UFC 270 Main Card Preview and Predictions

Two world titles will be on the line at the Honda Center in Anaheim this coming Saturday at UFC 270.

The heavyweight title will be up for grabs in the main event when champion Francis Ngannou will unify the title against interim champ Ciryl Gane. Ngannou has not fought since winning the title from Stipe Miocic in a rematch and could be fighting his final bout inside the Octagon considering his differences with the promotion.

Gane meanwhile is on the rise and has streaked to the top of the rankings and become interim champion. Coming off a stunning KO of Derrick Lewis, Bon Gamin looks to use his familiarity with the champion against him in what should be an interesting and exciting fight.

In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno defends the UFC flyweight title against the man he won it from, Deiveson Figueiredo in their third bout.

Let’s take at the UFC 270 main card bouts and make our predictions.

Francis Ngannou vs Ciryl Gane

Francis Ngannou is the UFC heavyweight champion and the no 4 ranked pound for pound fighter in the promotion. The Predator is known as the hardest recorded puncher in the history of the world. He joined the UFC in 2015 and won his first six bouts via stoppage, winning over opponents like Curtis Blaydes, Andrei Arlovski, and Alistair Overeem. After suffering back-to-back losses to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis, Ngannou rebuilt his career and has gone undefeated in his last five bouts with four first-round knockout wins during that span. In his last bout at UFC 260 in March 2021, he stopped Stipe Miocic in the 2nd round to capture the UFC heavyweight title.

Ngannou has a record of 16-3 with 12 knockouts and four submission wins. He is 6-4 tall with a reach of 83 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.

Ciryl Gane is the interim UFC heavyweight champion and the no. 15 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC. He won the interim belt by knocking out Derrick Lewis at UFC 265 last August. The 31-year old Frenchman is a former TKO Major League heavyweight champion who joined the UFC in 2019. Gane is 7-0 inside the UFC Octagon with four stoppage wins.

Overall, Gane has an undefeated record of 10-0 with four knockouts and three submission wins. He stands 6-4 tall with an 81-inch reach and is an orthodox fighter.

This could very well end up as Ngannou’s last fight in the UFC and you bet he wants to leave an impression whether that would be the case or not. There is no question that Gane isn’t going to be a walk in the park because he presumably knows Ngannou better than most of the opponents whom the Predator has fought.

But while Gane possesses the skillset that can dethrone Ngannou and there is a real chance that he does this weekend, I simply cannot overlook the fact that Ngannou’s punching power is something we have never seen before. Sure, Gane will have his moments and he’s going to give Ngannou trouble. But given what we saw from Ngannou the last time out against Miocic, he is more than just a one-punch knockout artist right now. His striking game is better and he has developed decent defense, none of which Gane saw in France.

Personally, I would like Gane to win. But this is betting and when you have a fighter who punches like a monster in Ngannou. His gas tank will always be a concern. But when you have a fighter who needs just one clean punch to win a bout, you have to ride with that, especially at this price. I’m picking Ngannou till the wheels fall off.

Prediction: Francis Ngannou

Brandon Moreno vs Deiveson Figueiredo

Brandon Moreno is the current UFC flyweight champion and the first Mexican to win a UFC world title. The Assasin Baby is also a former LFA flyweight champion and the no. 10 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the promotion. Moreno won the title by defeating Deiveson Figueiredo via submission at UFC 263. That bout came right after he and Figueiredo fought to a draw at UFC 256. Moreno was cut by the UFC in 2018 but after winning the belt at LFA, he got his second chance and is 4-0-1 during that stretch.

He has a record of 19-5 with three knockouts and 11 wins via submission. Moreno is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-7 tall with a reach of 70 inches.

Deiveson Figueiredo is the former UFC flyweight champion. Deus de Guerra is currently the no. 1 ranked flyweight contender in the UFC. Figueiredo won the vacant belt with a rear-naked choke win over Joseph Benavidez in July 2020 and then successfully defended the belt against Alex Perez in his first title defense. Figueiredo is a former BJJ Brazil Northeast champion whose 7 finishes are tied for the most in flyweight history.

Figgy is 20-2 with 9 knockouts and 8 submission wins. He stands 5-5 tall with a reach of 68 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

The first time these two met, they were evenly matched up and that’s why to me, it wasn’t a surprise that it ended in a draw. However, when they fought again at UFC 263, it looked like Moreno was always a step ahead of Figueiredo. The Assassin Baby won the striking battle 47-24 while controlling nearly five minutes of the time compared to Figueiredo’s 1:30.

Their second fight was an utter mismatch and one-sided in favor of Moreno. To me, there was no need for a trilogy fight but here we are. Much respect to Figueiredo. He is as tough as they come but if we look at the second fight, the gap in skills looked too wide.

There is always a chance that Figueiredo learns from his mistakes and does better here. But how Moreno improved in the second fight from the first makes me think he’s even going to be better here. Unless of course, he has been sitting on his laurels which I don’t believe so. The champ is still hungry and is eager to prove he is the best.

Prediction: Brandon Moreno

Michel Pereira vs Andre Fialho

Michel Pereira has been a professional competitor since 2011. The 28-year old from Brazil formerly competed for 300 Sparta, Akhmat Fight Club, Serbian Battle Championship, Jungle Fight, Xtreme Fighting Championships, and Road Fighting Championship. Pereira is a former Serbian Battle Championship Welterweight Champion who joined the UFC in 2019. After going 1-2 in his first three UFC bouts, Pereira has won three in a row and is coming off a win over Niko Price at UFC 264.

Pereira is 26-11 with 0 knockouts and seven submission wins. He is 6-1 tall with a reach of 73 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.

Andre Fialho fought for Cage Fighters, IPC, and Bellator MMA among others. He also competed under the PFL and most recently made his name at UAE Warriors where he won three straight bouts via first-round TKO. Overall, he has won four straight bouts via knockout.

Fialho has a record of 14-3 with 11 knockouts and 1 submission victory. He is six feet tall with a reach of 70 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

After two exciting title fights, the quality of matchups significantly drops for UFC 270, beginning with this one.

Pereira isn’t the world champion material but he is one of the most exciting fighters to watch in the UFC right now. He is creative, crafty, and even recklessly good on the feet and he’s going to win more new fans here. The fight too.

Pereira was supposed to fight Muslim Salikhov here but Fialho is taking this fight on short notice. The latter had an up and down carer at Bellator and the Middle East and he is making his UFC debut here. Sure, he has won four in a row, all by knockout. But he’s never seen someone like Pereira before. Not that we have either.

Forgive the world, but to me, this is a mismatch. Pereira is just too experienced for Fialho that the only question for me is what round this will be over. Regardless, Pereira wins.

Prediction: Michel Pereira

Cody Stamann vs Said Nurmagomedov

Cody Stamann is a former Triple X Cagefighting featherweight champion who also ruled as the Michiana Fight League bantamweight champion. The 32-yea old from Grand Rapids, Michigan joined the UFC in 2017 and went 5-1-1 in his first seven bouts before dropping his last two assignments against Jimmie Rivera and Merab Dvalishivili.

Stamann is 19-4 with six knockouts and two submission wins. He stands 5-6 tall with a reach of 64 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.

Said Nurmagomedov is a former AFC bantamweight champion who also fought under World Championship Akhmat and Absolute Championship Berkut. The 29-year old from Dagestan joined the UFC in 2018 and is 3-1 in his four UFC bouts. Nurmagomedov knocked out Mark Striegl in his last bout at UFC Fight Island 6 in the undercard of Ortega vs Korean Zombie.

Nurmagomedov is 14-2 with four knockouts and two wins via submission. He is 5-8 tall with a reach of 70 inches and fights as an orthodox fighter.

This Nurmagomedov is good enough to make a career in the UFC but he surely isn’t good enough to follow in the footsteps of Khabib. Said is the solid favorite here but if there’s an underdog that you want to pick on this card, it’s got to be Stamann.

Stamann has the power wrestling to give Nurmagomedov problems. He is going to land crucial takedowns that will score him points and dictate the tempo of the fight. It’s not going to be easy nor pretty, but there’s no doubt Stamann can get the job done here.

Nurmagomedov has not fought in over a year and no matter how good he thinks he is, ring rust is real. Stamann is coming off back-to-back losses but he’s fought better opposition than Nurmagomedov. This is the fight where I’m picking the underdog to pull off the upset.

Prediction: Cody Stamann

Rodolfo Vieira vs Wellington Turman

Rodolfo Vieira is one of the most decorated BJJ practitioners in the UFC. He is a four-time BJJ world champion and seven-time World Cup champion. The 32-year old Brazilian fought for Shooto Brazil and ACB before joining the UFC in 2019. He won his first two UFC bouts before losing to Anthony Hernandez at UFC 258. Vieira is coming off a submission win over Dustin Stolzfus.

He has a record of 8-1 with one knockout win and seven victories via submission. Vieira is six feet tall with a reach of 70 inches and fights out of the orthodox stance.

Wellington Turman fought under Immortal FC, Brave FC, Gladiator Fight, and Future FC before joining the UFC in 2019. Turman lost three of his first four UFC bouts and is coming off a narrow split decision win over Sam Alvey.

Turman has a record of 17-5 with four knockouts and seven submission wins. He is six feet tall with a reach of 72 inches and is an orthodox fighter.

Vieira is one of the most decorated jiu-jitsu fighters in the UFC today, probably the best now that Demian Maia is no longer around. However, there’s some concern about him after he was submitted by a mere Anthony Hernandez last year. He did bounce back and looked himself against Stolzfus the last time out.

For as long as his cardio holds up, I can’t find a reason not to pick Vieira here and I won’t even have to talk about Turman who has been so inconsistent in the UFC as he was before his life here. Vieira should have his way in this fight and take it where he loves to take it.

The guy has eight finishes in eight wins and three wins in four UFC bouts. That’s still impressive. And so is he. There’s no way I’m picking against the BJJ superstar here.

Prediction: Rodolfo Vieira

Place Your Bets Now!