Written by LineStar contributor, combat sports enthusiast, and practitioner, Chris Guy. Instagram: @therealsethgeko | Twitter: @DadHallOfFamer

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Main Card

Israel Adesanya (-160) vs. Nassourdine Imavov (+135)

Stylebender: DK: $8.6k | Imavov: DK:$7.6k

The Last Stylebender paved his road to perdition when he KO’d Alex Pereira. Izzy became the middleweight Adriano Martins when, down 0-3 in fights against Pereira, he unloaded two right hands amid his death throes and beat the unbeatable. His back against the cage, literally, The Last Stylebender used the last bullet in his chamber, not to escape a painful death, but to take one final shot at the man who was on the verge of beating him for the fourth time. He went straight Seth Gecko “From Dusk Till Dawn:”    

“Seth, should I save the last bullets for us?” 

“No, use it on the next motherf**ker who tries to bite you!”  

When the dust cleared, Izzy reached into his quiver and unloaded three arrows into the lifeless body of Alex Pereira, and in doing so, Izzy sealed his own fate. 

The fruits of the poisonous KO. 

The curse of Alex Pereira. Since that night, Izzy has been cursed like he watched The Ring tape. Since April 8, 2023, Adesanya’s and Pereira’s careers have headed in opposite directions. Much like Martins’ and Makhachev’s careers after Martins became the only man to beat Makhachev. Izzy lost two in a row, while Pereira won five in a row, including four TKO/KOs, and hoisted the light heavyweight belt. While Izzy has watched his mortal foe catapult up the list of the sport’s GOATs, the former Middleweight Champ has been trying to make amends for his foolish indiscretion, KO’ing Him.  

But hope for Izzy came in the form of a presidential pardon. With one ass cheek out the door, the latest U.S. Raytheon/Lockheed Martin/General Dynamics/Northrop Grumman/Boeing puppet granted Izzy clemency for having the audacity to knock out Alex Pereira. It was like a baptism of Izzy’s consciousness. A new beginning. Now that he has been absolved of committing the greatest UFC crime since Matt Serra TKO’d GSP, Izzy can strap on an oxygen mask, clad himself from head to toe in The North Face apparel, and begin his climb back to the top of the mountain.    

I’ll say this off the top: The 2022 Israel Adesanya dominates this fight. But 2025 Izzy? The encouraging thing for Izzy fans about his last two losses is how he lost. First, he entered the Sean Strickland Matrix and never recovered after getting rocked in the first round. Strickland turned Neo into Agent Smith real fookin’ quick. “Everything that has a beginning has an end, Izzy.” Strickland did Strickland shit and used his telekinetic powers to manipulate Izzy’s strikes, sending them asunder and frustrating Izzy for twenty-five minutes. And against DDP, Izzy was winning the fight before he wasn’t. Izzy out-struck DDP two to one in the third round and all but dominated the first three and a half minutes of the fateful fourth round before he got clipped with an awkward DDP overhand. Izzy was beginning to pull away just before he got caught.   

Izzy didn’t look like he had lost a step. And he still has that dog in him like Snoop Dogg’s No Limit album covers. Izzy the Impaler: He still has 300 Spartan spears for hands and Grim Reaper scythes for shins. And until he got hurt on the feet, Izzy showed against DDP that his grappling had improved. He stuffed multiple takedowns and scrambled back to his feet. And up until the ending sequence, Izzy still had gas in the tank, while DDP was fading fast. Nassourdine Imavov is a winnable fight for Izzy. The key for Izzy will be volume. His technical ability and sixth sense for manipulating range are superior to Imavov's. But Izzy tends to be too judicious with his strikes. Imavov can defend single strikes; he can’t defend extended combinations. Izzy needs to out-pace/out-work Imavov, who has had a history of fading late in fights. Example: The Joaquim Buckley fight. 

The problem for Izzy will be that Nassourdine Imavov is fookin’ good. More important than being good is being fast. Imavov might have the fastest hands in the division. Lil parachutes shoot out of his hands like dragsters at the end of the track. Imavov’s hands are faster than the Dallas Cowboys were eliminated from the 2025/’26 playoffs after they hired Brian Schottenheimer. His hands are faster than the hands of time when you’re having a good time. Faster than childhood. His hands are so fast they sound like crotch rockets. It sounds like a fookin’ biker gang driving through, disturbing the peace when he unloads combinations. And Imavov has a special move: The Chaz Michaels step-back, aka the Bobby Drake step-back. Imavov will slide on you like Iceman when you engage and drop a right cross on you on his way out. He has that step-back like every player in the NBA when they get the ball with the clock expiring.   

My hesitancy to consider Imavov a legitimate title threat is that, overall, he’s kind of generic. His style is like static white noise. It's like background noise. But he wins fights. I don’t know how to describe it; he’s missing something. He’s like an MMA Weezer – a little underrated but not quite at the superstar level. Weezer can sell out a minor league NHL arena, but they ain’t selling out Petco Park. They make Disney soundtrack music, not stadium anthems. That’s Imavov; he’s a Weezer-level star, a recognizable name among the MMA heads but not among the casuals. Does any of that make any fookin’ sense? I’m sorry, I’m still over here reeling, looking like the Mr. Crabs meme after hearing the Brian Schottenheimer news. Imavov is good, but I don’t see that next-level Champion arc in him. If he can use his speed and sneaky good wrestling to keep Izzy guessing and dominate this fight, I’ll become a believer.   

Imavov needs to make this an MMA fight and use the clinch and takedowns to ensure this isn’t a twenty-five-minute kickboxing match. He has to change the range of the fight and not allow Izzy to dominate the fringe of the pocket. The numbers: Imavov is 15-4 with six TKO/KOs and four subs and averages four and a half SLpM compared to Izzy’s four. Imavov can separate himself from Izzy with takedowns. He averages just under one takedown per fifteen minutes but landed three against Chris Curtis in under two rounds and Curtis has some of the best takedown defense in the division. He also took down Buckley and Jared Cannonier twice. Izzy’s takedown defense is a respectable seventy-five percent, so Imavov will have to stay committed.  

Izzy will be the (-180) favorite, and Imavov will be the (+150) live-ass dog. The question is, how much does Izzy have left in the tank? Prime Izzy would dominate this fight, but this isn’t Prime Izzy. Imavov has only been finished once in his career, and that was his pro debut noineteen fights ago. Izzy has been finished twice, but only by Champions. I think the play for both fighters is a decision. There’s value in a late Imavov submission if you want to go prop hunting. And a late TKO/KO for Izzy could also be in the cards. But I don’t see either guy getting finished. 

The main event L streak still sits at two after Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan fell through at the last minute, and Money Moicano made a down payment on an L. That one was a gimme, but I couldn’t put the pick on wax. I could have used the dub because I’ve gone back and forth on this one for two weeks. I think Izzy will do just enough to eke out a dub. Israel Adesanya via decision. Put it on wax. 

Props

Adesanya: TKO/KO (+330) Sub (+2500) Dec (+130) 

Imavov: TKO/KO (+600) Sub (+900) Dec (300)

Winner: Israel Adesanya | Method: Decision

Shara Magomedov (-185) vs. Michael “Venom” Page (+160)

Shara: DK: $8.8k | MVP: DK: $7.4k

I would call this fight an absolute banger, but MVP fights are rarely bangers. It’s not because MVP isn’t one of the dopest strikers in the game. It’s because his striking is so damn dangerous people are only willing to go as far as stepping in the cage with him but not actually fight him. Nobody wants to risk getting their skulls crushed like my old Muay Thai coach, the male Cyborg Evangelista Santos. MVP dents you like clearance soup cans. Homie will hit you with a case of botulism. This guy disfigures you like Civil War vets. You walk out that bish missing a lower jaw or with a mop handle for a leg. They have to rebuild you with metal plates. Good luck making it through TSA or into a Dave & Busters. They have to reconstruct your face like scientists do frozen Neanderthals. Plastic surgeons give MVP kickbacks for all the business he brings them. They have to blur his opponent’s face after the fight when he gets his hands raised. His opponents get locked out of their iPhones after they fight MVP because the facial recognition ain’t recognizing. He Tanya Harding’d a poor bass turd's knee with a leg kick in his final Bellator fight. Just crushed homie’s kneecap like an aluminum can.  

Fook it! Hit that L-I-M-P Bizkit “Break Stuff!” MVP breaks stuff like kids inside an antique shop. You break it, you buy it! MVP is unique. In every way. From his physical frame to his fighting style. He’s longer than the client list and so thin that when he’s in his bladed stance, you can barely see him. It’s like turning a piece of paper sideways. He fooks with your depth perception. It’s like you become nearsighted or some shit. You need bifocals to fight MVP. He leaves you with very few targets to attack, and getting inside of his long limbs is a fool’s errand. His extreme length makes for awkward, slow fights. MVP’s major malfunction is that he doesn’t take enough risks. His output is below two and a half SLpM. That’s why he fumbled the Ian Garry bag like Mark Andrews. He just didn’t throw enough. That’s why he hasn’t had a vintage highlight reel KO inside the Octagon. If he doesn’t increase his output, Shara Bullet will outwork him on the way to a dub.   

One-Eye Willie, aka the MMA Fetty Wap, aka the Slick Rick on MMA, aka the walking Goosebumps cover, is back. Shara Magomedov is the only man who can best Virna Jandiroba in a staring contest. Shara Bullet once beat up his Little League coach for telling him to keep his eye on the ball. Allegedly. Shara is a walking dunk contest of strikes. He lands shit that he practices in his backyard like when you were a kid and would do 360 windmills on a seven-foot rim. Shara won his last bout via double-spinning backfist TKO. What do you tell an Armen Petrosyan with two black eyes? Nothing. Shara Bullet already backfisted him twice. Petrosyan’s Sherdog record reads “KO Fisted” in the results column. Shara Bullet is another unique striker, and this matchup against MVP is one of the wildest style matchups you can make. 

Shara is a unique striker because he uses his hands almost like a garnish for his kicks. His kicks are the starter, and his hands are the bullpen. You already know: When it comes to kicks, if Shara don’t got it, you don’t want it. Axe kicks, showgirl kicks, scissor kicks, rock-paper-scissors kicks, Diddy kicks, side-kicks, Rodman kicks, Tupac in the MGM Grand lobby kicks, round kicks, Flash Kicks, Johnny Cage Shadow Kicks, teep kicks: It’s a kick blowout when Shara steps into the cage. He’ll break a bunion off in your ass real quick. Shara Bullet kicks so much ass he leaves your cheeks with athlete’s foot. After he has bombarded you with kicks, he opens up with basic training left-right-left marching hand combinations. The key for Shara against MVP will be attacking MVP’s legs and not headhunting. He has to alter MVP’s in/out bouncing movement so he can get inside and unload combinations. Shara will be the much higher output striker, averaging nearly seven SLpM. He can win close rounds just by staying busy.   

Shara will be the (-185) favorite, and MVP will be the (+160) live-ass dog. MVP can highlight reel anybody. The one-punch, touch of death power will belong to MVP. He is Mr. Abrupt. He can end shit in a blink. There isn’t a deficit he can’t overcome with one punch/kick. Shara’s odds represent the discrepancy in outputs. MVP just doesn’t throw enough. Even if Shara doesn’t land cleanly, he will lead the dance. MVP will need knockdowns to steal rounds or find a finish. I like playing Shara for a decision. An MVP disfigurement is always worth a Hamilton. Shara Magomedov via decision. Put it on wax.   

Props

Shara: TKO/KO (+275) Sub (+2500) Dec (+130) 

MVP: TKO/KO (+600) Sub (+2000) Dec (+275)

Winner: Shara Magomedov | Method: Decision

Sergei Pavlovich (-320) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstuik (+260)

Pavlovich: DK: $9.1k | Rozenstruik: DK:$7.1k

Just as Jerry Jones will never higher a competent coach with outside influence to institute top-down changes, so too will the UFC never give us Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Derrick Lewis. But unlike hiring Brian Schottenheimer, I can’t hate on the UFC for this alternative matchup that is an absolute banger. The forecast for this one is cloudy, with a chance of meteor showers. The likelihood of anyone escaping the arena after this one is similar to the people of Pompei outrunning the lava flow. 

“Don’t look back, homie!” 

“I ain’t your homie, buddy!” 

It was just a couple of fights ago when Jairzinho Rozenstruik wore a crown of thorns on his head into the Octagon, not as a religious symbol, but so birds wouldn’t perch on his head in the middle of the fight during his lengthy episodes of idleness and shit on his dome. Rozenstruik finally left his longtime gym in Indonesia and will no longer have the Toraja people in his corner, animating his movements during fights. But that’s okay because Rozenstruik turned over a new leaf in his last two bouts.   

Gone are the days of Bigi Boy standing around looking menacing while unloading one punch per minute. I’d like to reintroduce Bigi Boy; his name is Max Rozenstruik, aka Jairzinho Holloway. Against Shamil Gaziev, Rozenstruik landed a career-high one hundred twenty-seven strikes in four rounds. And against Tai Tuivasa, he landed noinety-one on his way to a decision dub. My man went full Trey Styles, “I’m sick of this shit!” and started letting his hands go. Like DMX once said, “If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it’s yours.” Rozenstruik let his hands go, and they came back bearing dubs. 

The new and improved Gain of Function Rozenstruik will stuff takedowns and make you pay with extended combinations. It’s like Rozenstruik went on Ricki Lake and got a complete makeover. Everywhere that he goes, ain’t the same as before. People he used to know, just don’t know him no more. Yo! Hit that Dr. Dre “The Watcher!” Rozenstruik is like the Count of Monte Christo - not even his old acquaintances recognize him. When he steps into the cage against Sergei Pavlovich, Bigi Boy just has to stick to the new script and let his hands go. Pavlovich is all offense and zero defense, like James Harden on the Rockets. If Bigi Boy can keep Pavlo on his heels and limit Pavlo’s offensive explosions, he can win this fight. And it wasn’t long ago that Pavlo was a backup fighter for the heavyweight title.   

Dana White discovered Sergei Pavlovich when Pavlo scaled the Empire State Building and started swatting planes from the sky. This MF has a dub over Godzilla. His hands are each nuclear powers and have delegations with seats at the UN roundtable. This guy has Genesis 1:3 power. “And let there be light!” Pavlo has billionaire oligarch power; he has more power than Blackrock. You can’t let this guy touch you. Even a graze will send you DMT tripping, experiencing ego death like a Shaman mixer in the Amazon rainforest. A missed punch will have you looking like cows in a tornado. Pavlo trains with the gorillas at the zoo. They’re over there picking fleas off each other after practice. Pavlo only engages in Max vs. Gaethje final ten seconds exchanges and lets the chips fall where they may. 

The key to Pavlo’s striking is arm angles. He changes shoulder levels and wings punches from varying peripherals around the opponent’s guard. When they think they are safe, they aren’t because Pavlo’s punches find openings. But Pavlo’s major malfunction is his defense. He has the Detroit Lion's defense – defense like the New York Knicks when they gave up one hunnid to Wilt. Pavlo doesn’t anticipate blowback and is rarely in a position to defend return fire. After two straight losses, I’m beginning to wonder if Pavlo had a Lin Sanity moment. After losing his debut to Alistair Overeem, Pavlo won six straight, all by first-round TKO/KO. But did he snap back to reality? Maybe Pavlo is at his best when he just comes out hotter than fish grease, throwing bombs. A more measured approach might not bring out the best version of Pavlo.   

Throw the striking stats out the window. One of these guys is going mimis. Zzz zzz. Pavlovich is the (-290) favorite, and Rozenstruik will be the (+240) live-ass dog. I don’t remember the last time I picked Rozenstruik to win a fight, and he has won three of his last four. He will be the more traditional/technical striker with similar power to Pavlo. The play for both fighters is a TKO/KO. I could see a scenario in which they show each other a little too much respect, and the fight goes the distance, but I think Pavlo will lead the dance with his trademark aggression, leading to some hairy 50/50 exchanges. Man, here I am, doubting Bigi Boy again. Sergei Pavlovich via TKO, round two. On wax. 

Props

Pavlovich: TKO/KO (-225) Sub (+1800) Dec (+1000) 

Rozenstuik: TKO/KO (+400) Sub (+3000) Dec (+900)

Winner: Sergei Pavlovich | Method: TKO Rd.2

Said Nurmagomedov (-160) vs.Vinicius Oliveira (+135)

Nurmagomedov: DK: $8.7k | Oliveira: DK: $7.5k

Don’t let the last name fool you. Said Nurmagomedov may be the weak link of the Nurmagomedov chain. He’s not really an official Nurmagomedov. He’s more of a Nurmagomedov franchise owner. Khabib just licensed the name to Said. Don’t get me wrong, he ain’t some kind of Dust Buster. He has serious skills on the feet and the mat. Said will be a tough test for the young lion Vinicius Oliveira. Oliveira is the lion in The Ghost and the Darkness who snatches people on their way to the watering hole. Or maybe Oliveira will be a tough test for Nurmagomedov? Either way, this is a wild-style matchup. Unlike every other Nurmagomedov, Said doesn’t have a wrestle/grapple-first style. He stands and bangs first and wrestles only if he has to.   

In UFC 5, the video game, all of Said’s controls are spinning moves. Triangle: Spinning Backfist. Circle: Spinning Backfist. X: Spinning Back Kick. Box: Spinning Backfist. If you hold R1 and Circle, he’ll throw an Umar question mark kick. I’ve said it before: These “Ov/Ev” guys all have special powers on the feet like X-Men. Said’s style is using spinning attacks to set up his offense. He uses the backfist like a jab. When he’s forced to engage traditionally, he isn’t nearly as effective. Overall, he has hands like Mark Andrews. His style isn’t built for traditional back-and-forth kickboxing exchanges. Said needs space to operate, keeping opponents at spinning/kicking range. If you can get inside on him, he falls apart in the pocket.   

Said’s stand-up aside, his path to victory against Oliveira will be on the mat. Said doesn’t have the dominant wrestling of others with his last name, but he can still cut a rug on the mat. He usually waits to be taken down for the fight to relocate. Said has excellent counter-submissions when defending takedowns and from his guard. He’ll bait you into thinking you’re advancing position, then hit a reverse or snatch your neck. Said is surgical with guillotine chokes. But overall, Said doesn’t have the Khabib/Umar dog in him. Like Diddy, he will look for an Usher when things get hard. Like WHOA! Yo! Hit that Black Rob “Whoa!” My man, Said, sometimes fights like he has one finger on the eject button. Behind Enemy Lines – he turns into a POW when the battle heats up. Oliveira has a spotty sixty-eight percent takedown defense, and Said will have to edge close rounds with timely takedowns. 

Vinicius Oliveira is a human hadouken. My man looks like a Dragon Ball Z character. This guy burst onto the scene like the Kool-Aid Man when he Shang Tsung’d Bernardo Sopaj in his debut. Oliveira left Sopaj with no soul, like a South Park ginger kid. This was after Oliveira came back from the dead after getting dominated in the first eight minutes. Homie sat up on the autopsy table, talking about, “It’s cold in here.” Then Oliveira stormed back, battering Sopaj on the feet before dropping the whammy, a running flying knee, on him like Jimi Hendrix. Oliveira looked like he was doing the long jump in the Olympics. He looked like Jordan taking off from the free-throw line. And he left Sopaj looking like Bud Dwyer. IYKYK. That flying knee KO was my KO of the year last year. 

Oliveira is a Steve-O and Pontius Wild Boy. This MF is Nick Cannon Wildin’ Out when he steps into the cage. He got on some Ridiculousness against Sopaj and improved his takedown defense against Ricky Simon. On the feet, Oliveira is a Fantasy Factory of weapons. Oliveira has shades of Carlos Prates. Hands down, man down. Like Prates, Oliveira rolls with his hands down at all times, never raising them in the form of a traditional guard. He uses the low-hand position to defend takedowns and throw bombs from the lower peripheral, where they are hard to pick up. He slangs heat from the hips like Annie Oakley. Also, like Prates, Oliveira’s punches are long and looping. His hands go to sleep in Paris and wake up in Tokyo. Yo! Hit that Lupe Fiasco “Paris, Tokyo!” Oliveira’s hands go on world tours before they reach the target. He is anything but a traditional striker. I think of him more as a dangerous puncher and kicker than I do as a traditional kickboxer or boxer. 

But Oliveira has a major malfunction: His ground game. Sopaj dominated Oliveira from the top position and looked on the verge of stopping Oliveira in the first round. While he’s a weapons silo on the feet, he’s unarmed on the mat. He files defamation lawsuits like Drake when someone puts him on his back. Oliveira is tough to get down, but once his back touches the mat, he is limited. Simon was only able to land two of eleven takedowns against Oliveira, which was a drastic improvement from the Sopaj fight. If Oliviera can keep it standing as he did against Simon, I give him the edge on the feet against Nurmagomedov. His power is too much for most fighters to handle. 

The numbers: Said Nurmagomedov is 18-3 with four TKO/KOs and six subs. And Oliveira is 21-3 with sixteen TKO/KOs and two subs. Homie is a Phillip Rivers finisher. Oliveira is the higher output striker, averaging just under six SLpM compared to Said’s three and a half. Oliveira averages slightly more takedowns than Said at just under one and a half compared to Said’s one, but those takedowns came in the second half of the Sopaj fight when Sopaj looked like the walking dead. Said is the (-175) favorite, and Oliveira is the (+150) live-ass dog. This main card is filled with live-ass dogs. I can’t see Said dominating on the mat for fifteen minutes. But I think Oliveira will have to mount another comeback, as Said will likely get Oliveira down early. And on the feet, Oliveira is the far more dangerous striker and a bigger finishing threat. Dammit, I gonna do it. Don’t bet against a Nurmagomedov. I’m gonna do it. Vinicius Oliveira via decision. Put it on wax.  

Props

Oliveira: TKO/KO (+300) Sub (+2000) Dec (+400)  

Nurmagomedov: TKO/KO (+700) Sub (+320) Dec (+180)

Winner: Vinicius Oliveira | Method: Decision

Muhammadjon Naimov (-300) vs. Kaan Ofli (+240)

Naimov: DK: $9k | Ofli: DK: $7.2k

I was told Naimov vs. Ofli wouldn’t be on the test. We lost Andre Muniz vs. Ikram Aliskerov from the main card, which would have rounded out a crazy main card. A main card far better than next week’s Pay Per View. Anywho, here we are. I don’t know much about these guys. Both are traditional wrestler strikers, and this fight will likely be a tepid boxing match for its duration. Naimov has faced stiff competition in four UFC bouts. They threw this guy into the AB infested waters right from the jump. Naimov has dubs over Jaime Mullarkey and Nathaniel Wood, and a loss to the dynamo Felipe Lima. And Kaan Ofli will be making only his second UFC start. 

Ofli’s debut came in the Ultimate Fighter finale, in which he got KO’d against Mairon Santos. And it was a nasty KO. After eating a series of Santos bombs, Kaan slumped unconscious to his knees. He looked like when the Father says, “Let us pray” after communion. Homie looked like he was getting knighted like Sir Elton John. He looked like Joy Tay— never mind. Ofli is a little muscle shark with short, little T-Rex punches. But his little bombs pack a punch. I didn’t see much of Ofli’s season of The Ultimate Fighter, but he looks like the type to wrestle first and strike if he can’t get the fight to the mat. He couldn’t get Santos to the mat and had to relent to a kickboxing match. I’m not sure he can beat Naimov on the feet or the mat. And Naimov has faced far better competition than Ofli has. 

Muhammadjon Naimov is basically a better Kaan Ofli. He dropped Jamie Mullarkey, then finished him, and nearly finished Nathaniel Wood before eking out a decision. This guy throws hard, but he’s far from a technical striker. I think he can win this fight wherever he wants to. Fantasy-wise, neither fighter will light up the scoreboard without a finish. Naimov only averages three SLpM with a high of fifty-two in a three-rounder. And Ofli only landed twelve strikes in nearly two rounds in his debut. I don’t think Naimov will be worth the high Fantasy price tag. But he should win this fight. Should. Naimov is the (-290) favorite, and Ofli is the (+240) shelter dog, looking for his forever home. If you’re looking for betting value in this fight, it’s in a Naimov TKO/KO. I think it’s a long shot, but he has that one-touch power, and Ofli is coming in on the wrong side of a brutal KO. Muhammadjon Naimov via decision. Wax on, wax off.   

Props

Naimov: TKO/KO (+215) Sub (+800) Dec (+120)  

Ofli: TKO/KO (+1400) Sub (+900) Dec (+500)

Winner: Muhammadjon Naimov | Method: Decision

Prelims

$7k Value Menu

Nassourdine Imavov ($7.6k): In each of his last two five-round bouts, Imavov landed over one hundred significant strikes. Even against Sean Strickland, Imavov landed one hundred twenty-three significant strikes. This will be another exclusively stand-up matchup, which should lead to high striking totals for both fighters, win or lose. I see this fight going the full twenty-five minutes, so both fighters will have plenty of time to rack up Fantasy points. Imavov can also supplement significant strikes with timely takedowns and top control. 

Jairzinho Rozenstruik ($7.1K): I see Rozenstruik vs. Pavlovich as a 50/50 toss-up. Both fighters have that Dim Mak Bottom Brick Touch of Death power. And in recent bouts, Rozenstruik has metamorphosized and spread his wings and become a high-output striker. Rozenstruik will be the more technical striker with an extensive kickboxing resume before ever stepping into the Octagon. Both Pavlovich and Rozenstruik will likely be all-or-nothing options, as this one could end real quick for either guy. But I also think there is some distant value in a decision. If that’s the case, Rozenstruik’s newfound aggression could provide solid striking stats even in a loss. 

MVP ($7.4k): This is a steal for one of the most unique strikers in the game facing another striker. MVP won’t light up the scoreboard as he averages below two and a half SLpM. But the more I think about it, his range and speed will give him a good chance of finishing the unbeaten Shara Bullet. Shara will have to take massive leaps of faith throughout the fight to close the distance, and every time he does, he will be in danger of running into one of MVP’s long, deadly strikes. The upside for MVP is his first finish inside the UFC, but his downside is low striking totals if the fight goes the distance. In two UFC bouts, his highest striking total was forty-one against Kevin Holland. 

 $6k Clearance Rack

Damir Hadzovic ($7k): Hadzovic is your best low-tier Fantasy option this week. Why? Because he’s fighting Terrance “& Phillip” McKinney, and McKinney is the quintessential Missy Elliott one-round man. Terrance McKinney comes out looking like a future world champion for about 4:59, but as soon as the clock strikes 5:00, his fight shorts turn into Daisy Dukes, and he becomes assed-out. Damir Hadzovic has been on the UFC roster since 2016, and this will be his tenth appearance. He’s a middle-of-the-road fighter with very average skills. But he’s good enough to survive McKinney’s early onslaught. If Damir can get out of the first round, he will have a good shot of pulling off the upset dub. His major malfunction: A thirty-four percent takedown defense. He was taken down eight times in his last appearance.  

Twenty-Twen-Twen Sleepers

Thomas Peterson (+280): I never thought this guy would be a Twenty Twen-Twen sleeper, but here we are. This pick has to do more with Petersen’s opponent, Shamil Gaziev. Gaziev is a little overrated and was exposed by Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a main event last year. Without his wrestling, Gaziev isn’t much to look at on the feet. Neither is Petersen, for that matter, but Petersen is a slightly better combination striker than Gaziev. And Petersen is a wrestler, also. Petersen may end up on his back early, but I don’t see Gaziev riding out fifteen minutes of top control. This could turn into an ugly, tepid kickboxing match, and I think Petersen has a shot of outpointing Gaziev on the feet. 

Jairzinho Rozenstruik (+260): There is a ton of value for Rozenstruik, a guy who can end anyone’s night early with one punch. If Rozenstruik can replicate recent performances with increased output, this fight will be much closer to a toss-up. These odds are way off. This odds range is a sweet spot for finding dogs with clear paths to victory. This range is where you can turn Jacksons into Grants in the blink of an eye. If Rozenstruik can draw Pavlovich into the second and third rounds, I like his chances of stealing a victory by finish or decision. 

Nassourdine Imavov (+140): The main event is a matchup of two fighters heading in opposite directions. Don’t sleep on Imavov’s hand speed. Even though he lost to Sean Strickland, he had some good moments late in that fight. And we saw what Strickland did to Izzy. I know, I know, MMA math doesn’t add up. But sometimes it does. Comparing performances against common opponents can reveal a lot. In addition to going strike-for-strike with Izzy, Nassourdine can also steal close rounds with timely takedowns. Imavov has won three in a row, and it should be four because he was well on his way to finishing Chris Curtis before an eye poke ended that fight prematurely. And Izzy just hasn’t looked quite like himself even though he was beating DDP before Izzy got clipped and submitted in the fourth round.      

Pick ‘Em

Fares Ziam (+115) vs. Mike Davis (-140)  

Winner: Mike Davis 

Method: Decision 

Shamil Gaziev (-350) vs. Thomas Petersen (+280)  

Winner: Shamil Gaziev 

Method: Decision  

Terrance McKinney (-510) vs. Damir Hadzovic (+370)  

Winner: Terrance McKinney 

Method: Rear-Naked Choke Rd.2 

Jasmine Jasudavicius (-235) vs. Mayra Bueno Silva (+195)  

Winner: Jasmine Jasudavicius 

Method: Decision 

Bogdan Grad (+100) vs. Lucas Alexander (-120) 

Winner: Bogdan Grad 

Method: Decision 

Hamby Abdelwahab (-110) vs. Jamal Pogues (-110) 

Winner: Jamal Pogues 

Method: Decision 

Thanks for reading LineStar Weekly Knockout! We'll be back next Thursday with another one. Until then, good luck and support your local MMA Gym.

About Me

My name is Chris Guy, and I’m an avid combat sports enthusiast and practitioner. I’ve been a fan of MMA since the early 2000s when Limewire was still around, and I downloaded Bas Rutten’s Big Book of Combat. In 2004, I started training Muay Thai at City Boxing in San Diego, CA. I competed as an amateur for many years, and I've also dabbled in Jiu-Jitsu. I follow many different disciplines, such as Combat Ji-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Glory Kickboxing, Boxing, and MMA.

I’m equally as enthusiastic about the craft of writing, and in addition to writing about combat sports, I also write short fiction and music. I hope to bring unique prose to sports writing, and along the way, encourage people to not only become Martial Arts fans but to also become Martial Artists themselves.

In the future, you may see me refer to the Thunderdome; it's an ode to the old Mad Max movie and refers to the world-class training facility I built in my one-car garage. It's complete with throw dummies, wrestling mats, heavy bags, and six months' worth of Chef Boyardee cans from when I thought the world was going to end back in March.

I hope you enjoy my work, and if you don’t, the Thunderdome has an open door policy.