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Predictions for every fight on the UFC 203 main card
Pro wrestler-turned-fighter CM Punk will finally make his UFC debut Saturday night when he takes on Mickey Gall on the main card of UFC 203. That isn’t the only exciting fight on the main card, however, as two heavyweight fights sit at the top of the card and a strawweight and men’s bantamweight fight are also featured. Let’s take a look at how these highly competitive main card bouts might play out.
Kicking off the main card is a strawweight tilt between Jessica Andrade and Joanne Calderwood. I always considered Andrade one of the best strikers in either women’s division but she spent the first half of her UFC career fighting much larger fighters. Now, a strawweight, Andrade is coming off her first UFC TKO in a fight where she managed to land 117 significant strikes in under two rounds. She’s deadly accurate with her punches, landing 56 percent of her strikes thrown, and she lands those punches in bunches at 6.58 per minute.
One of the only other fighters who matches Andrade in those categories is her opponent, Calderwood, who is just as accurate and lands one more strike per minute. Thanks in part to their shared Muay Thai backgrounds, this should be an action-packed fight from bell to bell.
Their similaries make this one tough to call. Once again, 5-foot-1 Andrade will be facing the longer woman in Calderwood, who at 5-foot-6 is already one of the taller strawweights on the roster. If Jojo can use her reach to keep Andrade out of range, she should be able to score a win on Saturday. But if she allows Andrade to get inside, attack her body and unload with power punches, it could be a short night for Calderwood. I’ll put my money on the former.
Prediction: Calderwood by decision
Former WEC champion Urijah Faber might be down, but he’s never, ever out. The Team Alpha Male head honcho has lost just nine times in his long 42-fight career and none of those have been back-to-back. So you know Faber is motivated coming off a loss to Dominick Cruz in June.
In that fight, Faber appeared to be about two steps slower than the champion, so he’s obviously not the “California Kid” he once was. That doesn’t mean he can’t use his immense talent to find other ways to win fights.
Rivera is built like a tank and throws punches with a lot of power behind them. And, actually, when you watch him fight, he reminds you a bit of a young Faber. The Ultimate Fighter season 14 alum is just three fights into his UFC career and he’s taking a big jump in competition against Faber. I think this fight will be a lot more closely contested than their rankings show but Rivera likely won’t be able to show Faber anything he hasn’t already seen before.
Prediction: Faber by decision
Here’s what we know: CM Punk has been training at one of the world’s best MMA gyms for the last year and a half while his opponent Mickey Gall is a legit prospect but has just two professional fights under his belt. That’s about it.
Gall looked pretty good in his UFC debut as he scored a first-round submission over Mike Jackson, but that’s all we’ve seen of him against top competition.
That might not mean much against Punk, however, whose training levels don’t even compare to that of Gall’s. Given his experience, Gall should be able to walk away with the win. But who really knows how this will play out?
Prediction: Gall by second-round submission
In April of 2014, Fabricio Werdum absolutely dismantled Travis Browne as he battered his fellow heavyweight with 121 significant strikes over five rounds. He gets a chance to re-live that glory on Saturday night.
Since that fight, Werdum, who was originally slated to take on Ben Rothwell at UFC 203, has gone on to finish heavyweight greats Mark Hunt and Cain Velasquez before suffering a setback against now-champion Stipe Miocic. Browne on the other hand has gone on to win two fights by KO while also getting KO’d twice.
Werdum is the most well-rounded fighter in this matchup, and despite the heap of praise Browne gets for his striking, Werdum is actually more accurate and lands more strikes per minute. I think Werdum takes care of business, and fairly quickly.
Prediction: Werdum by second-round KO
Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem are set to throw down in one of the best heavyweight championship matchups in recent memory.
Miocic and Overeem are both accomplished strikers, as Miocic crushes opponents with crisp boxing while Overeem employs a litany of kicks and knees to cripple his opponents.
Overeem is meticulous is his attack and prefers to pick opponents apart over the course of the fight, waiting for the perfect opportunity to land a kill shot -- which sometimes happens to be a kick to the face.
Miocic will need to counter by setting the pace from the onset and engaging Overeem on his own terms, while watching out for sneaky knees and many of the other techniques Overeem has perfected over his 56-fight career.
Overeem has taken his game to another level over the last year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he walks away from UFC 203 as new champion.
Prediction: Overeem by decision
