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

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Main Card

Robert Whittaker (-155) vs. Reinier de Ridder (+135)

Whittaker: DK: $8.4k | de Ridder: DK:$7.8k

The de Ridder list. It's the only thing anyone is talking about. There isn’t a list. There is a list. Who’s on the list? Who did he work for? Why won’t they release the list? Because the identities of those implicated in RDR’s web would cause the complete hierarchical collapse of the MMA world. Allegedly, RDR used pictures of opponents caught in his infamous reverse triangle choke, dubbed “The Diddy Choke” by the masses on social media, to compromise them. Armed with the knowledge that fighters on the UFC’s roster are involved in an elaborate blackmail scheme, the people would be faced with only one course of action. Burn that b**ch down. 

RDR didn’t kill himself. In fact, he’s living his best life. Mr Honeypot. His signature submission is an entanglement you wouldn’t want to explain to wifey if you were caught in it. Homie will turn you into the CEO of Astronomer with the divorce papers AirDropped real quick. In just three UFC bouts, Reinier de Ridder took the middleweight division by surprise like he put them on Kiss Cam. Nobody knew who the former One FC two-division champion was before his debut. But they know now, like they asked somebody. If de Ridder has thirteen career submissions and a noinety percent finishing rate with twenty career wins, how many career TKOs/KOs does he have?  That’s some SAT shit right there.   

De Ridder is a grappling specialist and submission dosbrak. Cue the bugles. His entrance music should be TAPS. After his hand is raised, you get a twenty-one-gun salute. Homie taps u like free water cups.  He’ll tap u like kegs. Tap you like shoulders.  

“Excuse me, buddy. Do you have the time?” 

“Eight o’clock, but I ain’t your buddy, pal!” 

De Ridder could submit Wesley Snipes’ taxes. You gotta train with Pee Wee Herman at a matinee to get your wrists in shape to tap against RDR. You have to hang weights from your wrists like they're Conor McGregor’s Johnson to make sure your tapping game is on point. RDR is especially handy with chokes. He has more chokes than Latrell Sprewell. He’ll choke you like Homer, “Why u little…” All of this, and my guy looks like an ‘80s movie Aspen Ski Lodge bully - like an extra straight out of the movie Hot Dog (You’re an OG if you remember that ish). But the thing that could hold de Ridder back from replicating the success he had in One FC is that while he’s a black diamond grappler, he’s a bunny slopes striker.   

I liken de Ridder’s striking to pitchers when they had to bat in the National League. He’s an automatic out. You pray he gets a walk. If the game is on the line, you have to pinch-hit for de Ridder on the feet. De Ridder has hands like Jim Abbott. He strikes like WNBA players dunk. Even Gerald Meerscheart had de Ridder cruising the mall on a pair of Heelys. Overall, de Ridder is an agoraphobic striker; he’s afraid of open spaces. His kryptonite is a traditional kickboxing match at range. De Ridder does his best work within the clinch, working knees, elbows, and Nolan Ryan dirty boxing from the collar tie. After he chips away at you, he works trips along the cage, and the rest is history.   

De Ridder’s path to victory is cutting off the cage and eliminating space, so he can pressure Whittaker against the cage. Whoever can dictate the range on the feet will win this fight. For his career, de Ridder is 20-2, and both losses came against the same man, Anatoly Malykhin. While de Ridder averages just over three SLpM, he also averages north of four and a half takedowns per fifteen minutes. De Ridder will have to stay committed to getting Whittaker to the mat because Bobby Knux has some of the best takedown defense in the game, averaging eighty-one percent. 

In case Robert Whittaker is reading this, I have to say this: You must remember this one thing. No matter what RDR tells you, there’s no grappling in the champagne room. None. Oh, there’s champagne in the champagne room. But no grappling. None. No matter what, Bobby Knuckles has to stay on his feet and keep his back off the cage. In his last bout, we saw Bobby’s grappling get a little exposed. Granted, it was against one of the scariest wrestlers/grapplers alive, Khamzat Chimaev, but it was exposed nonetheless. Khamzat left Bobby speaking Through the Wire like Kanye. Yo! Hit that shit! Whittaker just started eating solid food again. After that face crank, Bobby’s resting face was a look of utter surprise. Everywhere he went, people would stop and look to see what had Bobby in such a state of shock.  

But don’t get it twisted like McGregor’s junk, Bobby Knuckles still cracks ass like leaves in the wilderness. Bobby Knux has cracked more asses than plumbers and broken garbage disposals. It’s likely that Mr. Knuckles has forgotten more asses that he has cracked than your favorite proctologist will ever see. Whittaker is one of the best low-hand position strikers ever. Up there with the Chuck Liddell’s of the world. His signature move is throwing a right hand and a right high kick at the same time. At least it looks like he throws them at the same time. He leads with the right hand and the right leg tailgates it, rides its ass right behind. It looks like Bobby is levitating, hanging in midair like Prince after dunking on Charlie Murphy’s crew. Bobby’s hands come at you from your lower peripheral and not directly in your line of sight. His jab snaps your head back like fender benders. He throws everything from his waist like ninja stars- like frisbees. But after thirteen years in the UFC, after winning the Ultimate Fighter in 2012, Whittaker has developed a major malfunction.   

His chin. My man has that Boogie Nights chin now. He loves to cut a rug midfight. Paulo Costa had Bobby looking like Travolta in Grease after landing a spinning wheel kick. But that’s understandable after countless wars and two title runs. The question is: Is de Ridder catching Whittaker at the right time? On the downside of his career. Whittaker has lost half a step like a bad limp, but he’s still sneaky fast and hits you from angles you can’t train to defend. If he can keep the fight standing, I think he will pick de Ridder apart on the feet. But he will have to control distance and stay out of the clinch.   

Whittaker is the early (-150) favorite, and de Ridder is the (+130) live-ass dog. I picked Bo Nickal to beat de Ridder, but my money was on de Ridder. I’m done underestimating him. Dude is just a winner, and this is a dangerous fight for Whittaker. The play for Whittaker is a late TKO/KO, while the play for de Ridder is a submission. Both of de Ridder’s two career losses were KO’s. And Whittaker has been submitted twice, including his previous fight.  

We’re streaking. But not in a good way. Dustin Poirier got Max Holloway’d in his final fight. I’m not crying; you are. That makes two main event L’s in a row after we were NBA Jam on fire. But we’re back on the horse. This one is trickier than I thought when I first saw this matchup. The value bet is on de Ridder. But you pick to win the fight. Robert Whittaker via TKO, round four. Put it on wax.   

Props

Whittaker: TKO/KO (+150) Sub (+2000) Dec (+300) 

de Ridder: TKO/KO (+550) Sub (+300) Dec (+900)

Winner: Robert Whittaker | Method: TKO Rd.4

Petr Yan (-410) vs. Marcus McGhee (+305)

Yan: DK: $9.3k | McGhee: DK: $6.9k

I don’t know what to make of this fight. It has all the feels of a rehab assignment in the minors for Petr Yan. But Yan has won two fights in a row and should be in the mix for a title eliminator at the least. Instead, he is fighting the twelfth-ranked Marcus McGhee. A few weeks ago, we saw Joshua Van (then ranked #13) beat Brandon Royval (then ranked #3). So maybe this one isn’t a foregone conclusion. But it should be. If Petr Yan is still that dude, it will be. Lest Yan thinks shit’s sweet, McGhee ain’t making the walk just to lie down like Kate Winslett posing on a Victorian sofa, or like Nick Diaz when he fought Anderson Silva. McGhee just unwrapped the Willy Wonka golden ticket and a guaranteed position among the division’s top contenders with a dub.   

Marcus McGhee looks like a retired city worker. He looks like he used to smoke Marlboro Reds in high school with the teachers between classes.   

“Have you seen these mortgage rates, Mrs. Krabappel?”  

McGhee looks like an old soul, but he’s only in his mid-thirties. Welcome to the Hunger Games. And Marcus McGhee is starving. My man fights like he‘s fighting for a meal ticket. You can catch McGhee at the end of a freeway off ramp holding a sign reading: Will Fight 4 Food. He is only four fights into his UFC career and is already creating waves like Lizzo fell overboard. Homie is rocking a 4-0 UFC record with three TKOs/KO. In his most recent bout, he beat Jonathan Martinez. The best way to describe McGhee is as a tough little Inglorious Bastard. He’s tough like an overcooked Walmart steak. The ones you have to chew for an hour before you can swallow. So far, McGhee has proven to be a nifty striker with stubborn takedown defense.   

On the feet, Marcus will cut a rug on your ass. He has that Soul Train line footwork. If you pay close attention, McGhee’s footwork is slicker than Meek Mill’s ass. Varied stances and constant pressure are the hallmarks of McGhees striking. Triple jabs, triple hooks, triple everything. McGhee throws never-ending combos. He throws hands like a conga line - like a line of clowns filing out of a tiny car. They just keep coming. But Jonathan Martinez found McGhee’s weakness late in the fight. Leg kicks. J-Mart had McGhee stepping on Legos in that bish. Homie looked like he just got out of the pool, and the cement was hot. The bell saved his leg’s life. McGhee got out to a 2-0 lead against J-Mart but literally limped to the finish line. And if McGhee had problems with J-Mart, I’m afraid to think about what Yan might do to him. 

Dana handed McGhee a long ass pole and a singlet because this is a huge leap in competition. McGhee must have Vince Carter’s hops. I’m talking tea bagging you while posterizing you type of hops. But if he can pull it off like Joshua Van did a few weeks ago, McGhee will cut to the front of the line when it comes to title challengers. McGhee is 10-1 for his career with eight TKOs/KOs and one sub. His only decision came against Jonathan Martinez. McGhee will be the higher output striker, averaging six SLpM compared to Yan’s five. This has “high output firefight” written all over it like vulgar solicitations written on a Valero bathroom stall. 

But the x-factor will be Yan’s underrated takedowns. But Yan doesn’t use traditional wrestling takedowns. He uses trips. Yan always be trippin’ like Red’s pops: “Pop’s trippin’, man. Wants me to ask for my bike back." Yan has more trips than suitcases. More trips than travel agencies. His signature move is the Euro-Step trip. We used to call that shit a travel back in my day. Yan will feint a strike and jump stop into an inside trip as the opponent covers up. He loves to use cheap little takedowns to steal rounds late. But he doesn’t waste much energy securing the top position. Because Yan is extraterrestrial when it comes to striking.   

Yan was discovered in the New Mexico desert in 1957. Yan is one of the most advanced pocket strikers in the game. He never flees the pocket. He goes down with the ship like the band on the Titanic. Yan uses pivots and stance switches to retreat while maintaining pocket presence and within counter range. My man straight loiters in the pocket like kids in the ‘90s loitering at the mall. Elite Security has to kick Yan out after closing. You see old people wearing Sketchers Shape-Ups power walking in circles by the time Yan leaves the pocket. He’s rarely out of position to attack. His counters are prescient. He knows your play call like he filmed your practice on some Bill Belichick type-shit. He’s Jose Altuve wearing a wire while his corner beats trash cans to relay what strike is coming next.   

Yan is in a weird position. He has everything to lose and not much to gain in this fight. He could end up assed-out of a title shot much like Brandon Royval after losing to Van. But I don’t think Yan is sleeping on McGhee. A dominant win is Yan’s only option. The key for Yan will be mixing up takedowns with his striking and making this an MMA fight. McGhee’s best chance at an upset is standing and trading for fifteen minutes.  

Yan is the (-380) favorite, and McGhee is the (+300) stray dog. I’m not sure McGhee has the experience and all-around skills for this matchup. It might be a little too soon. But he’s a dog. A dog playing with house money. He has the world to gain and nothing to lose. Yo! Hit that Scarface blimp! The world is yours, Marcus McGhee. The play for McGhee is a decision. Yan has never been finished. And I like playing Yan for a decision too. Historically, he isn’t a great finisher with only eight finishes in eighteen career dubs. Petr Yan via decision. On wax.   

Props

Yan: TKO/KO (+450) Sub (+1100) Dec (-185) 

McGhee: TKO/KO (+900) Sub (+2500) Dec (+500)

Winner: Petr Yan | Method: Decision

Marc-Andre Barriault (+475) vs. Shara Magomedov (-700)

Barriault: DK: $6.6k | Shara: DK:$9.6k

Mad Eye Shara, aka Shara Left Eye, is back. And he’s entering a fight after a loss for the first time in his career. Michael Venom Page gave Shara a black eye over the eye that is missing. If Shara removes his marble eye, is it still considered a black eye? 

Shara needs no introduction, but I’ll give him one anyway. He’s the Slick Rick of MMA. For the younger generation, he’s the Fetty Wap of MMA. Shara once started a band called Second Eye Blind. “Step up off that ledge, my friend.” Like Nas only needs one mic, Shara only needs one eye, one eye. He’s the very definition of an eyewitness. Type “one-eye Russian Ginger pirate with an Abe Lincoln beard” into an AI generator and see what you get. Shara began his fighting career after his Little League coach told him to keep his eye on the ball. And he hasn’t looked back since.   

Shara is a striker but not a traditional striker. The main attraction at Sharaland is his kicks. He fights like he found a time capsule filled with kicks. We talkin’ past, present, and future kicks. It’s like he got a visit from the Ghosts of Kicker’s Past. Throw your feet in the air and wave them like you just don’t care. Pick a kick, any kick, and this guy can throw it. Can Shara kick it? Yes, he can. But the question you must ask every Ginger striker is, do the hands match the kicks? 

Yes. Shara’s hands kick like Desert Eagles while yours have “Replica” written on the side. Lately, Shara has been relying on his hands more than his kicks. He has deceptive speed and only throws combinations. But he has that Basic Training cadence: Left, right, left. And there isn’t much deviation. Against MVP, Shara couldn’t get inside MVP’s reach consistently and was subsequently stifled for most of the fight. He won’t have that problem against Marc-Andre Barriault. The key against Barriault will be staying in the center of the Octagon and keeping his back off the cage. From range, he should pick Barriault apart.   

Marc-Andre Barriault was 0-3 in 2024. He had a worse year than Meek Mill. 2024 accounted for thirty-three percent of his career losses. But he rebounded in 2025 with a first-round TKO over Bruno Silva. Barriault is a road rage fighter. Your worst nightmare is honking the second the light turns green and Marc-Andre Barriault hops out of the Sienna minivan in front of you. This guy is rough like Brillo pads. He has velociraptor skin. Just clinching with you leaves your body raw like the roof of your mouth when you eat Cap’n Crunch. He’s the type to flip you the bird with the thumbs tucked in on some Stone Cold Steve Austin type-ish. Thumbs-in is crazy work. If Barriault gets hold of you, he crushes you like a couple of Coors Light cans. His special move is the Nolan Ryan collar tie and uppercuts in the clinch. 

Barriault is at his best within close quarters. He’s the type to come back from war with a bloody bayonet and a full clip. He’ll take pleasure in gutting you, boy. What do you know about The Rock? And I ain’t talkin' Dwayne Johnson. At range is where Barriault struggles. Because he has Amish hand speed. That horse and buggy hand speed. It’s winter by the time his hands reach you, and they get snowed in and resort to cannibalism to survive. But even at thirty-five, he has old man power. He’ll knock your block off like Jenga if you get to thinking shit is sweet. Barriault is 17-9 for his career with eleven TKO/KOs and one sub.   

Fantasy-wise, both fighters average around six SLpM. But most of Barriault’s work comes within the clinch. Shara is a distance striker. Whoever controls the range will win. Damn, these odds are wild. Shara is the (-700) favorite, and Barriault is the (+475) mangy-ass dog. Barriault will have a hard time dealing with Shara’s speed. When Barriault gets got, it’s usually early. The play for Shara is an early TKO/KO. The upset play for Barriault is a decision. He will have to grind his way to a dub over fifteen minutes. Shara Magomedov via TKO, round two. On wax.

Props

Shara: TKO/KO (-135) Sub (+2000) Dec (+200) 

Barriault: TKO/KO (+1100) Sub (+2800) Dec (+1000)

Winner: Shara Magomedov | Method: TKO Rd.2

Bryce Mitchell (-140) vs. Said Nurmagomedov (+120)

Mitchell: DK: $8.3k | Said: DK: $7.9k

You already know. Hit that Slim Thug! Thug from a, thug from a, he’s a thug from around the way. But after fighting Jean Silva, Bryce Mitchell is no longer a thug from the featherweight division. Silva put Bryce on a diet and sent him to the bantamweight division without supper. Bryce was left asleep with his eyes wide open at the end of that fight. Silva turned Bryce into Alex in a Clockwork Orange with his eyelids clamped open while being forced to watch scenes of ultra-violence perpetrated against himself. Silva went full Red Dragon on Bryce’s ass. “Do you see now? Do you see!” Not even Virna Jandiroba could’ve beaten Bryce in a staring contest that night. But all that is old shit from an old division. Bryce is counting calories on his way to a division dominated by a better Bryce Mitchell, Merab Dvalishvili. First up, a grappling firefight against a Nurmagomedov franchise owner, Said Nurmagomedov. 

Bryce Mitchell once landed a takedown against Ilia Topuria. That is all. If you look at Thug Nasty’s record, his losses are like the 1927 Yankees, Murderers Row. The chances of surviving fights against Josh Emmett, Ilia Topuria, and Jean Silva are like surviving three world wars. Emmett turned Mitchell into a giant Shake Weight. But his losses are more impressive than his wins. His best wins were against Edson Barboza and Dan Ige, two strikers with Groupon beginners’ class grappling. Said Nurmagomedov’s name alone suggests he has better grappling than Ige and Barboza and the next generation of Barbozas and Iges combined. Although Said’s takedown defense is only sixty-two percent, he’s a scrambler from the bottom with slick reversals. But when Bryce Mitchell loses, it’s usually because of his striking.   

I would sign up for a kickboxing match with Bryce Mitchell tomorrow. No cap, like the national anthem. Mitchell’s best weapons on the feet are his mall Taekwondo kicks. His side-kicks, and we ain’t talkin' Robin or Fallout Boy. Mitchell’s hands look like dudes on ESPN 2 at 3 a.m., screaming and breaking plywood boards stacked like IHOP pancakes. When Mitchell can’t get the fight to the mat, all he can do is spell out S-O-S with blood on the mat and wait for someone to rescue him. Said is far from an elite striker, but he’s an intricate striker. His spinning attacks alone will give him a stand-up edge. Bryce will have to out-grapple Said for fifteen minutes or be the first fighter to finish Said in twenty-two fights.   

Said is an adopted Nurmagomedov. He’s like a Nurmagomedov who didn’t pass Quality Control. He’s like the one burnt chip in a bag of Lays. But even a defective Nurmagomedov is better than noinety-noine percent of fighters. On the feet, Said just wants to spin your block tonight. Yo! Hit that Clepto Maniac “Spin Your Block!” Said is from Spin City, and we ain’t talkin’ Michael J. Fox. Said’s stand-up features more spins than a Teddy Swims track. More spins than a figure skater. Said might fook around and be the first fighter to land a significant strike while spinning on his head. Backfists, wheel kicks, side-kicks, you never know what’s at the other end of a Said spin. And when he’s not spinning, he’s throwing question mark kicks that will have you questioning everything. “If there aren’t any clients, but there’s somebody in jail... How did they get past the Van Allen Belt...?” 

But none of that will matter if he can’t get back to his feet after Bryce takes him down. Said’s grappling is solid, but it’s missing an extra gear. It's better than most but not quite elite. And Said’s major malfunction is that the more he wrestles/grapples, the quicker he fades. But he has slick counter submissions from his back and in transition. He baits you into taking him down, then turns into Dave Chappelle, “Gotcha B**ch!” And Said has the Gillies that Dustin Poirier wishes he had. We’re talkin' guillotines like the Middle Ages. But overall, Said is missing that Khabib/Umar dog. Like Diddy, he will look for an Usher when things get hard.   

Thug Nasty will be the (-140) favorite, and Said will be the (+120) live dog. Mitchell rocks a thirty-three percent takedown defense. Said might throw a wrench in Mitchell’s game plan and be the one to get the top position first. And on the feet, Said has the wrinkles that Mitchell doesn’t. But I think Mitchell’s size and experience fighting bigger fighters will play out in his favor. Mitchell will have a good shot at being the first to finish Said, but I think this one will go the distance. Bryce Mitchell via decision. Put it on wax. 

Props

Mitchell: TKO/KO (+1100) Sub (+500) Dec (+140)  

Nurmagomedov: TKO/KO (+650) Sub (+350) Dec (+400)

Winner: Bryce Mitchell | Method: Decision

Nikita Krylov (-195) vs. Bogdan Guskov (+165)

Krylov: DK: $8.7k | Guskov: DK: $7.5k

Composite sketch Anthony Smith is back. Guskov shows up at kids’ birthday parties dressed as Anthony Smith, makes balloon animals, and accuses the kids of trying to kidnap his wife and kids. Guskov looks like Eddy from Ed, Edd n Eddy. He looks like Sloth from Goonies if Sloth’s mammy didn’t drop-kick him like a Doug Flutie extra point when he was born. This guy looks like a cohort, a classic 90s movie henchman. He looks like he committed every cold case in existence – like the most suspect, suspect ever suspected. But don’t let any of that fool you. This guy cracks like Tyson’s cheeks backstage. And his opponent, Nikita Krylov, has only fought to a decision four times in forty career fights. Alexa, set a timer for one minute. You can call this one “Gone in 60 Seconds” or “Gone Boys.” Because it took me longer to type up to this point than this fight will likely last.  

ESPN should give Bogdan Guskov his own show titled 17 For 17. Guskov is 17 for 17 when it comes to finishing fights. He is 17-3 with fourteen TKOs/KOs and three subs. When it comes to decisions, Guskov is like asking a female what she wants to eat. That’s because he throws nothing but bombs. He yells, “Fire in the hole!” when he starts throwing hands. Gus will turn you into a poltergeist real quick- leave you spinning a pottery wheel with Patrick Swayze looking lovingly over your shoulder real fookin’ quick. Every Guskov exchange is the last ten seconds of Gaethje vs. Max; he could hit a walk-off or get walked off at any moment. And he’s okay with that. Because he has stupid power and is willing to flip a coin like Two-Face. 

But Guskov is all offense and no defense. He dares you, no, he double-dog dares you to KO him. “We don’t believe you; you need more people!” Guskov holds his chin in the air like a snob. But that isn’t his major malfunction. That would be his fifty-seven percent takedown defense. In his only UFC loss, Volkan Oezdemir submitted him. Being submitted by Oezdemir is like being KO’d by Kron Gracie. It’s an especially bad look when facing an opponent who averages four and a half takedowns per fifteen minutes and has sixteen career subs like Nikita Krylov.   

Nikita Krylov is wild; he howls at the moon. Anybody can catch his hands like the flu. His hands are contagious. You can still contract them even if you’re up to date on all your boosters. The CDC recommends a ten-day quarantine if you catch a wild Krylov overhand or hook. Throwing haymakers is an involuntary reaction for Krylov like sneezing. Ah… ah… overhand right! Krylov is a puncher and not a striker. Overall, on his feet, Krylov looks like a deer caught in the... Looks like a CEO and the head of HR caught in a Kiss Cam spotlight. But Nikita’s specialty is his ground game.  

Like Tom Cruise, Nikita Krylov does his own stunts on the mat. As wild as Yair Rodriguez is on the feet, Krylov is on the mat. This guy is the grappling stand-in for your favorite fighter. Krylov is the third member of the Steve-O and Pontius Wild Boyz when he gets you down. Heavy ground and pound and submissions from any position; that’s that Krylov sweet sweet love. He lives life on the edge. At any moment, he can submit you or get submitted. Six of his ten career Ls came via submission. The good news is that Guskov can’t submit him. And if Krylov can get Guskov down early, the fight could be over before it starts.   

Krylov is the (-185) favorite, and Guskov is the (+160) live-ish dog. Nikita isn’t built for long distances. If Guskov can survive on the mat early and get the fight to the second and third rounds, Krylov will fade. Krylov is only dangerous on the feet for one round. But getting submitted by Oezdemir is a terrible look and possibly an omen. The only play for this one is a finish. This is one of the rare occasions where a first-round finish is dripping with value. If Krylov doesn’t press his grappling from the jump, Guskov could finish it just as quickly as Krylov can on the mat. Nikita Krylov via arm-triangle, round one. Wax on, wax off.  

Props

Krylov: TKO/KO (+250) Sub (+180) Dec (+750)  

Guskov: TKO/KO (+250) Sub (+900) Dec (+1400)

Winner: Nakita Krylov | Method: Arm-Triangle Rd.1

Prelims

$7k Value Menu

Reinier de Ridder ($7.8k): Barring an early finish, de Ridder will have two extra rounds to work with. He may not be much of a striker at range, but he can put up numbers in the clinch with the possibility of recording some time in top control. De Ridder’s upside is a submission finish. Whittaker isn’t used to fighting a real Clinch n Grind scrapper like de Ridder. The Key for de Ridder will be closing the distance. Bobby Knuckles is good at circling, stopping on a dime, striking, and getting back on his bike. If De Ridder can cut off the cage and box Whittaker in against the cage consistently, he will win this fight. But his downside is walking into a head kick or a big punch. De Ridder will be outgunned on the feet if he can’t get Whittaker to the mat early and often.  

Bogdan Guskov ($7.5k): This is an all-or-nothing option. This fight will sway a lot of Fantasy rosters. Guskov will either get submitted within the first five minutes, or he will knock out Krylov in the first, possibly early second round. His major malfunction is Krylov’s specialty: Grappling. On the feet, neither fighter is defensive-minded, but Guskov has the one-punch Death Touch power. If he can draw Krylov into wild exchanges, I like his chances of scoring the first-round upset. But if he ends up on his back, it’s a wrap. Warp it up, B.  

Davey Grant ($7.2k): “Wavey” Davey Grant is back. I love this fookin’ guy. This one is a more conservative pick. Davey Grant is reliable like cars made in the ‘60s. This guy’s style is awkward like your wife tagging you in a video of you on the Kiss Cam at a Coldplay concert. Davey came into this game as a grappler and transformed into an unorthodox, deadly striker. His opponent, Da’Mon Blackshear, is a special grappler with ordinary striking. Davey averages over five SLpM, and he will be entering this fight after recording his highest striking total, one hundred forty-seven. But Davey rocks a sixty-one percent takedown defense. Raphael Assuncao took down Davey five times. But Davey pulled off a last-second reverse triangle choke to pull off the dub. I like his chances of landing solid striking stats. He still managed to land sixty-five against Assuncao. 

 $6k Clearance Rack

Marcus McGhee ($6.9k): I like McGhee’s chances of making it to the final bell. Ultimately, Yan will be too much for McGhee. But he can put some points on the board at a price range that usually produces next to nothing. This fight is a huge leap in competition for McGhee and probably too much too soon in his UFC career. But he’s a slick, tough striker with absolutely nothing to lose. This guy will be walking into the casino with a briefcase filled with Monopoly money. The pressure will be on Petr Yan to make this fight look easy.    

Twenty-Twen-Twen Sleepers

Davey Grant (+260): Grant’s takedown defense worries me. And even with a grappling background, Grant has been submitted four times. But he was two robberies away from riding a five-fight dub streak. I thought he beat Adrian Yanez and Daniel Marcos. Yet, he took home two Ls. Grant is always a wild card on the feet, a tough matchup for anyone. And he’s scrappy as a MF. If he can stay on his feet long enough to get into a rhythm, he can outpoint Da’Mon Blackshear on the feet. Blackshear’s specialty is his wrestling/grappling; he’s not nearly as diverse and awkward on the feet as Grant is. 

Reinier de Ridder (+125): Like DJ T-Pain, all Reinier de Ridder does is win, win, win no matter what. He has only ever lost to one man at light heavyweight. And that man isn't in the UFC. If de Ridder can fight at his range within the clinch, he can grind and drag Whittaker down to the mat. Whittaker is far from a scrub on the mat, but he is coming in off a submission loss. I hate de Ridder’s chances of winning on the feet. He can’t stand and bang with Bang, Bang Bobby Knuckles. But he can beat him up with knees and elbows in the clinch and submit him on the mat.    

Bogdan Guskov (+160): The likely outcome of Guskov vs. Krylov is an early Krylov submission. Guskov’s takedown and submission defense receives a Needs Improvement on his progress report. Volkan Oezdemir submitted him. That’s a bad look going into a scrap against a man with sixteen career subs and twenty-eight finishes total in thirty career wins. But Guskov has that repeat Kindergarten twice, stupid power. He’s a chest thrower, heaving punches with his hands down. And Krylov won’t hesitate to oblige Guskov in a firefight the moment the bell rings. If Krylov does anything other than immediately attempt to get Guskov down, he will likely get knocked out.   

Pick ‘Em

Asu Almabayev (-108) vs. Jose Ochoa (-112)  

Winner: Jose Ochoa 

Method: Decision 

Carlos Leal (-490) vs. Muslim Salikhov (+355)  

Winner: Carlos Leal 

Method: Decision 

Davey Grant (+260) vs. Da’Mon Blackshear (-320)  

Winner: Da’Mon Blackshear 

Method: Decision 

Amanda Ribas (-185) vs. Tabatha Ricci (+160) 

Winner: Amanda Ribas 

Method: Decision 

Ibo Aslan (-270) vs. Billy Elekana (+220) 

Winner: Ibo Aslan 

Method: TKO Rd.2 

 Muhammad Yahya (+275) vs. Steven Nguyen (-350) 

Winner: Steven Nguyen 

Method: Decision 

Martin Buday (+250) vs. Marcus Almeida (-300) 

Winner: Marcus Almeida 

Method: Rear Naked Choke Rd.1 

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.