The Ultimate Fighting Championship will head to Scotland for the first time for the UFC Fight Night 72 card. The Michael Bisping vs. Thales Leites headlined event is set for July 18, at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.
Here are my UFC Fight Night 72 predictions:
Michael Bisping vs. Thales Leites
Decent main event here, there’s a good chance an entertaining battle breaks out when these two collide inside the Octagon. Bisping (26-7-0, 15 KOs) is coming off a decision victory against C.B. Dollaway, while Leites (25-4-0, 14 submissions) is coming off a highly entertaining submission victory against Tim Boetsch. The Brazilian has gone 5-0 since his return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Thales was known primarily as a BJJ specialist during his first run in the UFC, but he has significantly improved his striking since then. He’s already scored two knockout victories during his second run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Still, Bisping is a season striker himself, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he’s the technically sharper striker. The Brit is also known for his high output, and Leites’ cardio has failed him at times in the past.
Bisping will also enjoy proxy home-Octagon advantage fighting in the U.K., and that should give him a bit of an extra push.
At the end of the day, I simply can’t go against Leites here given how good he’s looked recently, finishing Francis Carmont and Tim Boetsch. Bisping might have his moments during the fight, but it’s hard to see him finishing Leites unless the latter gasses. Thales on the other hand is capable of knocking Bisping out, submitting the Englishman, or grinding him down with his grappling.
Many ways for Leites to win this fight.
Prediction: Thales Leites wins by submission.
Ross Pearson vs. Evan Dunham
Pearson (17-8-0, 7 KOs) bounced back from a knockout loss to Al Iaquinta with a knockout victory against Sam Stout. Dunham (15-6-0, 6 submissions) rebounded from a three-fight losing streak with a decision victory against Rodrigo Damn during his last outing.
Dunham is a high output striker who is capable of overwhelming Pearson if his brings his A-game, but Pearson is the more heavy-handed MMA fighter, he has a slight edge when it comes to striking technique, and he’ll have the crowd behind him.
This is a close matchup that can certainly go either way, but the matchup seems to favor Pearson.
Prediction: Ross Pearson wins by TKO.
Remaining UFC Fight Night 72 Predictions:
Joseph Duffy defeats Ivan Jorge
Joanne Calderwood defeats Cortney Casey-Sanchez
Leon Edwards defeats Pawel Pawlak
Steven Ray defeats Leonardo Mafra
Patrick Holohan defeats Vaughan Lee
Mickael Lebout defeats Teemu Packalén
Ilir Latifi defeats Hans Stringer
Robert Whiteford defeats Paul Redmond
Marcus Brimage defeats Jimmie Rivera
Chris de la Rocha defeats Daniel Omielańczuk
David is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing practitioner who has watched and studied MMA for the past 9 years. Send him your questions @davidkingwriter.
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