UFC 252 takes place on Saturday and it’s set to be a great PPV card as the main event is between two of the greatest heavyweights of all time as current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic takes on Daniel Cormier for the third and final time. Also, on the card is Sean O’Malley vs Marlon Vera as the co-main and Junior Dos Santos takes on Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
#12 John Dodson vs #15 Merab Dvalishvili – Bantamweight Bout
Kicking the main card off is a bantamweight battle between two top-ranked fighters as John Dodson takes on Merab Dvalishvili. John Dodson has been a huge name in the UFC since he made his debut back in 2012 after earning his contract through The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale when he beat T.J Dillashaw. Since then he’s gone on to fight some of the best fighters in the world like Demetrious Johnson, Marlon Moraes, Petr Yan and others. His last fight was a win against Nathaniel Wood and Dodson will be hoping another win in this one will really help him break into the title shot picture.
Standing in the way of Dodson’s title hopes is the 15th ranked bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili. Merab has been a high riser since joining the UFC back in 2017 and even though he lost his first two bouts in the company, he’s currently on a 4-fight win streak heading into this one. Just as his nickname states, Merab is a machine when he’s in the octagon and his cardio is scary, never letting his foot off the gas and constantly pressuring his opponents. With a win in this one, Merab will put his name alongside some of the best bantamweights in the world right now.
This fight is a fantastic way to kick the main card off, this will be a highly paced fight where both guys never stop throwing hands and working for a win. It’s a tough one to call but I think Dodson will get the win, I think his striking has drastically improved recently and I think Merab may have an issue with that.
Herbert Burns vs Daniel Pineda – Featherweight Bout
For the next fight, we’re staying in the featherweight division as Herbert Burns welcomes Daniel Pineda back to the UFC. Herbert Burns made his name and earnt his UFC contract during season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series after he beat Derrick Minner in the first round, since then Herbert has been successful in his 2 UFC bouts, beating both Nate Landwehr and, more recently, Evan Dunham. Burns has been really impressive during his UFC career and with another win here, he could really throw himself into the featherweight mix.
Daniel Pineda is an MMA veteran who was initially with the UFC from 2012-2014 where he really struggled to show why there was hype around him from his time in other promotions. Pineda has enjoyed a lot of success since he left the UFC in 2014 and now has a career record of 26-13, with 18 submission wins. Pineda will want the fight to go to the floor tonight as he looks for his 19th submission win in his career.
This is set to be a really good, technical fight between two great submission and ground fighters. Pineda has the experience advantage over Burns but I’m picking Burns to take the win in this one. Burns has been on a roll since he joined the UFC and I feel he’s in a much better place within his career in this one.
Continued on the page below.
