The day has arrived for UFC 224.
Tonight (May 12), UFC 224 will take place inside Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the main event, women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes will defend her 135-pound gold against Raquel Pennington. The co-main event will see middleweights Jacare Souza and Kelvin Gastelum do battle in a potential title eliminator.
Can Pennington pull off a massive upset? Who will move closer to the middleweight title? Let’s dive into the main card predictions:
Amanda Nunes vs. Raquel Pennington
A visit to Best Fight Odds will reveal that Nunes is as much as a -1000 favorite going into her third title defense. While it isn’t hard to see why Pennington is the underdog, someone is due for a nice chunk of change if Nunes loses her title tonight. With that said, I don’t think it’s happening.
The only fighter to give Nunes a run for her money post-2014 is Valentina Shevchenko. Even “Bullet” had problems in both her bouts against “The Lioness.” Nunes is dangerous on the feet and has done away with her cardio issues. While Pennington defeated a seemingly unmotivated Miesha Tate, that is not what she’s getting here. I’ve got Nunes via stoppage.
Prediction: Amanda Nunes
Jacare Souza vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Time certainly favors Kelvin Gastelum over Jacare Souza. While Gastelum will turn 27 this fall, Souza turns 39 just before the winter. Some are still riding off Souza as if the second ranked middleweight didn’t only lose to two of the best 185-pounders in the world inside the Octagon. As good as Gastelum can be, people are quick to forget that he had no answer for Chris Weidman’s ground game and was submitted in the second round.
This represents a classic bout in MMA. Consensus says if Souza gets it to the ground, the fight is over. On the flip side, if Gastelum keeps it standing then the fight should be his. I think Souza will be able to trip Gastelum and have his way in top control. A knockout win wouldn’t surprise me for Gastelum, but I think Jacare gets it done in his home country.
Prediction: Jacare Souza
Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Cooper
What are we to make of Mackenzie Dern? She missed weight again before her bout with Amanda Cooper. Not only that, but she came in seven pounds overweight. Many are questioning how seriously she’s taking her MMA career. With higher caliber opponents, that is a grave mistake.
Cooper is fired up after Dern missed weight, but I don’t think it’ll be enough to carry her to an upset win. Her takedown defense is lacking and being on your back against Dern is never a good thing. We can talk about Dern’s future another time, but I’ve got her winning again.
Prediction: Mackenzie Dern
John Lineker vs. Brian Kelleher
Brian Kelleher will know if he can rise to the occasion tonight. After going 9-1 in his last 10 outings, he certainly deserves an opponent the caliber of John Lineker. It’ll be a tall task as Lineker has gone 7-1 in his last eight bouts and his only loss in that span was to reigning bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw.
Lineker usually beats his opponents to the punch. Only the top of the food chain have really given Lineker significant problems on the feet. He is sharp and crisp in most fights and I don’t see Kelleher matching up well with him. I can see “Hands of Stone” taking a decision win.
Prediction: John Lineker
Vitor Belfort vs. Lyoto Machida
This is set to be Vitor Belfort’s swan song. “The Phenom” enters his final bout with a professional MMA record of 26-13, 1 NC. Belfort isn’t nearly what he used to be, but neither is Machida. In fact, many believe “The Dragon” was gifted a decision win over Eryk Anders in his last bout.
Still, I believe Machida has more spring in his step than Belfort. I have no doubt that “The Phenom” will want to put on a show and Machida may oblige at some points. In the end, I believe Machida will be faster and he’ll beat Belfort to the punch throughout the fight.
Prediction: Lyoto Machida
That’ll do it for the UFC 224 predictions. Give us your UFC 224 picks in the comments section below.