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

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Main Card

Amanda Lemos (+175) vs. Marina Rodriguez (-220)

Lemos: DK: $7.4k |Rodriguez: DK:$8.8k

This one is The Bride, codename Black Mamba, vs. O-Ren Ishii, codename Cottonmouth, two women brandishing limbs as deadly as Katanas, the edges honed to razor edges so sharp they could split an atom. The blades, forged according to ancient tradition, will whistle the song of war in the air, and the snow underfoot will blush crimson as the blood flows from the wounds they carve. When the scalp settles atop the fresh powder, one’s thoughts will be exposed to the elements, and the other will become the deadliest Ronin of the known world, wielding the legendary Hattori Hanzo sword against their future enemies.

Amanda Lemos vs. Marina Rodriguez will be a stand-up battle, a matchup of power and speed vs. volume and technique. Also dubbed the battle of Troy, Marina Rodriguez is surgical, an FX Nip/Tuck Christian Troy, with her hands, and Amanda Lemos is the most nefarious, Castor Troy, with the power to take your face… off. These two will wheel in the silver utensil trays with the pristine shiny scalpels, chisels, and mallets, not a fingerprint on them, strap on the rubber gloves, and get to slicing and dicing each other up, Julienne.

Pound for Pound Lemos is a top three-power striker in all of women’s MMA. She carries her hands low and throws punches from chest level, shovel hooks that travel upward from the lower peripheral. Her style is like Deiveson Figueiredo’s, using range to unload with long looping overhands. Lemos also has nasty coffin corner punt kicks that she snaps up the middle. She’ll then use hip feints to illicit reactions and attack accordingly.

The Thai clinch is a lonely, dark place to be against Lemos. She has nasty knees at close range and can use them at a distance similar to the ones Oliveira uses to counter. Lemos is hyper-aggressive in bursts and looks to cause damage in every position. The key to beating Lemos is surviving the early storm, dragging her into deep waters, and testing her suspicious cardio. Noine of Lemos’s fifteen career fights ended in the first round, and she’s only heard the final bell three times.

Lemos is the definition of a one-punch striker but manages to keep a fairly high output at close to five significant strikes landed per minute. Instead of using combos, Lemos throws single shots in quick succession and can push the pace without extending exchanges in the pocket. Her right hand is a four-seam fastball, and her special move is a right-hand counter as she slides back just out of range.

For her career, Lemos is 12-2 with seven TKO/KO’s and three submissions. Amanda has never hit the one hundred significant strikes mark in a fight before, but she usually matches her opponent’s output. Against higher output strikers, she had her best stats, and Marina Rodriguez’s pace will force Lemos to push that one hundred strikes mark. In seventeen career scraps, Rodriguez only has one L by decision and has never been close to getting finished. Lemos has the power and speed to be the first to claim that scalp.

Marina Rodriguez is an overachiever with some big-name wins on her UFC resume. She has dubs over Tecia Torres, Amanda Ribas, Michelle Waterson and Yan Xiaonan. Her lone loss came to the grappler and current champion, Carla Esparza, who won the belt without landing a single strike. Esparza was like Cartman when he faced off in a telepathy mind-battle against the T.V. psychics.

Rodriguez is known for her aggressive Muay Thai and Killer Instinct twenty-punch combinations. Marina will chase you down with alternating left-rights like a corn maze Leatherface with a chainsaw. She never breaks character and continues chasing you down even after the fight. Her style reminds me of Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s without the kicks, and, like Joanna, she lacks power. Rodriguez overwhelms with volume and accumulative damage, and the biggest knock against her, is her lack of finishes. In noine career UFC fights, Marina only has one finish; she has more draws, two, than finishes.

Marina will have to be careful against Lemos not to fall into repetitive, predictable cadences in which Lemos can cover and return fire at the end of Marina’s combinations. The x-factor will be Rodriguez’s takedown defense or lack thereof. One of her weaknesses is defending takedowns and getting back to her feet; a sneaky aspect of Lemos’s game is her ability to mix in occasional power doubles and control top position. If Rodriguez gets too aggressive, she could end up on her back and lose close rounds.

Marina is 7-1-2 in the UFC, and a win against Lemos would put her right in the mix for a title shot. She’s the slightly higher output striker, averaging just over five significant strikes landed per minute and has landed over one hundred strikes three times, including a high of one hundred forty-four against Mackenzie Dern. I would be shocked if Marina found a way to finish Lemos; her value will be in racking up significant strikes with five rounds to work. She’s a fast starter and can go a hard five rounds start to finish.

Marina Rodriguez is the (-210) favorite, and Lemos is the live (+170) dog. Last week the dogs mutinied and took over the shelter. Lemos is the one who can bring this fight to an abrupt end and will be dripping with value odds-wise and Fantasy-wise, and if you don’t bust out the Piso Mojado, you could find yourself as a defendant on The People’s Court. But I think this one will likely go the distance, and the bet is on a decision one way or the other.

Four main events this year have ended due to freak injury, and I’m 0-4 in those fights. Last week, it was Calvin Kattar who blew his knee out in the first round while doing a Peter Pan flying knee and subsequently brought the main event-winning streak to screeching halt. This one is another toss-up, and comes down to if Marina Rodriguez can survive Amanda Lemos's freakish physical attributes early. I think she can. Marina Rodriguez via decision. On wax.

Winner: Marina Rodriguez | Method: Decision

Neil Magny (-120) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (-110)

Magny: DK: $8.4k | Rodriguez: DK: $7.8k

D-Rod, Daniel Rodriguez, is back like he never left. It seems like just a week ago when the whole UFC 279 fiasco went down, and a wild game of musical matchmaking shook up the entire card. Rodriguez’s originally scheduled opponent was Kevin Holland, but he ended up face to face with the man who inspired the design of the Predator without its mask, Li Jingliang. D-Rod went on to lose the fight but still took home the dub when the judges popped out of the Koala Kare station in a Valero bathroom wearing dead presidents masks and held Li up at gunpoint for his win. “Damn” Daniel Rodriguez wasted no time sweeping the incident under the rug and accepted a quick turnaround scrap with the twenty-seven fight UFC Bridge Of Death graveyard shift gatekeeper, Neil Magny.

D-Rod has a zombie-like lumbering cadence in the cage, with continuous forward pressure like a broken joystick. I always compare him to the cult legend, Chris Leben, because D-Rod stumbles around the cage unloading awkward nuclear left hands that, when they connect, can clear out one hundred square blocks for an entire century before the radioactivity dissipates. Don’t let his last performance fool you; it was the poorest showing of his eight-fight UFC career, and he still kept it close against an underrated killer on short notice. It was the only time I’ve ever seen D-Rod not let his hands go, and I think he’ll look to correct that mistake against a much less lethal opponent this time.

Although Neil Magny has a knack for making fights ugly and is one of the toughest fighters to look good against, he has no attributes that strike fear in his opponents. That can also be a good thing because he is often underestimated, but for a guy like D-Rod, it means he can be aggressive without much reservation. Magny has an underrated ground game, and D-Rod will have to be careful not to over-pursue, but he also has decent takedown defense and excellent get-ups. Rodriguez is tough to hold down, and his confidence on the mat has grown in each fight. The key for D-Rod will be pressure. He averages almost eight significant strikes landed per minute, and even on an off night, he landed eighty-eight his last time out. Magny crumbles under heavy power and pressure, and D-Rod has both.

Neil Magny has had a quietly outstanding UFC career with a who’s who list of names in his dub column, while fighting in one of the traditionally toughest divisions in the sport. He’s scrappy and has enough well rounded skills to navigate around the strengths of his opponents. His major malfunction, what has always held him back from beating the elite in the division, is that he doesn’t have any specialty; he’s good at everything but not great at anything. Power strikers and power wrestlers are Magny’s kryptonite, as he’s always had a weak ground game from his back.

Magny is long and uses every inch of his reach, and has a gas tank that never needs refilling. He can stay on the outside and keep his jab stuck on repeat while chipping away with long-range teep kicks, then initiate the clinch and turn the fight into a grinding affair. His best weapon is his cardio, and I lost track of how many times Magny outworked and out-lasted better opponents to steal a dub.

Sometimes being the “anybody/anywhere” guy can be a detriment. Magny has consistently fought killers his entire career and has never ducked anyone, and that mentality can be a double-edged sword. In his last bout, he fought the dark horse and likely future title challenger, Shavkat Rakhmonov. Turns out, even after twenty-seven UFC bouts, Magny wasn’t ready to mingle with real Furries like Shavkat. Magny rolled up to the HoJo conference room, rocking a Cat Boy PJ Masks costume, and quickly realized he was out of his league. He took a quick toot of the catnip and headed for Denny’s after he tapped to a guillotine choke with one second left in the second round.

The key for Magny against Daniel Rodriguez will be testing D-Rod’s MMA skills and not settling for a traditional kickboxing match with tiny gloves. Magny has to do all the little things like initiating the clinch and striking on the breaks and dirty boxing against the cage. He has to make this a Russian phone booth scrap and try to test D-Rod’s gas tank by making him fight for underhooks, defend takedowns, and get back to his feet. Neil has a much lower output, averaging just over three and a half significant strikes landed per minute, and amazingly, only hit the one hundred strikes mark once in twenty-seven UFC scraps. Also, in thirty-five career fights, Magny only has ten finishes and hasn’t finished a fight since 2018.

This fight is basically a Vegas pick ‘em, with both fighters dipping into the negative money. I think the finishing threat is D-Rod; he has the power to wilt Magny against the cage if he comes out looking to make amends for his last showing. Even in victory, there isn’t much value for Magny Fantasy-wise; he won’t have high significant strikes, won’t clock much top control, and is a long shot for a finish. I’m rolling with D-Rod; Daniel Rodriguez via decision. On wax.

Winner: Daniel Rodriguez | Method: Decision

Josh Parisian (+100) vs. Chase Sherman (-130)

Parisian: DK: $8k | PC Principal: DK: $8.2k

I’m writing this on Halloween, and it’s fitting because this is the second Return Of The Living Dead type of matchup in as many weeks, a Lupe Fiasco “The Cool” type of scrap (if you get that reference then you’re the real MVP). Last week it was the 1-5 Jared Vanderaa clawing his way out of a watery grave and chiseling away the cement shoes for a surprise UFC return, and this week it’s the 4-9 (UFC record) Weekly KO fan favorite “PC” Principal. Coincidentally enough, PC Principal is coming into this fight off a dub against the aforementioned Man-Bear-Pig, Jared Vanderaa. It was a battle of the losingest (not an actual word) records in the UFC, a scrap that many (meaning me) thought would end in a simultaneous double KO and both men getting their hands raised while laying on a gurney and getting wheeled out to the ambulance.

But a dub is a dub, and it was Chase Sherman getting the desperately needed win that helped him stave off the unemployment line for at least one more fight. This time around, Sherman will be up against a slightly better version of Jared Vanderaa, the Sober October fit Bert Kreischer, Josh Parisian. This one should look like a Buffalo Bills pregame tailgate party, an upscale backyard-wrestling brawl complete with Ray Mysterio triple gainers and The People’s elbow off the top turnbuckle, with a special guest referee, the neighborhood Tyrone Biggums.

Chase Sherman is a 24-Hour Fitness Zumba room boxer who once went to a split decision with his own shadow. He has decent hands and a higher output than most fighters half his weight, averaging six and a half significant strikes landed per minute. Chase “Is On The Case” Sherman also uses some nifty head movement from time to time that kind of looks like he walked into a spider web. But it’s effective; he can make you miss and counters with short two to three-punch combinations. The Shermanator’s problem has never been a lack of aggression or unwillingness to engage; it’s just that he’s built like an Ikea futon that breaks after you sit on it twice. He’s not good defensively and comes out on the wrong end of firefights. But to his credit, PC Principal is actually a fun fighter to watch.

Josh Parisian, aka Bad Ass Bert Kreisher, is a scrappy boxer with a 2-2 UFC record and two dubs on the Contender Series. But I took one glance at the competition he’s faced, and I’m pretty sure I saw my Sanitation Collector’s (trash man if you want to be a Richard about it) name in Parisian’s win column. Bert is another big man with a solid output, averaging five significant strikes per minute. Parisian will also have the added advantage of being able to relocate the fight to the mat if Sherman starts hand-chopping him in the chest a little too hard. His top game is pretty solid, and he landed three takedowns in two rounds in his most recent bout against Alan Baudot.

Parisian’s major malfunction is his hand speed or lack of hand speed. He has carrier pigeon hand speed when the bird gets shot down with an arrow and never delivers the message that the Mongolians are about to attack. Even when you fast forward x16, it still looks like Parisian is moving in slow motion. Sherman will have the speed and technical advantage on the feet, so look for Parisian to try to initiate the clinch and trip/drag Sherman to the mat.

Fantasy-wise, both of these guys are good looks. Parisian has topped one hundred significant strikes in a three-round bout one time and can match his opponent’s pace when engaged in a firefight. Sherman has topped one hundred strikes four times in a three-round bout, including a career-high of one hundred thirty-seven last time out against Vanderaa. Also, I think this one has a high chance of ending in a finish; maybe not as high as I am right meow, but still pretty high. Three out of four of Sherman’s UFC dubs ended by TKO/KO, and Parisian finished his last fight by TKO/KO and both of his Contender Series scraps. But even if this one goes the distance, both fighters should record solid fantasy numbers. Odds-wise, this is a (-110) coin flip, and the bet is on a finish one way or the other. A PC Principal TKO/KO will return (+135) odds, and a Parisian TKO/KO will return (+255) odds. You are about to witness Weekly KO history; for the first time ever, I’m riding with PC Principal Chase Sherman. Chase Muhf!@kin’ Sherman via TKO, round three.

Winner: Chase Sherman | Method: TKO Rd.3

Tagir Ulanbekov (-205) vs. Nathan Maness (+162)

Ulanbekov: DK: $8.6k | Maness: DK: $7.6k

Spoiler alert: there could be an upset special on the horizon for this one. If you’re a Weekly KO faithful, you’ve been conditioned to see the “ov” and “ev” at the end of a last name and instantly know there’s a serious ass whoopin’ on deck warming up with the donut on the Louisville Slugger. But I have to say; Tagir Ulanbekov might be the least scary “ov” in existence. He’s like the third Manning brother that no one knows about who played Dungeon and Dragons instead of football. The other “ov/ev’s” keep Tagir in the attic, hidden out of sight and feed him table scraps like Hugo. His opponent will be the lowdown dirty dog, Nathan Maness, who has a habit of hanging around like a stubborn doodie whenever he’s an underdog, which is every time he fights.

You already know just by looking at his name that Tagir Ulanbekov can wrestle and will likely look to ground Maness early and often. Tagir has excellent double-leg entries but lacks the suffocating top control that’s usually ascribed to “kov’s” all around the world. His stand-up is good but not great, and he’s more effective countering with right hands than he is attacking and moving forward. The biggest deficiency in his striking is his lack of power; he has power like the Amish, none. His hands ricochet off the target, and Tagir often finds himself under heavy friendly fire as a result.

Tagir is 2-1 in the UFC, but both wins were the last ones to see the victim alive, suspicious. He’s coming off a close loss to the heathen Tim Elliot, a fight that Elliot dominated early, but Tagir showed the dog in him and closed the gap late. Ulanbekov’s Fantasy value will be in takedowns, as he averages over three and a half takedowns per fifteen minutes. The problem is with Tagir’s output; in all three of his fights that went the distance, he didn’t even land fifty significant strikes in two of them.

Nathan Maness fought the future champion Umar Nurmagomedov in his last bout, and going from fighting Umar to fighting Tagir is like going from racing in the Tour de France against two hundred juice heads to riding a Peloton with The Biggest Loser contestants. Maness didn’t win a single solitary second of his fight against Umar, but he also didn’t become a highlight reel and made it to the final bell. If I lasted fifteen minutes against Umar Nurmagomedov, it would be written on my headstone when I check out someday.

Maness has a very kill-or-be-killed style, complete with low hands and a propensity to trade back and forth and start firefights like an arsonist. His style reminds me of vintage Eddie Wineland, before Eddie started getting slept at the glove touch in every fight. Low hands, thrown from peripherals in wide looping arcs; that’s the Eddie Wineland style when he was the WEC champ back in the day. You’ll also notice a little Cub Swanson in the way Maness rarely covers up and uses distance management as his main means of defense. His special move is similar to Tagir’s; as step-back right hand when confronted with forward pressure.

Nathaniel isn’t all striking; he has solid grappling and offensive wrestling, but this will be the third matchup in a row that Maness will be up against a better grappler. His path to victory will be keeping the fight standing, and luring Tagir into 50/50 exchanges and letting the chips fall where they may. Damn, I just checked Nathan’s striking stats, and they’re ugly, Li Jingliang ugly. Maness averages less than two significant strikes landed per minute, and in his last fight landed just two more strikes than you or I did. That’s right; he landed two strikes in a fight that went the distance. But he’s 3-1 in the UFC with two finishes. His value will be landing a hammer that sits Tagir down and following up with strikes from the top for the finish.

Tagir will be the (-200) favorite and Maness will be the respectable (+160) dog. I think the finishing threat is Nate Maness. In three UFC fights, I haven’t seen Tagir come close to finishing a fight. He has seven career finishes, including six submissions but none in the big leagues. If I had any cajones like Jobu, I’d pick Nathan Maness for the upset. Let me check… Fook it! Nathan Maness via TKO, round three! Wax on, wax off.

Winner: Nathan Maness  | Method: TKO Rd.3

Grant Dawson (-225) vs. Mark O. Madsen (+175)

Dawson: DK: $9k | O. Madsen: DK: $7.2k

The classic wrestler vs. wrestler matchup that turns into a tepid kickboxing match because the wrestling acumens of both fighters cancel each other out. When it comes to their wrestling techniques, Grant Dawson vs. Mark O. Madsen is a style matchup of freestyle wrestling vs. Greco-Roman. Dawson implements classic double and single-leg takedowns, while Mark O. Madsen is a 2016 Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman Wrestling, which emphasizes more chest-to-chest/chest-to-back techniques such as suplexes.

Grant Dawson has a near-flawless 18-1 professional record and is 6-0-1 in the UFC. His takedowns and top control are relentless, and he has the submissions to end fights. Dawson has finished all but two of his professional wins with four TKO/KO’s and twelve submissions. He’s a Boston Strangler, a dominatrix without a safety word; he’s deadly with the rear naked choke and has Aljo-like back control.

On the mat, Grant Dawson is elite, but on the feet, that’s a different story. He goes from Grant Dawson to Dawson’s Creek real quick. His striking doesn’t have holes; it has black holes that swallow planets and reverse time. He has Neil deGrasse Tyson black holes. Dawson’s striking is stiff and preprogrammed with a handful of stock ones and one-twos. It’s artificial like he’s his UFC 4 character projected into the Octagon and being controlled by someone who’s never played the game before. When it comes to who has the better striking, Dawson or Madsen, I have no fookin’ clue. They both get the Thunderdome invite; I’ll have them looking like 2015 Conor McGregors in no time.

Mark O. Madsen uses his middle initial; people don’t refer to him as Mark or Mark Madsen; it’s Mark OH Madsen. And you don’t want to forget that, or he might belly-to-back suplex and slam you so hard you’ll find yourself on a journey to the center of the earth. You’ll wake up on a rotisserie with the crab people poking and prodding you with their claws to see if you’re still pink in the middle. O. Madsen can shoot doubles and singles, but his bread and butter is initiating the clinch and working body locks. If he gets his hands clasped behind you, you’re gonna have a bad time. Top control is his primary means of winning fights; he salts away the clock while taking little to no damage. But, like Dawson, his striking, ain’t it, boss.

Not to be outdone, Oh Madsen also has black holes in his striking; Morgan Freeman Cosmos black holes. Mark has hands like Hanson in Scary Movie, hands like a penguin. Other than a jab, O. Madsen really doesn’t have much to offer with his hands. Because of that, he uses mostly kicks and has the corniest, most effective calf kicks you’ll see. They aren’t pretty and far from technically sound, but they cause a lot of damage. He’s a lot like Royce Gracie in the first three UFC’s, who only threw a short teep kick on the feet to close the distance and initiate the clinch.

The numbers are almost identical for Dawson and O. Madsen; they both average three significant strikes landed per minute and nearly four takedowns per fifteen minutes. The key difference, though, is that Dawson averages one and a half submissions per fifteen minutes, while O. Madsen averages zero point zero. Oh Madsen is a classic position-over-submission grappler, and Dawson is a submission-and-position grappler. Dawson will be the (-230) favorite, and O. Madsen will be the (+180) dog. If this stays standing, it will be a coin flip. I don’t see either fighter having a major advantage on the feet.

The only question is, who has the better takedowns? I feel ashamed, but I’m going chalk on this one. There’s definitely value in O. Madsen winning the fight, and he’ll be a live dog. Keep this in mind; Grant Dawson is the polar opposite from the bottom position. He has a rigor mortis guard and struggles to get back to his feet. But I’m going with the guy who tries to finish the fight. Grant Dawson via decision. On wax.

Winner: Grant Dawson  | Method: Decision

Prelims

Value Menu

Darrick Minner (+165) vs. Nuerdanbieke Shayilan (-210)

Minner: DK: $7.3k | Shayilan: DK: $8.9k

The best fights to drop Hamiltons and Jacksons on are the ones that feature a kill-or-be-killed fighter, a fighter that will either finish the fight or get finished. And the best value always comes when betting method of finish props. Darrick Minner is a guy that will go out on his shield, win or lose. He has a career record of 26-9, with twenty-two wins by submission and one by TKO/KO. Twenty-six of his thirty-seven career fights ended in the first round, and he’s especially handed with guillotine chokes. This guy will attempt guillotines from literally any position at any time; he came out of the womb, and latched on to the doctor’s neck and earned his first submission win when he was twelve seconds old.

So that’s the “kill” part of kill-or-be-killed and now is the “killed” part. His cardio was on its iPhone searching currents for the same lake where the body was found, suspect. I’ve seen Minner gas after one round, and I’ve seen him go three rounds against Ryan Hall and Charles Rosa, but his effectiveness wanes late in fights. His opponent, Nuerdanbieke Shayilan, is a big, bulky wrestler with prototypical wrestler striking, and a wrestler’s kryptonite is guillotine chokes and variations. Minner will be a sub-threat, especially early, and Shayilan will be a finishing threat late.

Shayilan has a career 38-10 record with eighteen TKO/KO’s and ten subs; he’s also been finished via submission six times. If I’m doing my math correctly, sixty percent of his losses came by submission. Shayilan will be the (-210) favorite, and that reflects his ability to dominate with takedowns and top control, and a far superior gas tank. Minner will be the (+170) dog, and a win by submission will return (+275) odds. A Shayilan TKO/KO will return (+315), and a sub (+350). Eleven of Minner’s thirteen career losses came by finish, including eight by submission. A late Shayilan rear-naked choke is marinating in value.

Twenty-Twen-Twen Sleepers

Twenty-Ten-Twen Sleepers

Last week, the dogs busted outta the shelter and left my front yard full of landmines and urine stains. The Pick 'Em was turned into confetti before the main card even began. Unfortunately, this week might be more of the same; these are some ugly fights, and top to bottom, most are complete toss-ups. Proceed with caution, this one's built for only the realest gambling savages.

Amanda Lemos (+175): She has the power to vaporize anyone reading this. Up until her weird loss to Jessica Andrade, Lemos looked like the second coming of Amanda Nunes. She's come back down to earth a little bit since the Andrade loss, but she's still well above cruising altitude. The finishing threat will be Lemos on Saturday night; the only question is, can she keep up with Rodriguez's pace if she can't find an early finish?

Mark O. Madsen (+175): Like fighting Neil Magny, it's hard to look good against Mark O.Madsen. He's just awkward enough on the feet, and the constant threat of the takedown makes it hard for opponents to find any kind of rhythm or consistent offense against O. Madsen, and as a result, an ugly nip/tuck point match ensues. This has split-decision written all over it and will come down to who's striking is less poo emoji. But Oh Madsen should be in this fight until the non-bloody end.

Benito Lopez (+230): Benny Lopez is a crafty lil' kickboxer; in fact, that's his rapper name, Lil Kickboxer. He hasn't come out with a hot single since 2019, and his biggest criticism is that he doesn't drop enough new material. Since debuting in 2017, he's only fought three times and is coming off a three-year hiatus. But Lopez is 10-1, including 2-1 in the UFC and a win on the Contender Series. Lopez has slick kickboxing and a well-rounded all-around game. Sometimes fighters come back from long layoffs and look better than ever, and sometimes they come back looking like Mickey Rourke, unrecognizable. Benito's opponent, Mario Lopez (Haha, I mean Mario Bautista), is a solid all-around fighter as well, but mostly he's a JUD, just a dude. At (+230), Lopez is creeping into my favorite odds range, nearing that magical Jacksons-to-Grants zone.

Carlos Candelario (+200): This kid is a little savage and has that dog in him. He's 0-1 in the UFC with a loss on the Contender Series, but he's been very competitive, including in his debut against the highly touted Tatsuro Taira. His opponent Jake Hadley is a slick boxer and grappler, and this one will be a dope little sleeper early in the night. Candelario will make this a back-and-forth affair until the final bell.

Pick 'Em

Darrick Minner (+165) vs. Nuerdanbieke Shayilan (-210)

Winner: Shayilan

 Method: Rear-Naked Choke Rd.3

Miranda Maverick (-650) vs. Shanna Young (+425)

Winner: Miranda Maverick

 Method: Decision

Mario Bautista (-290) vs. Benito Lopez (+230)

Winner: Mario Bautista

 Method: Decision

Polyana Viana (-125) vs. Jinh Yu Frey (+100)

    Winner: Jinh Yu Frey

 Method: Decision

Liudvik Sholinian (-355) vs. Johnny Munoz Jr. (+225)

    Winner: Johnny Munoz Jr.

 Method: Decision

Carlos Candelario (+200) vs. Jake Hadley (-275)

    Winner: Jake Hadley

 Method: Decision

Tamires Vidal (-140) vs. Ramona Pascual (+110)

    Winner: Ramona Pascual

 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.

Check out my Podcast The Whiskey (S)ick Podcast on Apple and Spotify. Parental Advisory Warning