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

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Main Card

Erin Blanchfield (-250) vs. Maycee Barber (+210)

Blanchfield: DK: $9.1k | Barber: DK:$7.1k

The MMA Shelley Marsh, Erin Blanchfield, is back. Blanchfield should make the walk to the Octagon while rocking the full seventh-grade setup, braces and headgear, just to fook with people. Every MMA fighter has an origin story. Blanchfield’s path to prize fighting began as a Secret Service agent in middle school when she used to escort her older brother to classes. She was like the female Kevin Costner from The Bodyguard at Bayside Middle School. Legend has it that Blanchfield could double-leg an incoming spit wad and deactivate an atomic wedgie. Nobody fooked with Blanchfield or anyone under her protection. She was a made lady.  

Fast forward, and not much has changed except the year. Blanchfield is still to bullies what Dexter is to murderers. They find themselves strapped to a gurney in an abandoned warehouse with Blanchfield hovering over them, clad in a plastic poncho while applying agonizing indigenous people arm burns and wet Willies. But instead of acne-ravished teenagers, Blanchfield’s victims are the best female combat athletes in the game. Yet to reach her prime, Blanchfield’s talent for turning women into mice has already taken her one fight away from a title shot. A fight in which she lost to the recent title challenger, Manon Fiorot. But when you only face the best fighters in the world, you remain only one dominant performance away from a chance to bully the ultimate bully, Valentina. 

Blanchfield may be the only lady who can grapple with the champ. Pressure is Blanchfield’s closest homie. She pressures you like collection agencies. Pressures you like car timeshare salesmen. No matter the situation, kicking ass or ass-kicked, Blanchfield stays in your chest like heartbeats and bad feelings. You come out that bish shining like four carats after the pressure she puts on you. Fighting Blanchfield is like fighting with the cage closing in on you. You start looking like the Jordan Peele sweating meme, thinking you can’t possibly keep up the pace. Panic leads to mistakes. Blanchfield lacks traditional wrestling-level changes and instead uses all that pressure to work her way into the clinch. From there, she works underhooks, hip throws, and trips. You can call him, but not even the Rug Dr. Can get you off the canvas when Blanchfield is done hammering you with punches and elbows.   

But though Blanchfield has championship-level wrestling/grappling, she lacks the striking. She turns into a freeloader if she can’t get the fight to the mat; she has nothing to bring to the table. Her lone UFC loss to Manon Fiorot came because she didn’t have the striking to set up her takedowns. Overall, Blanchfield couldn’t box her way out of a cardboard factory. She couldn’t box her way out of first-grade geometry. Couldn’t box if she was moving. Blanchfield’s major malfunction on the feet is her lack of footwork and head movement. She plays chicken with punches and doesn’t even touch the wheel. Yo! Hit that Schoolboy Q “Hands on the Wheel!” Hands on the wheel, nuh-uh, fook that! She hits cruise control and kicks her feet up on the dash. She’s Ms. Pacman in that bish, eating all the punches and setting a new high score. Blanchfield has head movement like squinting to see the bottom line on the eye chart at the DMV... 

“...uh, L-M-N-O-P...” 

Blanchfield runs into punches like birds fly into window after you clean them. When she starts running face first into punches, you have to hit the reset and blow on her like an NES cartridge. But I say all that to say this: Blanchfield leads with her heart on the feet. No matter how much damage she takes, or how outgunned she is striking, she never stops coming forward. Her striking may be a little on the amateurish side, but she averages nearly five and a half SLpM and still managed to land one hundred thirty significant strikes in a one-sided loss to Fiorot. She also landed one hundred ten against Rose Namajunas. She can give it to ya, but whatcha ‘gone do with it? 

Erin Blanchfield could be the cure for what ails Maycee Barber. Barber’s style is back asswards; she’s a striker who tries to grapple and stall against the cage. She has trust issues like she’s been hurt too many times on the feet. Early in her UFC career, Barber looked like an elite striker with a bladed Karate stance complete with side-kicks and quick two-punch hands. She won her first three bouts by TKO/KO. But somewhere along the way, she started playing shit safe, and the decision dubs piled up. Now, we don’t apologize for any dubs at the WKO, but some of Barber’s have been highly suspect, like police six-packs. She’s been under surveillance by the Feds for suspicions of running a stolen dub ring. She leaves you with an L sitting on cinderblocks. You have to put Low Jack on your dub when you fight Maycee Barber. But the ironic thing is, Barber never would have had to turn to a life of crime had she just trusted her striking and fought every round like she fights third rounds.   

Barber is like Van Helsing, but instead of turning into a werewolf, she slowly turns into a dog. But the process isn’t complete until the third round. She tip-toes and pussyfoots (not an explicit word) around the pocket, almost afraid to commit. It's almost like she’s constantly looking for an easy way out. But like a Rocky IV montage, there’s No Easy Way out. Yo! Hit that Robert Tepper! Barber likes to give up the first two rounds and put her back against the wall just to see how much she’s grown. In the third round, she starts feeling herself like she lost her keys and finally starts letting her hands and feet go. It’s like between the second and third rounds, she has a moment of clarity like when you finally realize why Kanye had his jaw wired shut. She abandons the incessant clinching and holding against the cage and starts to fight. Maycee Barber constantly clinching instead of using her superior striking is like buying a Corvette and pushing it around town with the top down, screaming out, “Money Ain’t a Thang!”   

Barber by the numbers: She is 14-2 with six TKO/KOs and two subs, including a current six-fight dub streak. Only one of those were a finish and included two suspect split decisions. She averages over four and a half SLpM and will have a massive advantage on the feet. The last fighter you want to clinch with is Erin Blanchfield. Barber will be forced to stand and bang from the jump this time round. Barber rocks a fifty-three percent takedown defense, and that’s a bad look going into this matchup. But if she can stay upright and avoid the clinch, she can win this fight.  

Blanchfield will be the (-250) favorite, and Barber will be the (+210) live dog. I can’t over-emphasize how much of a liability Blanchfield’s striking is. If the takedown well dries up, I don’t see a path to victory for her. Blanchfield is 13-2 with two TKO/KOs and four subs. The play for this one is a decision. I’d give Blanchfield a slightly better chance of scoring a finish on the mat, but this one will likely go twenty-five minutes.   

Yo! Hit that Lupe Fiasco “Hurt Me Soul!” It hurt me soul watching Gil Burns get run over like Matt Hughes’ truck. But the good news is, we got back in the main event dub column after another Michael Morales destruction. It’s a tricky matchup this week. I’m terrible at picking women’s fights. My three-year-old daughter picks them better than me. I just don’t see Barber staying on her feet until it’s too late. Erin Blanchfield via decision. Put it on wax.     

Props

Blanchfield: TKO/KO (+1200) Sub (+380) Dec (-115) 

Barber: TKO/KO (+500) Sub (+2000) Dec (+450)

Winner: Erin Blanchfield | Method: Decision

Mateusz Gamrot (-155) vs. Ludovit Klein (+135)

Gamrot: DK: $8.5k | Ludo: DK: $7.7k

Mateusz Gamrot is an op. His cover has been blown. You can consider this an expose of recent findings. The government uses Gamrot’s five-and-a-half takedowns per fifteen minutes to run psychological experiments on its citizens. The operation is code-named MK Gamrot. The operation's objective is to study the effects of constant takedowns on the human psyche. Gamrot’s steady flow of takedowns will have you seeing takedowns around every corner. You’ll be seeing takedowns in your dreams. And like Freddy, he’ll roll up on you while you’re stepping up to the plate in game seven of the World Series with two outs and the bases loaded, pick you up, and throw you for five with Jack Buck yelling into the microphone, “I don’t believe what I just saw!” Mateusz Gamrot stays committed to takedowns until death does them part and turns any matchup, even against a fellow wrestler, into a wrestler vs striker matchup.   

Gamrot turns every fight into a Nightmare on Gamrot St. This MF will have you hallucinating, shrimping, stuffing the head, and scrambling back to your feet after she invites you in for the nightcap. His takedowns were developed in West Virginia at Fort Detrick. Pfizer is currently working on a vaccine for Gamrot’s takedowns. If you take it, you will still get taken down, but you won’t get taken down as roughly. The Mount Rushmore of takedowns are Merab, Khamzat, Khabib, and Gamrot. That quartet stays committed to takedowns no matter how successful they are/aren’t. Nothing can deter them from using their wrestling. Every defended takedown is one attempt closer to a successful one. Gamrot wins fights by making opponents spend all their mental energy focusing on defending takedowns and never implementing their own offensive game plan. 

You already know Gamrot’s major malfunction: His striking. He’s a Stranger in a Strange Land on the feet. A fookin’ Martian. He’s completely out of his element like he got kicked out of Earth, Wind & Fire. Like vintage Phillip Rivers, Gamrot only throws wounded ducks when he throws hands. He can’t throw a spiral to save his life like ten-year-old me. And his footwork leaves divots in the canvas like shitty golfers on the fairway. There comes a point late in nearly every fight in which Gamrot runs into a takedown wall and becomes woozy on his feet. Gamrot usually has to be carried across the finish line like the bobsled at the end of Cool Runnings.  

In many ways, Ludovit Klein is the male Maycee Barber. He is an elite striker who often relies on everything but his striking to win fights. The only difference is that his name sounds like a fragrance sold at Macy’s: Ludovit Klein Eau de Toilette. And he’s been smelling like success lately while I’ve been sleeping on him like Snow White. Klein averages over one and a half takedowns per fifteen minutes and has recorded at least one takedown in his last five fights. But that won’t be an option in this matchup. I’m here to start the movement to “Free Ludo’s Hands!” This guy could be one of the most dominant strikers in the lightweight division if he just let his hands go and stopped playing shit safe.   

Klein’s major malfunction and the reason he hasn’t received the shine that he deserves up to this point is because of his output. His output is like an IV drip. There are times when Ludo just stands and stares at the opponent, not even offering a feint lest it be misconstrued as a significant strike attempt. But when he does throw, you see the opponent’s life flash before his eyes. Klein relies on long-range attacks and staunchly avoids exchanging in the pocket. He’s a southpaw whose power side attacks are one-hitter quitters if he lets them fly. His left high kick is a Karate/Muay Thai hybrid that seems to materialize out of nowhere. And his left hand is a number one stunna. Klein and Gamrot average around three and a half SLpM, but Klein’s highest output total is only sixty. 

Gamrot will be the (-165) favorite, and Ludo will be the (+140) live-ass dog... if he can stay on his feet. And yes, that is a massive if. Klein will have to spend every second he is upright attacking Gamrot and hiding his kicks behind short hand combinations. If this were a kickboxing match, it wouldn’t even be sanctioned. Klein is the far better striker. So far in his career, his takedown defense has been stellar, rocking noinety-one percent. But he hasn’t faced a Gamrot. I think the play for this one is a decision. Gamrot has never been finished, and Ludo has only been finished once in ten UFC bouts. This one is tough, but I think Klein might run out of time by the time he can finally staunch the flow of Gamrot’s takedowns. Mateusz Gamrot via decision. On wax.   

Props

Gamrot: TKO/KO (+1400) Sub (+900) Dec (-120) 

Klein: TKO/KO (+380) Sub (+1600) Dec (+300)

Winner: Mateusz Gamrot | Method: Decision

Dustin Jacoby (-190) vs. Bruno Lopes (+165)

Jacoby: DK: $8.8k | Lopes: DK:$7.4k

The parlay assassin, Dustin Jacoby, is back. Nobody has more confirmed parlay kills than Dustin Jacoby. The American Parlay Sniper. He’s a serial parlay killer, the likes of the Green River Killer and Son of Sam. The Son of Jacoby. The Parlay Stalker. The Parlay Strangler. He's gonna do it to you every time. He’s gonna fook up your parlay. Bet he won’t. I had Vitor Petrino beating Jacoby in their most recent bout for the final leg of a three-leg parlay after Jacoby lost his two previous bouts. What did Jacoby do? He KO’d Ed-209 in the third round, fooking up my parlay. Had I picked Jacoby, he would have lost that fight. You can’t convince me otherwise. That’s what happens when you don’t follow the WKO Ten Commandments. Commandment #8: Thou shall not put Dustin Jacoby in a parlay. This doobie is for all those who will ignore that commandment, including me.   

Jacoby remains one of the most accomplished strikers in the game. He is a former Glory Kickboxing world champion and once fought Alex Pereira. But lately, when it comes to his career, it feels like Jacoby is at the hidden scene after the credits roll. He’s at the ghost track after the final song. How much does he have left? His chin is nearing its expiration date. After decades of competition, Jacoby has an Ikea chin. That Temu chin. All sales are final chin. Jacoby turns into Napolean Dynamite at the talent show at least twice per fight. And when homie cuts a rug, he’s a tough act to follow. But the most frustrating part of Jacoby’s game is his late-fight low fight IQ. He’s the last person you want with the ball with time running out. He turns into Chris Webber calling a timeout in the NCAA championship game late in fights. Needing a finish to win, best believe Jacoby will inexplicably start clinching and trying to wrestle. This guy is clutch like automatics. 

But classic Jacoby is one of the best strikers in the division, using both stances to create angles for extended combinations. When Dustin keeps his feet moving laterally around the outside, he is at his best. But when his feet stop moving, and he stands stationary in front of his opponents, that’s when parlays get fooked up. Against Bruno Lopes, Jacoby has to keep his feet moving on the outside to avoid Bruno’s wide hooks and level changes. Jacoby will need better than his sixty-two percent takedown defense to remain upright against Lopes, who is good at creating chaos on the feet and using it to level change. Jacoby averages nearly five and a half SLpM compared to Lopes’ under three. He can steal close rounds just by staying active on the outside.   

Bruno Lopes, aka Borat Lopes, ain’t no joke. Yo! Hit that Erik B. and Rakim, “I Ain’t No Joke!” This guy looks like he gets into scraps at Memorial Day over-the-line tournaments. And he ain’t even playing in it. On the feet, Lopes has them Juvenile Slow Motion hands. Slow motion for me. Move in slow motion for me. But he has to wear a back brace because his hands are heavy. His hands are double D’s. N’ah mean. He’s got them Dolly Parton hands. And he throws them in wide, looping arcs. His hands cross state lines. He traffics them like Iran/Contra. Lopes is the “Freeway” Ricky Ross of trafficking haymakers. He’s all hooks like Ed Sheeran. And he’s heavy-footed, leaving tracks in the canvas like a T-Rex. Lopes fights in bursts and uses aggression to pressure you against the cage, where he can work takedowns. 

The good news for Jacoby is that Lopes has lazy takedowns. Sit around and play video games all day-ass takedowns. Wear the same clothes for days-ass takedowns. If you offer even mild resistance, Lopes will just stall out against the cage. That doesn't mean he won’t be able to drag Jacoby to the mat. Jacoby’s takedown defense is spotty at best. Overall, I don’t really know how good Bruno Lopes is/isn’t. This will be a close fight because of Jacoby’s diminished chin. If this fight happened three or four years ago, Jacoby might fook around and walk through Lopes.  

Jacoby will be the (-185) favorite, and Lopes will be the (+155) live-ass dog. Lopes hits hard, and Jacoby’s chin can’t be trusted like Kanye and his cousin left home alone. Lopes is 14-1 with six TKO/KOs and five subs and is coming in off a decision dub in his debut. I like playing this one for a TKO/KO one way or another. One of these guys will get got, most likely late. Here we go again, putting some faith in Dustin Jacoby. Dustin Jacoby via TKO, round three. On wax.    

Props

Jacoby: TKO/KO (+165) Sub (+1800) Dec (+225) 

Lopes: TKO/KO (+450) Sub (+800) Dec (+450)

Winner: Dustin Jacoby | Method: TKO Rd.3

Zachary Reese (-245) vs. Dusko Todorovic (+205)

Reese: DK: $9.2k | Dusko: DK: $7k

This is an ugly fookin’ fight. I’m talking, Travis Hunter and Li Jingliang photoshoot type of ugly. Why? Because these guys aren’t very good. Both looked to have potential early on, but those days are Dead and Gone Like J.T. and T.I. Zachary Reese... Where do I start? I liken him to a mall Logan Paul. You can take pictures with him at the food court. He relies on a wave of early aggression to overwhelm opponents. But if you can withstand the initial onslaught, homie fades like Great Clips. And Dusko, I haven’t forgotten about you. Dusko looks like the Gerber baby grown-up. If you squint, Dusko looks like a solid striker. But upon closer inspection, these are loafers, and Dusko’s striking falls apart quicker than swap meet chonies. This is a winner stays on, and the loser goes home matchup. 

Besides going by his full name like his parents are angry with him, Zachary Reese has an 8-2 record with five TKO/KOs and two subs. I thought this guy was a grappler before his debut. And maybe he is. But his fights don’t last long enough to find out. He either runs over you or gets run over with the quickness. His two career losses came via first-round KO. Other than an early dangerous burst of aggression, Zachary strikes like intentional walks. He fights like a wind-up toy. He starts out throwing bombs and knees but then quickly runs out of steam. Then you have to wind him back up. But he showed up on my doorstep like Door Dash and served me my own words after the Julian Marquez fight. A fight that Reese won in twenty seconds by TKO. Then he exonerated me in his most recent bout, a first-round KO loss to Azamat Bekoev.   

I don’t know what is, but after a minute or two, Reese’s fight gloves turn into fingerless biker gloves. I’m talking about spandex and clickity-clack shoes bikers, not Hell’s Angels bikers. This guy got Ricardo Arona power bomb KO’d by Cody Brundage. That shit looked like backyard wrastlin’, using a soiled twin mattress as a ring. I'll say this about Reese: He has a nasty guard and submissions. The problem is, he doesn’t really wrestle. He only busts out his ground game if he gets taken down. I say all that to say this: Reese should win this fight. He has to win this fight, or it’s off to the PFL or Bellator.

For a half second, I was fooled by Dusko Todorovic a few years ago when he debuted. I thought he was pretty good. He had a TKO dub over Michel Pereira before entering the UFC. But other than a couple dubs over NPCs, Todorovic has spent most of his UFC career with his Eyes Wide Shut. This guy steps into the cage and can’t wait to fall asleep like kids on Christmas Eve. All this guy does is catch ass whoopin’s like all Chris Carter does is catch touchdowns. Homie leads the league in ass whoopin’ receptions. Dusko catches ass whoopin’s like OBJ catching a one-handed TD against the Cowboys on Monday Night Football.  

Dusko’s major malfunction is his defense on the feet. Hands down, man down; Dusko fights with his hands at his waist and relies on “pulls” to avoid strikes. Pulls are leaning back just out of range. And he looks unstable on his feet like a baby deer taking its first steps. He wobbles like Ikea chairs straight out of the gate and always seems on the verge of collapse. But much like Reese, Dusko has some sneaky grappling from his back. He can catch you slipping from his guard. Dusko was 9-0 entering the UFC and is now 12-5. He has lost three of his last four and five of his previous seven. And his dubs were against TLC scrubs. No, I don’t want no scrub. A scrub is a guy who gets no love from me.   

Reese will be the (-240) favorite, and Dusko will be the (+195) euthanasia dog. The only play for this fight is a first-round finish, most likely a TKO/KO. This fight won’t make it past the first five minutes. And I just don’t know how Dusko can win this one. Not that I have any faith in Zachary Reese. But Reese has fewer miles on his chin and is a little more durable than Dusko. Maybe this is a trap pick, but give me Zachary Reese via TKO, round one. Put it on wax.   

Props

Reese: TKO/KO (-120) Sub (+450) Dec (+900)  

Todorovic: TKO/KO (+300) Sub (+1400) Dec (+1000)

Winner: Zachary Reese | Method: TKO Rd.1

Jafel Filho (+135) vs. Allan Nascimento (-160)

Filho: DK: $7.6k | Nas: DK: $8.6k

Cue that Michael Jackson “Man in the Mirror!” This fight will be like you and a homie picking Ryu in Street Fighter. These guys are almost identical in their styles – two grapplers with shaky stand-up. I’m talking Michael J. Fox shaky. Allan Nascimento is a Door Buster Charles Oliveira. He shows up at adult birthday parties with bleached hair, looking like Do Bronx, and ties people into balloon animals. He uses Oliveira’s ID to get into clubs. And Jafel Filho looks like a Gucci Steve-O. But Jafel is a Bad Ass instead of a Jack Ass. He looks like what Steve-O could have been if he hadn’t fallen in with the wrong crowd and got addicted to shocking his balls. We could have a classic entanglement on our hands if this one hits the mat, and I’m not sure who will be September Alsina. But as we know, when two grapplers match up, a tepid kickboxing match is in play.    

Allan Nascimento is a Sade Smooth Operator on the mat. From coast to coast, from LA to Chicago, this guy will go on a submission world tour. Nas has subs like a run-on sentence, never-ending. Like Do Bronx, Nas has Sean Brady back tatt back control with Brendan “Don’t Call Him Brandon” Allen rear-naked chokes. This guy has twenty career dubs, and fourteen came via submission. Nas’s specialty is working his way to the back while in the clinch and using the Pantoja back-take. Pantoja works double underhooks from the back, then sits down, pulling the opponent into his back mount. Umar uses the same technique. I’m not sure who will have the edge in the grappling, but I think Nascimento will be a little more dependent on his ground game than Filho.    

That’s because Nascimento’s hands shoot blanks. Alec Baldwin thought he was shooting Nascimento’s hands. They were supposed to use Nas’s hands when filming The Crow. His hands are duds. The pop rocks that don't burst when you throw them on the ground. Instead of his hands, Nas relies on kicks almost exclusively. He doesn’t have a puncher’s chance; he has a kicker’s chance. Nas has nasty round kicks and sneaky snap kicks up the middle, much like his homie Do Bronx. If the fight stays standing, Jafel is a slightly more diverse kickboxer and will have a slim advantage on the feet. Nas is 20-6 for his career with two TKO/KOS to go with his fourteen subs. Also, Nascimento has never been finished in going on thirty fights.    

Should this fight go to the mat, it could be a grinder. A Jake and Heath type of grinder. But no matter who appears to get the upper hand, neither will tap. Sensual grappling is on tap Saturday night. You’ll have to cover your kids’ eyes if this one hits the mat. Conversely, it will look like two dorks in the park playing touch butt if it stays standing.   

Jafel Filho looks like a Woodstock ‘99 Steve-O/Russell Wilson love child. Depending on how the light hits him, he looks like both. But he’s Russ when he was on the Seahawks with the Legion of Boom. He has sixteen career dubs and fifteen finishes, including five TKO/KOS and ten subs. In his debut, Filho lost by third-round sub to former UFC fighter Muhammad Mokaev, then won two in a row via submission. There’s a good chance the grappling will cancel each other out, and if that’s the case, Jafel will have a better chance at ending the fight on the feet. He’s far from technical, but he represents the Al Davis mantra, “Just Throw Baby!” This guy makes a voice memo to remember to ask questions later. Filho is all power and no technique, but Nascimento doesn’t have either. 

The numbers: Nascimento averages just over three SLpM compared to Filho’s less than two and a half. These guys go up to the plate, hoping for a walk. But they both average around one and a half takedowns per fifteen minutes. But-but, if Filho’s takedown defense is bad, Nascimento’s is badder. Filho rocks a fifty-five percent takedown defense, and Nas rocks a sweet sixteen. Nas will be the (-155) favorite, and Filho will be the (+130) live-ass dog. This one could come down to the stand-up, and I would give Filho the slight edge. When you have a guy with a slick guard like Nascimento, takedown defense doesn’t mean much. He invites you to take him down. He likely prefers to work from his back. This is a toss-up in my books, and Filho will be a solid middle/low-tier Fantasy option if he can draw Nas into a firefight on the feet. But I have to roll with Do Bronx’s brother from another Gi: Allan Nascimento via decision. Put it on wax.  

Props

Nascimento: TKO/KO (+1200) Sub (+400) Dec (+130)  

Filho: TKO/KO (+400) Sub (+600) Dec (+450)

Winner: Allan Nascimento | Method: Decision

Prelims

$7k Value Menu

Jafel Filho ($7.6k): If you play Jafel Filho, you’re playing him for a finish. Without a finish, he won’t light up the stat shit. Jafel is 16-3 with five TKO/KOs and ten subs, including 2-1 in the UFC with back-to-back finishes. Filho vs. Nascimento will be a grappler vs. Grappler affair. And as you know, such a matchup could result in a tepid kickboxing match. If that’s the case, Filho might have a better shot at scoring a finish on the feet. His aggression will cause Nascimento problems. And if the fight does hit the ground, it will be a toss-up. But Jafel is a finisher with only one decision win to his name. Jafel debuted against Muhammad Mokaev, and although Jafel was finished late in that fight, he caused Mokaev all sorts of problems. At one point, he had Mokaev in a kneebar that visibly hampered Mokaev. Nascimento has never been finished, but Filho can change that.   

Bruno Lopes ($7.4K): This is another all-or-nothing pick. Lopes might not be the most technical striker, but he throws with No Reservations on some Anthony Bourdain type-shit. This guy will crash the party with hooks and overhands and set that bish off right. The big question in this matchup is Dustin Jacoby’s chin. How much more punishment can it take? Jacoby is 2-4 in his last six fights and looked like he was auditioning for the Jabawokeez at some point in each one. Also, Lopes can relocate the fight to the mat by exposing Jacoby’s sixty-two percent takedown defense. But like Jafel Filho, if you play Bruno Lopes, you’re playing him strictly for a finish. Jacoby is the much higher-output striker, and Bruno will have a hard time keeping up if he can’t land something heavy to change the tide.   

Maycee Barber ($7.1k): Ms. Decision? Hear me out. This is a conservative pick guaranteed to put some striking stats on the board. Barber’s career-high is eighty-four significant strikes landed, and that came in her most recent bout. She will have ten extra minutes to work with against Erin Blanchfield. At some point, Blanchfield’s takedowns will fail her, and this will turn into a kickboxing match. And Blanchfield’s over-aggression will turn this into a high-output affair. Even in a loss against Manon Fiorot, Blanchfield landed one hundred thirty significant strikes. Barber will be forced to match Blanchfield’s pace or risk falling behind on the scorecards.   

 $6k Clearance Rack

Ramiz Brahimaj ($6.7k): The Van Gogh of MMA is back. Never forget the time Ramiz lost his ear in the middle of a fight. Lost his ear like Mr. Potato Head. I'm talking, his entire ear came off his head after the cauliflower exploded mid-fight. Ramiz was highly touted before his debut and reminded me of a hybrid Ilia Topuria/Sean Brady. This card has turned into an absolute mess, with several fights canceled and multiple matchups reorganized. Ramiz was originally facing Oban Elliott, but his new opponent, Billy Goff, might be a more favorable matchup for him. Ramiz rocks a one hundred percent finishing rate, including ten submissions. Billy Goff is a serious dog, but Ramiz has the ground skills to dictate where the fight takes place. It’s not often you get a one hundred percent finisher on the Clearance Rack.   

Twenty-Twen-Twen Sleepers

Bruno Lopes (+155): This card is a mess. Who let the dogs out? There is a good chance that nobody did this week. Lopes is a finisher, facing a guy well past his 250k Power Train Warranty. The warning tread is showing on Dustin Jacoby’s chin. Soon, he will be walking around town with a spare on his face. I think Lopes is the slightly better finishing threat in this matchup, and although I picked Jacoby to win, I’m not confident at all. Don’t underestimate Jacoby’s Matt Eberflus clock management at the end of fights. Jacoby is notorious for finding ways to lose at the end of fights. Fook (+155), play Lopes for the TKO/KO finish.  

Ludovit Klein (+130): The key to Klein vs. Gamrot will be Klein’s noinety-one percent takedown defense. He has takedown defense like Stonehenge. But he hasn’t faced a world-class wrestler like Gamrot. Klein will be the far better striker in this matchup. It’s nearly impossible to wrestle for fifteen minutes straight. That’s why Gamrot tends to fade late in fights. And once the takedown well dries up, Gamrot lost on his feet. The key for Klein will be increasing his output and keeping Gamrot on his back foot. Klein will likely need a late finish to steal this one. The Leon Edwards left high kick will be live, especially late in this fight.   

Maycee Barber (+210): Erin Blanchfield is far from a Khamzat when it comes to takedowns. She often struggles to get fights to the mat where she is in a class of her own. I don’t see her taking down Barber for twenty-five minutes. At some point, this will be a kickboxing match, and Barber will have a big advantage. Barber is a notoriously slow starter. But she’s also a strong finisher. She often looks average in the early rounds. But she morphs into a future champ in the third round. She will have two extra rounds to make up for the deficit she will likely have entering the championship rounds. 

Pick ‘Em

Billy Goff (-340) vs. Ramiz Brahimaj (+270)  

Winner: Billy Goff 

Method: Decision 

Ketlen Vieira (-105) vs. Macy Chiasson (-115)  

Winner: Macy Chiasson 

Method: Decision 

Kurt Holobaugh (+165) vs. Jordan Leavitt (-190) 

Winner: Jordan Leavitt 

Method: Decision 

Trevin Giles (+145) vs. Andreas Gustafsson (-170) 

Winner: Andrea Gustafsson 

Method: TKO Rd.2 

Michael Aswell ( ) vs. Bolaji Oki ( ) 

Winner: Bolaji Oki 

Method: Decision 

Reyanne dos Santos (-270) vs. Alice Ardelean (+220) 

Winner: Reyanne dos Santos 

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.