UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida will air on October 28, 2017, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
#7 DEREK “THE LAW” BRUNSON (17-5-0) vs. LYOTO “THE DRAGON” MACHIDA (22-7-0)
This is a five-round main event in the middleweight division. Brunson brings boxing, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling giving him knockout power and grappling control. Machida brings Muay Thai, karate, Sumo and jiu-jitsu giving him knockout power with grappling control leading him to become a former light heavyweight champion. Yes, Machida makes his long-awaited return to the octagon in his home country to get back into the fighting game. However, after a positive test for banned substances back in April of 2016 he went on a year suspension and before the positive test, he seemed to show a decline in performance making fans wonder if he will ever be the same fighter he once was. With that in mind, Brunson looks to take this fight from his Muay Thai and wrestling for which has helped him climb up the ladder in the middleweight division and will most likely prove too much for Machida to handle. The only way Machida could take this fight is to show everyone the real him when going after Brunson with his karate and Muay Thai combinations, but Brunson is not going to let that happen so easily. For Brunson is not only hear to make a statement to the division but to prove that PEDs get you nowhere in any type of competition. My prediction: Brunson wins via TKO in Round 4.
#3 DEMIAN MAIA (25-7-0) vs. #7 COLBY “CHAOS” COVINGTON (12-1-0)
This is a three-round co-main event in the welterweight division. Maia brings boxing, Muay Thai, karate, judo, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling giving him knockout power with hardcore grappling and well-balanced cardio. Covington brings Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling giving him knockout power with grappling control and cardio. Here are two top welterweights with one trying to get back into title contention while the other is fighting to finally get a crack at the belt. Maia’s jiu-jitsu will be his best weapon of choice in this fight making him appear to take the fight with ease, but let’s not forget how to dominate Covington is with his Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling combinations for which will be great weapons to use against Maia and challenge him more than the champion Tyron Woodley. Now Maia is one of the best grapplers in the division he might not be able to grapple or even strike so great with a fighter like Covington who has proven in his short career he is no fighter to take lightly. My prediction: Covington wins via unanimous decision.
#12 PEDRO “THE YOUNG PUNISHER” MUNHOZ (14-2-0, 1 NC) vs. #13 ROB FONT (14-2-0)
This is a three-round fight in the bantamweight division. Munhoz brings boxing and jiu-jitsu giving him knockout power and grappling control. Font brings Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu giving him knockout power and grappling control. Here is a fight with two identical fighters in techniques so this fight just might go the distance, but when it comes to advantage Font’s Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu combinations are just spot on and could prove too much for Munhoz. If Munhoz can try to use his jiu-jitsu to counter Font’s and wear him down then he just might be able to find the weak spot in Font. However, Font does not let his opponents take advantage so easy and he will be mixing his jiu-jitsu with ground-and-pound to pressure Munhoz even more to the point he finally finds the finish and continues his rise to the top of the leaderboard. My prediction: Font wins via knockout in Tound 3.
FRANCISCO “MASSARANDUBA” TRINALDO (21-5-0) vs. JIM MILLER (28-10-0, 1 NC)
This is a three-round fight in the lightweight division. Trinaldo brings striking, kickboxing and jiu-jitsu giving him knockout power with grappling control and cardio. Miller brings Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling giving him knockout power with grappling control and cardio. With both fighters being well-round in striking and grappling the fight could go either way. However, from recent fights, Miller looks to be near the end of his career while Trinaldo still has a little more fight left in him al due to his kickboxing and jiu-jitsu that is more efficient than Miller’s Muay Thai and wrestling. Unless Miller somehow could fight a way to maintain top ground control or keep Trinaldo pinned close to the cage this fight looks to turn into a one-sided beating the second the bell sounds. My prediction: Trinaldo wins via unanimous decision.
#15 THIAGO “DE LIMA MARRETA” SANTOS (15-5-0) vs. JACK “THE JOKER” HERMANSSON (16-3-0)
This is a three-round fight in the middleweight division. Santos brings Muay Thai, capoeira and jiu-jitsu giving him knockout power with grappling control. Hermansson brings boxing, kickboxing and wrestling giving him knockout power and grappling control. Here are two fighters with great striking power and grappling control so the chances of this fight ending in a finish are highly expected. It’s hard to choose a favorite, but based on their experience Hermansson’s looks to take this fight with his spot on boxing and kickboxing combinations that could prove more deadly than Santos’ Muay Thai. Though, Santos has great jiu-jitsu it does not seem as great as Hermansson’s wrestling, which is why this might not be a great fight for Santos, to begin with. My prediction: Hermansson wins via TKO in Round 1.
#5 JOHN “HANDS OF STONE” LINEKER (29-8-0) vs. MARLON “CHITO” VERA (10-3-1)
This is a three-round fight in the bantamweight division. Lineker brings boxing, Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu giving him knockout power with grappling control and cardio. Vera brings striking, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling giving him knockout power and grappling control. Here is a fight against two well-rounded fighters both standing and on the ground, so this fight looks like a fun one to watch. From all, they both bring Lineker’s grappling looks to be more on target than Vera’s and so this fight will most likely become a grappling match. Though if Vera could keep the fight standing he just might have a chance, but with Lineker’s takedown accuracy Vera will have a great challenge ahead of him making it appear more like his chances of taking control slim to none. My prediction: Lineker wins via submission in Round 2.
