UFC 260: Miocic vs. Ngannou II will air on March 27, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Early Preliminary Card (Fight Pass/ESPN+)
MARC-ANDRE BARRIAULT (11-4-0, 1 NC) vs ABU “GLADIATOR” AZAITAR (14-2-1, 1 NC)
This is a three-round fight in the middleweight division. Barriault brings striking and grappling. Azaitar brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Both can strike; Azaitar also has grappling techniques. Barriault is not much of a grappler and Azaitar will take advantage of him. Azaitar will bring him to the ground right away and turn the fight into a full-on grappling match. Barriault will try to get back to his feet, but won’t be able to get Azaitar off him. My prediction: Azaitar wins via submission in Round 1.
Preliminary Card (ESPN/+)
MODESTAS “THE BALTIC GLADIATOR” BUKAUSKAS (11-3-0) vs MICHAL “LORD” OLEKSIEJCZUK (14-4-0, 1 NC)
This is a three-round fight in the light heavyweight division. Bukauskas brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Oleksiejczuk brings striking, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Oleksiejczuk’s wrestling seems to be all he will need to finish Bukauskas. However, Bukauskas holds great takedown defense and will be able to avoid the ground. Oleksiejczuk will continue to go for takedowns, but he will fail each time. Bukauskas will attack Oleksiejczuk with heavy strikes causing major damage to Oleksiejczuk. Oleksiejczuk will try to defend, but he won’t be able to withstand Bukauskas’ attacks. My prediction: Bukauskas wins via TKO in Round 2.
JARED “NITE TRAIN” GOODEN (17-5-0) vs ABUBAKAR NURMAGOMEDOV (15-3-1)
This is a three-round fight in the welterweight division. Gooden brings striking, judo, and jiu-jitsu. Nurmagomedov brings sambo and wrestling. Both are well-rounded; Nurmagomedov is a far better grappler. His sambo and wrestling will overpower Gooden’s judo and jiu-jitsu. Gooden will be able to grapple with him some, but not much. Nurmagomedov will maintain full control and hold nothing back. He will be able to counter every submission hold Gooden tries on him. My prediction: Nurmagomedov wins via submission in Round 2.
JESSICA PENNE (12-5-0) vs HANNAH “QUEEN OF SPARTA” GOLDY (5-1-0)
This is a three-round fight in the women’s strawweight division. Penne brings kickboxing, judo, and jiu-jitsu. Goldy brings boxing and jiu-jitsu. The grappling Penne possesses looks to be what she will try to use to take advantage of the fight. Goldy will manage to keep Penne from using her grappling by attacking her with strikes. Penne will not be able to withstand Goldy’s power and aggression. Goldy will continue to attack until Penne goes down. My prediction: Goldy wins via knockout in Round 1.
WILLIAM “KNIGHTMARE” KNIGHT (9-1-0) vs ALONZO MENIFIELD (9-2-0)
This is a three-round fight in the light heavyweight division. Knight brings striking and grappling. Menifield brings Muay Thai and grappling. This fight will come down to who can strike better. Knight has power in his strikes, but not as much as Menifield does. Menifield will throw harder and cleaner strikes to cause greater damage to Knight. Knight will try to counter, but his striking abilities will not be as efficient as Menifield’s. My prediction: Menifield wins via knockout in Round 1.
Main Card (Pay-Per-View – ESPN+)
JAMIE MULLARKEY (12-4-0) vs KHAMA “THE DEATHSTAR” WORTHY (16-7-0)
This is a three-round fight in the lightweight division. Mullarkey brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Worthy brings striking and jiu-jitsu. Similar techniques; Worthy seems to be more athletic. He will be able to land more strikes and dodge many of Mullarkey’s strikes. Mullarkey will land a few good hits on Worthy, but he won’t be able to cause enough damage. Worthy will be too fast and also maintain his pacing better than Mullarkey. My prediction: Worthy wins via unanimous decision.
#15 GILLIAN “THE SAVAGE” ROBERTSON (9-5-0) vs MIRANDA “THE FEAR” MAVERICK (8-2-0)
This is a three-round fight in the women’s strawweight division. Robertson brings kickboxing and jiu-jitsu. Maverick brings kickboxing, Muay Thai, judo, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Robertson is tough and will throw strikes with her kickboxing. It will not be enough to stand against Maverick’s Muay Thai. Maverick will throw harder strikes and cause greater damage. Robertson will withstand some of her attacks, but not much and not for long. Maverick will not hold anything back and continue to go at Robertson until the end. My prediction: Maverick wins via TKO in Round 3.
SEAN “SUGAR” O’MALLEY (12-1-0) vs THOMAS “THOMINHAS” ALMEIDA (22-4-0)
This is a three-round fight in the bantamweight division. O’Malley brings boxing, kickboxing, and jiu-jitsu. Almeida brings kickboxing, Muay Thai, and jiu-jitsu. Both can strike; O’Malley is better with his striking. He will be faster and land heavier attacks. Almeida will land a few good strikes, but not enough to cause serious damage. O’Malley will continue to throw heavy hands at Almeida until Almeida’s chin finally gives in. My prediction: O’Malley wins via knockout in Round 2.
#7 TYRON “THE CHOSEN ONE” WOODLEY (19-6-1) vs #10 VICENTE “THE SILENT ASSASSIN” LUQUE (19-7-1)
This is a three-round co-main event in the welterweight division. Woodley brings boxing, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. He is a former welterweight champion. Luque brings kickboxing, Muay Thai, Luta Livre, and jiu-jitsu. Woodley looks to use his striking power and wrestling to put Luque in his place. Luque will not let that happen and manage to keep the fight standing. He will throw heavy hands at Woodley and cause serious damage to the former champion. Woodley will try to defend and counter, but Luque will be able to get around all of them. My prediction: Luque wins via TKO in Round 3.
(C) STIPE MIOCIC (20-3-0) vs #1 FRANCIS “THE PREDATOR” NGANNOU (15-3-0)
This is a five-round main event for the heavyweight championship. Miocic brings boxing, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. He is the current champion. Ngannou brings boxing and savate. Ngannou looks to even the score against the current champion. Ngannou has gotten better and his knockout power is much deadlier than their last meeting. This could put Miocic in major trouble. However, Miocic still is a tough fighter and is no joke when he uses his wrestling. Ngannou is not a big grappler and that will cost him once again. Miocic will waste no time in bringing Ngannou to the ground. Ngannou will try to avoid the ground, but he will stand no chance against Miocic’s takedowns. Once on the ground Miocic will dominate Ngannou like before and hold nothing back. My prediction: Miocic wins via TKO in round 2.
