The first ever Halloween card in UFC history will see the end of the career of one of the greatest fighters of all-time when Anderson Silva fights Uriah Hall in the main event.
After the fun of Fight Island, the UFC returns to the Apex in Las Vegas for a 12 fight card with some interesting fights including a featherweight clash between Bryce Mitchell and Andre ‘Touchy’ Fili in the co-main event.
I will break down each fighters skills and style and give my prediction for each fight. I have already done the prelims of the card here, so lets move on to the main card.
Last weekend at UFC 254, I got 9/12 picks correct with five perfect picks. Since starting my predictions back in June, my current record stands at 145/222 total picks, with 67 perfect picks in that time. I will look to improve that this week with these picks.
MAIN CARD
Bobby Green (27-10-1) vs Thiago Moises (13-4) – (Lightweight/155lbs)
Bobby Green comes into this fight on his first three-fight win streak since 2014 to take on Thiago Moises who has alternated wins and losses since his win on Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2018. Green beat Clay Guida in June, then defeated Lando Vannata in August and Alan Patrick in September while Moises’ last fight was a win over Michael Johnson back in May via submission. It’s a true veteran vs up-and-comer fight and in this instance the advantages are with the experienced fighter. On the feet, Green has more power and so long as he keeps up his rejuvenation when it comes to volume he should win those exchanges. His wrestling is excellent too and he is notoriously hard to take down, meaning Moises will find it hard to use his superb jiu-jitsu. I think Green will be able to keep the fight standing and use his superior striking to get another decision win.
PICK – Bobby Green via Decision
Greg Hardy (6-2 1NC) vs Maurice Greene (9-4) – (Heavyweight/220-265lbs)
Greg Hardy has the MMA world in the palm of his hand because of his reputation rather than his talent. The former NFL star has done reasonably well in MMA since turning professional a few years ago and losing his UFC debut via disqualification. His only fight this calendar year got him back in the win column, when he outlasted Yorgan De Castro for a decision. Maurice Greene however is 1-1 in 2020, losing via submission to Aleksei Oleynik before defeating Gian Villante via submission in June. Both these fighters have similar issues with either not being able to last three rounds when trying to KO someone, or not being able to KO someone when trying to last three rounds. Since that’s the case, Hardy will need to avoid Greene’s submission game by keeping the fight standing and trying to just out-strike him which I think he should be able to do.
PICK – Greg Hardy via Decision
Kevin Holland (19-5) vs Charlie Ontiveros (11-6) – (Middleweight/185lbs)
This is a fight that has been put together on very short notice and due to that is a complete mismatch. Kevin Holland is 4-0 in 2020 and was looking to blast his way into the Top 15 with a short-notice win over Makhmud Muradov. The Uzbekistan fighter pulled out due to a positive COVID-19 test on Wednesday though and Charlie Ontiveros has stepped up on three day’s notice to make his UFC debut. ‘The American Bad Boy’ has won his last two fights via first round knockout but hasn’t fought yet in 2020. Holland is on a hot-streak and I expect his showmanship will be on full display once again. He’s bigger, better on the feet and good enough not to be taken down to find out if he’s better on the mat or not. Holland blasts his way through his new opponent in one round with a flurry of punches after a knockdown.
PICK – Kevin Holland via Knockout, Round 1
Bryce Mitchell (13-0) vs Andre Fili (21-7) – (Featherweight/145lbs)
This fight has got fight of the night written all over it as the undefeated Bryce Mitchell takes on UFC veteran Andre ‘Touchy’ Fili in the co-main event. Mitchell has won all four of his fights in the octagon, including winning via twister submission against Matt Sayles back in December last year. He followed that up with a convincing decision win over Charles Rosa in May too. Fili is a super well rounded fighter, who is 3-2 in his last five fights in the octagon, including a win in his last fight against Charles Jourdain. It’s a typical fight where both guys strengths are the other fighter’s weakness. Bryce Mitchell is a demon on the ground, with all his wins inside the distance coming via submission while Fili has a huge advantage on the feet with his jab and boxing skills. The likelihood all-in-all though is that Mitchell can get this fight to the ground eventually and he will take over. Fili has a habit of being comfortable working off his back and if he does that then Mitchell will have a field day.
PICK – Bryce Mitchell via Decision
Uriah Hall (15-9) vs Anderson Silva (34-10 1NC) – (Middleweight/185lbs)
The end of the career of greatest middleweight of all time is upon us and Uriah Hall is the man chosen to put the final nail in the coffin of Anderson Silva. After going 16-0 in the UFC, his loss to Chris Weidman was the start of a bad downward spiral. Since then, Silva has one win in his last eight fights and even that was incredibly controversial against Derek Brunson. Both men are dynamic and exciting strikers but Silva is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt of over a decade. His best chance to win this fight is via submission, something he hasn’t done since he forced Chael Sonnen to tap out way back in 2010. Hall is the more powerful striker at this point but Silva hasn’t lost his chin yet. His knockout against Weidman was a complete fluke and his other two TKO losses on his record were due to leg injuries. Despite that, Hall hits really hard and will likely head hunt to some extent. He had enough power to knock down Paulo Costa (unofficially) in their fight two years ago so I can’t imagine he won’t be able to do the same to Silva.
PICK – Uriah Hall via Knockout, Round 3
Tap Ins & Tap Outs 