The UFC machine finally lands at The Forum in Inglewood, California for UFC 232. While the majority of media coverage has been focused on Jon Jones, this column will focus strictly on my predictions for each fight. Mike Hiscoe and his staff here at MMATorch.com have done a great job keeping up with the news surrounding Jon Jones and tomorrow night’s event. I encourage you to check out Mike and his team’s coverage.
The main event takes place in the light heavyweight division where Alexander Gustafsson takes on Jon Jones for the light heavyweight championship. We last saw Jones in the Octagon back in July where he finished Daniel Cormier, only for it to be overturned by the CSAC. The thirty-one-year-old boasts fifteen finishes to go along with seven wins via decision.
Alexander Gustafsson comes into the fight riding a two-fight win streak. He finished Glover Teixeira at UFC Fight Night 109 back in May of 2017 and took a decision over Jan Blachowiczat UFC Fight Night 93. Gustafsson, also thirty-one years of age has fourteen victories via stoppage, and four via decision.
The co-main event takes us to the women’s featherweight division where current Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes steps up in weight class to take on Featherweight Champion Cristiane Justino. At 20-1, Thirty-three year old Cris Cyborg has dominated the sport as no other MMA fighter has. Seventeen of her twenty wins have come via (T)KO. Amanda Nunes is no stranger to finishes either. Of the thirty-year-old’s sixteen wins, fourteen are by either (T)KO or submission. The five-fight main card also includes long-time veteran and crowd favorite, Carlos Condit
taking on Michael Chiesa, Ilir Latifi goes up against Corey Anderson and Chad Mendes vs. Alexander Volkanovski.
Here are the current odds and my predictions for each fight.
Note: The predictions in this column do not necessarily mean that I will be betting them. I have changed my mind in the past and gone the other way after conducting more research. For all of my official bets follow me on Twitter @MichaelGrocke.
Main Card
Jon Jones (22-1) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (18-4) – Light Heavyweight 205 lbs.
Current Odds: Jones -270; Gustafsson +250
Pick: Jones by (T)KO
Cris Cyborg (20-1) vs. Amanda Nunes (16-4) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
Current Odds: Cyborg -225; Nunes +205
Pick: Cyborg by (T)KO
Carlos Condit (30-12) vs. Michael Chiesa (14-4) – Welterweight 170 lbs.
Current Odds: Chiesa -145; Condit +135
Pick: Chiesa by Submission
Corey Anderson (11-4) vs. Ilir Latifi (14-5) – Light Heavyweight 205 lbs.
Current Odds: Ilir -135; Anderson +125
Pick: Anderson by Decision, but with little confidence. Anderson’s chin worries me here.
Chad Mendes (18-4) vs. Alexander Volkanovski (18-1) – Featherweight 145 lbs.
Current Odds: Mendes -135; Volkanovski +125
Pick: Mendes by Decision. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Volkanovski get the win here.
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