BO NICKALS’, DIMES, and CRAFTY VETS
For the first time in over 6 years…the UFC has come back to the A! (UFC 236 Poirier vs. Holloway 2 in April of 2019 being the last time). With its forthcoming offering being a heated main event of returning former Welterweight Champion: Kamaru Usman vs. new top contender Joaquin Buckley, in a black on black affair truly reminiscent of Atlanta.
Usman’s coming off a year and a half layoff, last fighting Khamzat Chimaev in a close decision loss. Whereas Buckley’s coming off the best year of his career. He’s holding a 6 fight win streak, last beating Usman rival Colby Covington in a brutal beatdown that the doctor had to stop. The stage is set, and all signs point to what should be a stellar main event and card to support it. I can’t wait to see how it turns out! But before that, let’s breakdown the card and give some backstory on the bouts along with predictions.
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Starting off with the first fight of the night.
Bout One: Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
I got no clue….
Horth is coming off of a loss to Co-main eventer Miranda Maverick. Demopoulos is a late replacement, so that doesn’t bode well. My gut tells me Horth, she's also a -575 favorite.
Official Pick: Horth by decision
Bout Two: Phil Rowe vs. Ange Loosa
Two welterweights who never quite made that next step to Ranked top 15 contendership. Both are coming off two losses a piece and I assume the loser will most likely get cut…so that kinda ups the stakes a bit.
Loosa didn’t have a great showing in last year's No contest against Bryan Battle, a fight he essentially quit. He got blessed with an accidental eye poke that he milked into getting a no contest to save him from a second loss in a row…but I still count it as a loss. He’s never finished anyone in the UFC, and his claim to fame is losing his debut against the current welterweight champ Jack Della Madelana. On the flip side, Phil Rowe started off hot with a debut KO over Leon Shahbazyan (no relation to Edmen Shahbazyan who is the featured bout). He then lost to Gabe Green in a decision, who coincidentally lost to Bryan Battle. He then proceeded to go on a 4 fight KO streak that was ended with an opportunity against a ranked opponent; Division gatekeeper Neil Magney. He underperformed and lost by split decision.
I like Rowe because of his KO potential and his 80.5 in reach, a 6.5 in advantage to Loosa’s 74 in reach. I’ve largely been disappointed with both, but I think Loosa’s infinitely worse, especially after quitting against Battle. For those reasons I got him as the Loosa…:)
Official Pick: Phil Rowe by Unanimous decision
Bout Three: Ricky Simon vs. Charles Jourdain Cameron Smotherman
What was initially supposed to be The first banger of the night, is now a short notice fight. Cameron Smotherman takes call on 5 days notice, as Charles Jourdain pulls out for undisclosed reasons. Initially, I had Jourdain eking out a close decision in a slug fest…but now he’s gone and I really have no idea. All I hope is that it still delivers as the initial fight was touted to. Simon is coming off a violent KO on Javid Basharat, and Smotherman a defeat to Serhiy Sidney. My heart tells me Simon is gonna get another KO…especially since Simon also holds a submission win over Bantamweight GOAT Merab Dvalishvili…”I beat that guy Once”. More than likely since it’s such a short notice fight they’ll feel each other out and go to decision.
Official Pick: Simon by Unanimous Decision, title run continues
Bout Four: Cody Durden vs. Jose Ochoa
Hometown fighter, who was in the stands the last time UFC was in Georgia…Cody Durden, hopes to bounce back and return to the rankings. Durden has largely underperformed against elite competition, losing to Joshua Van most recently. But he doesn’t have to worry because Ochoa is not elite. Ochoa is making his second walk to the octagon after losing to Contender series standout Lone’er Kavanagh, famous for flipping like a superhero after scoring a KO. While Ochoa boasts an impressive 6 KO’s in eight total fights…those were before the UFC. and Durden’s been near the top and is a veteran, he’s also fighting at home, so if he doesn’t win, that’ll be embarrassing. I could see him having the best performance of his career and getting a finish, but that’s largely uncharted territory for him with only two finishes in the UFC. Alas, if not I still see him walking away with a victory.
Official Pick: Cody Durden by unanimous Decision
Bout Five: Malcom Wellmaker vs. Kris Moutinho
Augusta Georgia native and Contender Series standout – Malcom Wellmaker, is coming off a stellar start to his career with a first round KO over former undefeated top prospect Cameron Saaiman. Undefeated with five KO’s to sport, I think the sky’s the limit for Wellmaker. Intangibly, he’s got it all: good frame, good striking, 5 '10, 71 inch reach, and I find it hard for anyone to stop him…but Kris Moutinho is something else. Made famous for having green hair and sticking in there with Sean O’Malley to the point where the ref had to stop the fight for him. Kris “The human punching bag” Moutinho returns to the UFC on short notice riding a five fight finish streak. Moutinho’s first outing with the promotion didn’t fare well, getting finished in his two appearances, but I think we’ll see a change in him this time around.
BUT
I don’t see him having a shot in the dark at winning this…I think he’s tough enough to stay in there and avoid being finished on the feet, but I don’t see any viable path to victory for him. I think this is a good test for Wellmaker to see how he handles a tough guy who pressures and comes forward. I think he’ll find it hard to finish Moutinho with his hands, so he’ll get creative and find a different path to victory. We’ll find out what he’s made of. I see the decision had the clearest form of victory for him, but I’m extremely high on Wellmaker and I think he wants to win. I see him walking away with a submission victory.
Official Pick: Malcom Wellmaker by Submission
Bout Six: Michael Chiesa vs. Court McGee
Two years ago, I saw Court McGee get one punched KO’d by Matt Brown. That’s it.
After three straight losses the 40 year old Ultimate fighter winner McGee, is coming off a submission victory…but so is former ranked contender, and Ultimate fighter winner Michael Chiesa. After also dropping three straight, the “Maverick” is back on track with 2 submission victories headed into this fight. Chiesa seems to be on a run as of late, and the UFC is definitely helping him with the matchmaking, probably as a thank you for not suing us after Conor McGregor threw a dolly at you. Court McGee isn’t known as a submission guy, although he has 9 of them and has never been submitted, but Michael Chiesa (with 12 submission wins) is… of his 12, he touts victories over Carlos Condit and Beneil Dariush. The threat of submission is high in this one…expect it to go to the ground early.
Official Pick: Michael Chiesa by Submission
Bout Seven: Paul Craig vs. Rodolfo Bellato
Initially scheduled a month ago at the UFC apex, cancelled after a herpes outbreak from Bellato (I’m not joking), finally the two collide in the Prelim closer. Billed as Craig’s last stand and return to light heavyweight, he’s walking into this one with a chip on his shoulder. As he stated “I’m fighting for my job” as he’s coming off of 3 straight losses in dominating fashion (the most recent being to crafty vet BO NICKAL!), a loss is not an option for him. The self proclaimed man who’s “better off his back”…
GAY
seems to have all the motivation he needs to regain prime contender form. His best win probably comes from…TKO’ing former champ Jamahal Hill after snapping his arm in a triangle leg choke. Maybe he can do that to the herpes man Bellato. Bellato went to a draw with Jimmy Crute, who lost to Anthony Smith…need I say more. Outside of that, he’s only been in the UFC for two years with his only good win being a KO over Ihor Potieria. Bellato’s the -380 favorite and I can’t really see why. He gloats a decent record of 12-2-1 but that means nothing when you’re tieing with a career journeyman. Craig’s most definitely washed these days but I think he takes this one…
and then loses his next, probably getting cut not long after. But for tonight I think he's the best man off his back Atlanta’s ever seen. I see the hyped up arena crowd playing a factor in this as Craig’s a name that will get cheers…not just because he’s good off his back. Some not to far out of the norm for Atlanta .
Official Pick: Paul Craig by Submission…off his back
MAIN CARD
Bout Eight: Alonzo Menifield vs. Oumar Sy
The start of the main card, and I don’t really have high expectations for this. Sy’s coming in 11-0 and Menifield’s been on a spiral as of late, losing back to back by KO. The Azamat Murzakanov one being the most brutal. oh…I just remembered, he barely beat Julius walker making his debut on a week's notice earlier this year…so both fighters are coming in with a win. Menifield’s more than likely washed so I’m gonna side with Sy, although I don’t know much about him. The French national only has 2 fights with the promotion and it’s against low level competition at that. I think he’s way too high of a favorite at -800, could be higher or lower by 100 tomorrow because the odds keep jumping. I could honestly see Menifield putting his lights out early depending on how the night goes, but I’ll stick with my initial thoughts.
Official Pick: Oumar Sy by Unanimous Decision
Bout Nine: Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Cody Brundage
Notably known for getting an undeserved PPV slot against crafty vet BO NICKAL! Cody Brundage is coming off a KO victory over Julian Marquez. But unfortunately for him, he’s facing Rising Prospect Mansur Abdul-Malik; undefeated with all 8 of his wins by finish with 7 over them by KO, Abdul-Malik is a beast. I remember watching his debut, as he pounded Duško Tordorović’s head into the canvas, caving his skull with every strike. This kid is big, and seems like the complete package at 6 '2 with a 79.5 in reach…Middleweights’ are gonna have to watch out for him in the not so near future. While he had some trouble in his last fight, getting Stunned by a spinning back elbow from Nick Klein, he weathered the storm battling back to get a KO in the second round. To me, that’s more impressive than starching a guy round one…Mansur Abdul-Malik will be a title contender, and this win over Cody Brundage will get him well on his way.
Official Pick: Manur Abdul-Malik by KO
Bout Ten: Cody Garbrandt vs. Raoni Barcelos
Some action in the bantamweight division, as these two crafty vets will mend a 5 year age gap, Both fighters pushin 40 respectively and it shows. Barcelos, a self described journeyman and the craftiest of vets, is coming off the biggest win of his career over Rising Prospect Payton Talbott. Barcelos walked in as a +750 underdog and beat Talbott with ease. He utilized expert technique like holding Talbott against the cage and esoteric Crafty vet Knowledge like laying on top of him. Doing this expert technique of wrestling, he successfully stopped the young buck from utilizing his striking that he’d relied on until that point. I’m still upset about Barcelos’ upset as I had Talbott winning…and it wrecked my Parlay for the night which had Jiří Procházka and Merab Dvalishvili winning; who were, if you remember, underdogs that night. As for Barcelos in this fight, he walks into this one as the -195 favorite and Garbrandt as the +155 dog. Barring all of that, Cody Garbrandt will no doubt have the crowd on his side, as his legendary story entertained all fans of the sport alike.
Playing a pivotal role in the thrilling days of the bantamweight division with the likes of Faber, Cruz, and Dillashaw; Cody Grabandt reached heights unimaginable. He came into the UFC as a 23 year old failed collegiate wrestler, going undefeated in 5 fights with 4 KO’s to show for enroute to the title. He inevitably booked a date with the Champion (at the time) Dominick Cruz. In what can only be described as the perfect performance, Cody Grabandt went 25 minutes with the perennial Goat at the time, dominating him all 5 rounds. He knocked him down twice with right hooks ensuring it. When the bell rang, Cody was crowned champion and the mission was complete. The mission being a pact he made with a young fan diagnosed with cancer at an early age in his career, to each achieve their dreams. For Cody, it was to be UFC champion and the young fans, to beat cancer. Cody held up his end of the bargain and so did the fan.
After that, Cody became a superstar overnight and was thrusted into a heated rivalry over coaches and gyms. As a member of Uriah Fabers’ gym team alpha male, Cody was thrown to the flames against gym traitor, former Champion TJ Dillashaw, as a surrogate for Faber. Having an eerily similar path to the belt, Dillashaw and Garbrandt seemed like the perfect fight to make. The two coached the Ultimate Fighter in an effort to build hype for the inevitable clash. As the show progressed, TJ seemed to get the best of Garbrandt and it took a toll on him. After the stage was set, the two finally met in New York…and Dillashaw made quick work of Garbrandt, disposing of him in the second round, reclaiming the gold. They rematched, and it didn’t go much better for Garbrandt, getting KO’d in the first this time around.
As alluded to earlier, Garbrandt was thrown into a rivalry that wasn’t his to begin with. And unfortunately it most likely cost him his championship and Career, as he never truly recovered from the Dillashaw losses. Since then, it’s been a slow spiral to the bottom for Garbrandt, and it’s been difficult to watch. He showed some flashes with a KO over Brian Kellaher in late 2023, but he went on to get submitted by Former 2x flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo stopping any semblance of a run. I think Cody more than likely lost the fire he once had after becoming champion and I’m not sure if he’ll ever get it back. Here’s to hoping he can for one night.
Official Pick: Cody Garbrandt by KO
Bout Eleven: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Andre Petroski
Two crafty vets are given the featured slot here and it’s not hard to see why. Shahbazyan is a finishing machine, as he’s either getting the finish or getting finished…finish, finish, FINISH! His last 6 fights were split down the middle going 3-3 with 3 KO’s of his own and 2 KO’s belonging to the opponent, the third being a submission belonging to GM3.
Petroski on the other hand, is not quite the closer Shahbazyan is, with only 4 career knockouts. His last 3 fights being victories by decision…but victories nonetheless, after calling out the Craftiest Vet BO NICKAL! Interestingly, both fights hold recent victories over Dylan Budka, and both have faced GM3, with Petroski getting the better of him. Initially I was going to say Shahbazyan by KO, which I still see as possible, but that little factoid of Petroski beating GM3 opposed to Shahbazyan has me convinced otherwise. I think GM3 is the key to this meeting of these two crafty vets.
Official Pick: Andre Petroski by Split Decision BO NIKAL NEXT!
Bout Twelve: Rose Namajunas vs. Miranda Maverick
Co-Main eventing the evening, is a ranked women’s flyweight matchup of former Champion Rose Namajunas and 4 fight win streak contender Miranda Maverick. As I haven’t seen a single Miranda Maverick fight, and very little Namajunas fights, I’m definitely unqualified to give my opinion on this… but here we are.
My mind tells me Rose will win, because she’s just better in every category: Wins, finishes, striking, Championships, you name it. But my gut tells me she’s old and washed, so Maverick gets the nod. Momentum is a hell of a drug in the fight game and Rose just lost to Erin Blacnhfield. I think Maverick has the potential to get in the top of the ranks but more than likely never be champion.
Official Pick: Miranda Maverick by Split Decision
Bout Thirteen: Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley
Everything tells me Usman will win…resume, odds, skill level, previous performances, etc. everything except age…
at 38 years old, Usman is one of the oldest 38 year olds we’ve seen. His knees are completely shot and don’t have much time left. I see this as Usman’s last stand, either he wins and goes onto Shavkat or Belal, maybe even JDM, or he loses and retires. At a +230 underdog, I desperately want to pick Usman, but as I stated earlier, momentum is a hell of a drug in the fight game, and momentum defines Joaquin Buckley. After starting at middleweight, Joaquin Buckley had a tumultuous start to say the least. After losing by KO to Mr. 45/70, and Crafty Vet himself, Kevin Holland, he bounced back with one of the best KO’s in UFC history over future PFL champion Impa Kasanganay, with a spinning heel kick. Buckley followed that stellar performance up with another KO. But shortly after he would be KO’d again. This seemed to define his career at middleweight; one step forward two steps back, culminating with an upset KO defeat to Crafty Vet and the man Sean Strickland’s definitely called a N****r to his face: Chris Curtis. After that upsetting loss Buckley moved down to welterweight…and saved his career. He’d alway begin to rally a win streak together at Middleweight, only to be halted by an unsuspecting Knockouts, Buckley now finally got the momentum he so desperately needed. Last year is where it really kicked off for him. Riding a two fight win streak, he punched his ticket into the top 15 with a dominating performance over Vicente Luque. He dominated Luque so bad it looked like he quit, just laying down and letting Buckley ground and pound his way to victory. He most certainly felt Buckley’s power and wanted no part of it. Next, a month and a half later he defeated rising contender Nursulton Ruziboev by unanimous decision. And to close out the stellar year, Buckley KO’d former title challengers Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Usman Rival: Colby Covington in violent fashion. Now, he faces his toughest test in Former Welterweight Champion: Kamaru Usman.
Billed as the next big thing, Usman took very little time to rise the ranks. Early on he beat other rising prospect Leon Edwards…signifying he’s the top dog. He then won eight straight enroute to the title, clashing with Tyron Woodley. Beating the man most known for getting Knocked out by disney channel star Jake Paul, Kamaru Usman established himself as the welterweight king over Woodley. He reigned for 5 defenses adding to his impressive win streak of now 14. The highlights of his reign being two dominating wins over “Street Beefs” Jorge Masvidal, the final meeting being the thrillingest with a Highlight KO, and another pair of wins over Political scientist and future Florida man, Colby Covington. Usman rode the wave of domination to his latest challenger…Leon Edwards.
The fight started off like any typical Usman title defense with Usman controlling the pace at range and mixing in takedowns at will. For 4 rounds the fight went that way and Edwards seemed demoralized. As Jon Anik famously said, “he’s resigned himself to a decision”. Wallowed and checked out, Edwards went back to his corner to finish his shift and collect his check. Suddenly, a man exclaimed…“Quit feelin’ sorry for yourself, don’t let him bully you son…Pull that shit outta the fire”. As Leon rose off of his stool, facing down the game champion, he went out into the fifth and final round but something had changed. Those words of the man ignited something in him that he couldn’t ignore. Leon quickly measured, controlling the range, setting up Usman. After a few minutes of that with the clock running down, Leon threw a straight right hand with a roundhouse kick behind it. BOOM! the kick landed flush on Usman’s face. Immediately Usman’s lights went out and he fell flat. Leon was crowned champion in what was a Rocky-like moment. Usman went on to rematch him, losing in a close decision. And that was the last time Usman fought at Welterweight…2 years ago. Going into this both fighters present stories of overcoming obstacles and storybook like rises and falls. All of this to say, we’re in for a great main event.
Official Pick: Joaquin Buckley by Knockout.
-k.a.p 06/12/25
PICKS:
Jamie Lyn-Horth
Phil Rowe
Ricky Simon
Cody Durden
Malcom Wellmaker
Michael Chiesa
Paul Craig
Oumar Sy
Mansur Abdul-Malik
Cody Garbrandt
Andre Petroski
Miranda Maverick
Joaquin Buckley
