting a stoppage, but that will be difficult to do as Hooker is fast and does not let anyone pressure him so easy. My prediction: Hooker wins via unanimous decision.
ION “THE HULK” CUTELABA (12-3-0, 1 NC) vs. HENRIQUE “FRANKENSTEIN” DE SILVA (12-2-0)
This is a three round fight in the light heavyweight division. Cutelaba brings striking, sambo, judo, and wrestling giving him knockout power and grappling control. Silva brings Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu giving him knockout power and grappling control. With both fighters relying mostly on their striking power to win fights rather than their grappling control this fight will most likely end in a knockout and when power is involved I see Cutelaba taking this fight as he holds great speed and power for which I am not sure Silva will be able to stand toe-to-toe with. Though, if Silva did bring the fight to the ground and use his jiu-jitsu then he might have a better chance to walk away as the victor, but at the same time, he would have to fight Cutelaba’s wrestling that indeed will prove to be a difficult challenge to overcome. My prediction: Cutelaba wins via knockout in Round 1.
#8 TIM ELLIOT (15-7-1) vs. #12 BEN “BEN 10” NGUYEN (16-6-0)
This is a three round fight in the flyweight division. Elliot brings striking, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling giving him striking power with grappling control and cardio leading him to become a former Titan FC Flyweight Champion. Nguyen brings kickboxing, Muay Thai, taekwondo, judo, and jiu-jitsu giving him knockout power with some grappling control. Now with both fighters having their own striking Nguyen looks to have the advantage with much more combinations than Elliot, but since this fight will be containing ground game I see Elliot taking this fight with his well-rounded wrestling which is far greater than Nguyen’s jiu-jitsu. Nguyen’s only way to walk away as the victor is to increase his takedown defense and try to out strike Elliot, but with such intense wrestling, Nguyen will have a really difficult time in trying to keep the fight standing as long as possible. My prediction: Elliot wins via submission in Round 2.
ALEXANDER “THE GREAT” VOLKANOVSKI (14-1-0) vs. MIZUTO “PUGNUS” HIROTA (19-7-2)
This is a three round fight in the featherweight division. Volkanovski brings Muay Thai, boxing, and wrestling giving him knockout power and grappling control. Hirota brings boxing and sumo wrestling giving him knockout power and cardio. As both of this fighters are almost all around strikers this fight will most certainly be a standup fight, but in the factor of power I see Volkanovski taking this as his boxing and Muay Thai background is on a different level than Hirota’s boxing. Unless Hirota can put Volkanovski away early in the first round I really don’t see him standing much of a chance against the power of Volkanovski. My prediction: Volkanovski wins via knockout in Round 1.
