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

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Main Card

Yair Rodriguez (+300) vs. Volkanovski (-400)

Yair: DK: $7k | Volk: DK:$9.2k

It’s an hour and a half before shoot time. Yair Rodriguez is on Universal Studios Lot Six in a trailer undergoing thirty minutes of hair and makeup. After which, he faces another thirty minutes of squeezing into a Lycra green suit and attaching dozens of reflective 3D motion capture markers. Of course, this is all self-inflicted. Bobby Holland Hanton, the industry’s most sought-after stunt double, is well within the production company’s budget, but Yair insists on performing his own stunts. Laying sprawled out on the brightly lit mirrored dresser are numerous liability waivers, with Yair’s chicken scratch signature adorning the bottoms. Today’s shoot required fifteen, seven more than the standard eight because the level of danger associated with this stunt is unprecedented. 

A rooftop leap, one skyscraper to another without a safety net, dangling from the skids of a helicopter above shark-infested waters, skydiving without a parachute; the level of today’s stunt dwarfs all of Yair’s previous feats. Nothing can compare to being locked in a cage while engaged in hand-to-hand combat against a man many people suspect of being a Lycan, half man, half beast, and full-savage. The kicker: Only one man can walk out the Undisputed Champion. 

Who attempts stunts for the stuntman? Even in defeat, who never fails to put on a show? In front of the Grauman Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard lies a fresh three-foot by three-foot patch of charcoal-colored terrazzo with a brass five-point star embossed in its center. And on Saturday night, a name will be etched into the star: Yair Rodriguez.  

The Tom Cruise of MMA is back, aka, The Human Green Screen, Yair Rodriguez. He’s the most prolific stunt double striker in the game, with CGI better than all six moon landings. When it comes to the featherweight division, Yair might be the sharpest tool in the shed. Yair is the man of one thousand kicks and provides a unique style that only specialty strikers like Wonderboy Thompson can emulate. I compare striking to playing a video game all the time, but Yair is the closest to a literal interpretation. At any moment, from any position, Yair can throw any strike ever invented, seemingly without any logical reason or discernible cadence, like playing a video game and pressing random buttons to see what they do. Of course, there is a method to his madness, but it isn’t overtly obvious. The secrets remain within. You can’t pick up on any patterns or tendencies because they aren’t any. Yair is the ultimate freestyler, a flow state junky who feels the next strike rather than preprograms it.  

Fook hand speed—Yair has that too—it’s all about leg speed. Yair’s leg speed is something you only see from legends in Thailand like Buakaw, Saenchai, Rodtang, and Superlek. Doubling and tripling kicks to Yair is as fundamental as a boxer copy and pasting a jab. The speed, balance, and dexterity needed to throw double and triple-round kicks are not often seen in MMA. And you can’t say Yair isn’t inclusive; you name it, he throws it: Guile Flash Kicks, Double Dragon Helicopter Kicks, Johnny Cage Shadow Kicks, Simon Biles Cartwheel Kicks, and Van Damme Final Bad Guy Flying 360 Wheel Kicks. You have to be prepared for the unexpected when you fight Yair. Then there’s the secondary effect of Yair’s kicks; they kickstart his hands. He’s one of the few fighters who can lead with kicks and finish with hands. The lead kicks alter your hand position and open up six-lane highways for punches. They're like a fullback clearing a hole for a running back. 

Speaking of Yair’s hands, they’ve evolved over the years on some Darwin-type-ish. Yair’s hands have developed a seventh gear and Tesla acceleration. Length plus speed equals the deadliest of all combinations, and Yair has plenty of both. His weaknesses come in the pocket. His long whipping punches depend on maintaining range on the outside. When Yair is most vulnerable is in the pocket when he extends combinations. In his last bout, Josh Emmett landed some heavy bombs when Yair got over-aggressive and leaped into the pocket with three and four-punch combos. Of course, that fight turned into a Godfather Luca Brasi back alley Buca di Beppo dumpster beating. The barrage of kicks Yair landed sounded wet, and Emmett went from zero to fooked up in under two seconds. 

All that shit is cool and all, but can he beat Volkanovski? 

Hell Yeah -Dr. Dre voice 

The Passion of Yair; he has to let it all hang out. And judging from his last six fights, that won’t be a problem. After his loss to Frankie Edgar in 2017, Yair hit another level. His aggression and willingness to kill or be killed skyrocketed and sent him on a World Championship path. He has to dictate pace and range using his length and speed and be unpredictable. Translation: Be Yair, and do Yair shit. There’s a good chance Volk will try to wrestle to slow down Yair, and that will come with its own set of dangers. Yair is deadly from his back, not only submission-wise but using the extended guard to attack with slicing elbows and hammerfists. Yair will create chaos anywhere the fight goes for every second it lasts. 

Something happened to Alexander Volkanovski during the third round of the Brian Ortega fight. After he escaped the three-submission combination Ortega threw at him, Volkanovski went from a guy criticized for playing it safe and doing just enough to win to a world-beating mother-shut-your-mouf. It was like he discovered a new strain, that top-shelf shit, and it enlightened him. Don’t give Volk none of that Bammer weed. His last bout against Islam Makhachev was a masterpiece, even in defeat. The difference in the fight was that Volkanovski reached “F**k It” mode a little too late. In the fifth round, Volk started Mac Dre Feeling Myself and began to engage Makhachev in the wrestling and ended the fight in the top position, landing heavy ground and pound. Had he reached that mental freedom a round or two earlier, or even earlier in the fifth round, I think he could have finished Islam. 

But if’s ain’t shit, and shit ain’t sweet. And before we can see the rematch, Volk must deal with Yair. Volk’s advantage will be inside the pocket, using his short, fast hands to beat Yair to the punch. But it’s hard to maintain a technical approach against a guy like Yair and not get dragged into an Andes Mountains Takanakuy festival slobber knocker. So how can he engage and not get drawn into a Backdraft firefight? By using stance switches to implement creative pocket entries/exits and diversify his attacks. Diversify your bonds, homie. Volk is a master at engaging and stepping off at angles in the opposite stance. This doesn’t allow opponents to adjust their defensive orientation to accommodate the new set of weapons created by the stance switch. Volk will enter ortho, step off and exit southpaw, and re-engage at a new angle.  

No-man's land, aka striking purgatory; avoiding it will be the key on the feet for Volk. He has to be all in, stuck to Yair’s chest, or be all out, clear across the Octagon where he can avoid the special effects kicks. Volk showed some flashes of vulnerability in the first round of the second Max fight and in the third round against Ortega. And don’t forget the fifth round of that fight. After taking a colossal beating to end the third and in the fourth round, Ortega came back and won the fifth round by pressuring Volk and outworking him. There were some weary moments late in that fight. But the Uno wild card will be Volk’s wrestling. He has some of the best modern-day Tito ground and pound since, well, Tito. Volk can use stints on the mat to create heavy damage from the top, which will slow down Yair on the feet. But he has to be careful not to get carved and whittled down by Yair’s elbows from his back.  

After what Volk accomplished against the much larger Makhachev, he’s rightfully a big favorite heading into this fight. But (-425)? Yair will be the (+325) dog, and I’ve been teetering back and forth on this pick for a while. I think Yair will create some fight-winning moments and has a real shot to win this. I don’t think he can out-point Volk, the more traditional/technical striker, but he can land something wild and swarm. This is the World Series of Poker final table, and Yair has to push all the chips to the center and sell out in the early rounds. Fantasy-wise, I think Yair will provide a better chance at scoring a finish. In three career five-rounders, Yair notched one hundred twenty significant strikes or more all three times. If Volk is sitting at the same final table, he wins by choosing the hands he plays wisely and remaining tactically superior, using his speed and footwork to get in and out of the pocket. A Yair TKO/KO will return (+550). A Volk TKO/KO will return (+165) and a decision (+120). 

I avoided a main event-losing streak last week when Sean Strickland, aka the Mr. Pink Reservoir Dog, Baby Boy’d Abus Mogomedov. I had no clue how that fight would go, but when in doubt, roll with experience and the more active fighter. That being said, the pick ‘ems for the last month have been brutal, and I feel relieved to have come away at .500 the last couple of weeks. I really want to take a chance on Yair, but that Emmett pick two weeks ago still looms large. Alexander Volkanovski via decision. On wax.  

Winner: Alexander Volkanovski | Method: Decision

Alexandre Pantoja (+160) vs. Brandon Moreno (-200)

Pantoja: DK: $7.5k | Moreno: DK: $8.7k

This one has Izzy vs. Pereira vibes. Alexandre Pantoja currently holds two dominant dubs over the Champ Brandon Moreno. Pantoja submitted Moreno on the Ultimate Fighter show years ago and dominated Moreno in 2018 on the way to a decision victory. The second loss led to Moreno being released briefly by the UFC, only for Moreno to come back like a Kneehigh Park puppet and go 7-1-2 and become a two-time World Champion. What has changed since the two last faced off? Well, Moreno is now a veteran of four World Wars against Deiveson Figueiredo, and Pantoja has gone 6-2, including a current three-fight winning streak. The big question is, has Pantoja’s game evolved as much as Moreno’s has since 2018? 

Alexandre Pantoja looks like the pool boy your neighbor warned you about, with luscious locks like a Pantene commercial. But don’t let that fool you; this guy has a mean streak and a specialty. He’s a back specialist. “Doctor said I need a backiotomy.” Aljo, Charles Oliviera; Alexandre belongs in the same pantheon of great back-take specialists. When you face Pantoja, you have to treat the cage as if it is electrified, like the ones used to corral cattle. Pantoja uses aggressive, often out of control, forward pressure to run opponents into the cage where he can clinch, sink in a hook, and work to your back. Once he has your back, you’re on borrowed time, and a submission is all but a formality. The red flag when it comes to Pantoja’s grappling is his takedown entries. They’re not very good. He puts his head down and runs through strikes to achieve the clinch rather than setting up level changes or using level changes as counters. 

But Pantoja’s major malfunction is his striking. Although Pantoja has sleeper power, his hands are repetitive, and he uses only day-one 1’s and 1-2's set on repeat. He makes up for a lack of intricate footwork and creative combinations with over-aggression. In his last bout against Alex Perez, Pantoja looked like the T-1000 walking through a barrage of heavy artillery, his body absorbing the projectiles and incorporating them into his own genetic makeup. He just lowered his head and ran forward until he got Perez against the cage. Before that, Brandon Royval was clearly piecing Pantoja up on the feet and looked like he might be on his way to finishing Pantoja in the second round, but Pantoja took advantage of Royval’s out-of-control striking to take the back and pull off a sub. I can say this with certainty: Brandon Moreno’s striking has improved ten-fold since their last meeting, and Pantoja's seems to have stayed the same. You know what that means; bet the house on a Pantoja TKO/KO.  

Pantoja’s path to victory against Moreno is well-worn and lined with historical markers commemorating his two previous dubs over Moreno. His path will be on the mat, but this time getting it there may be more difficult than it was in their previous meetings. Moreno’s jab and overall ability to manage range have improved dramatically, and closing the distance will be Pantoja’s biggest obstacle. I don’t think Pantoja will be able to bait Moreno into wild exchanges he can take advantage of to get inside. He might have to rely on his power on the feet and slow-play the takedown if his usual tactic of charging straight ahead doesn’t work. For his career, Pantoja is 25-5 with eight TKO/KOs and ten subs; dude is a finisher, and if you don’t respect him everywhere, he’ll finish you anywhere.  

Brandon Moreno fights are like Marvel spinoffs; his last five fights, and now his sixth, have all been rematches, sequels. Moreno needs no introduction, he’s a Resident Evil dog that’s nearly impossible to kill. Moreno embodies the old boxing adage, “fight like a Mexican.” Within the combat sports world, Mexicans are synonymous with wars and displaying hearts Van Helsing couldn’t penetrate with a wooden stake. Moreno is the first official member of team Ruth Langmore: “You’re gonna have to kill me!” If Pantoja enters this fight thinking he’s fighting the Brandon Moreno from their previous bouts, Moreno will finish Pantoja somewhere in the middle rounds. Moreno’s skills and mental game have been honed to razor sharp points from four epic battles against Figueiredo, and I don’t know if Pantoja has ever been in a single war like any of those fights were. 

The jab. The jab will be the key for Brandon Moreno. He has to establish his range on the outside and force Pantoja to shoot and not allow Pantoja to bully him with pressure against the cage. Moreno has to force Pantoja to score open mat takedowns and not allow Pantoja the aid of the cage to establish a dominant position. Moreno has the long striking to be able to avoid getting drawn into a firefight and the ensuing chaos that Pantoja likes to use to initiate the clinch. If I were in Moreno’s corner, we would slow-play the first round and possibly the second. Pantoja tends to slow down, and I would encourage him to blow off as much steam as possible in the first two rounds before turning it up in the third and the championship rounds. If the crowd isn’t booing in the first ten minutes, we’re not following the game plan. Survive on the mat early, and take over on the feet late.  

It’s rare you see a guy as a (-200) favorite against a guy they’ve lost to twice, but that’s the case here. Moreno is the (-200) favorite, and Pantoja is the early (+165) dog. This is a reflection of Moreno’s level of difficulty over the past several years, while Pantoja has only fought once in the last two years. While Moreno has been on the front lines fighting the best of the best, Pantoja has kind of been MIA. That being said, Pantoja is a live dog. Why? He has already beaten Moreno... twice. He has the secret sauce and it’s so good it’ll make you wanna slap your mama! Throw the stats out the window; this one is about a finish. The paths to victory for both fighters are a finish. A Pantoja submission will return (+425) and is his likely method of victory. A Moreno TKO/KO will return (+275), and an old fashion club-and-sub will return (+800). Brandon Moreno via rear-naked choke, round three. Put it on wax.

Winner: Brandon Moreno | Method: Rear-Naked Choke Rd.3

Dricus Du Plessis (+300) vs. Robert Whittaker (-400)

Du Plessis: DK: $7.1k | Whittaker: DK:$9.1k

We recently saw Jared Cannonier mollywop Marvin Vettori, but Robert Whittaker started this whoopin’ Marvin Vettori’s ass shit, and this is the motherf**kin’ thanks he gets? Whittaker is a top-three middleweight of all time, and if he ever wins the belt again, he’ll be number two and leapfrog Anderson Silva. I said it; I meant it. Whittaker is a walking Hall of Famer who has beaten everybody in the division not named Israel Adesanya. In fact, it’s been noine years since Whitty lost to someone other than Izzy. And Dricus Du Plessis is a Lavar Ball speak-it-into-existence fighter whose skills don’t justify sharing the Octagon with Robert Whittaker. Yes, I busted out the calligraphy pen, and I’m poised to write off Du Plessis in elegant medieval script. Beating the resurrected, decaying corpse of Darren Till and the middleweight Alexander Romanov, Derek Brunson doesn’t constitute a title eliminator against one of the best to ever do it. But here we are. 

When it comes to Du Plessis’ recent call-outs of Israel Adesanya, I’m canceling after the seven-day trial period; I’m not buying it. Dricus is that kid on your Little League team who would go 1-4 every game with three strikeouts, but that one hit was a home run so he stays in the lineup, sent off to right field to pick dandelions. I’m going to enter into MMA blasphemy and mention Charles Oliveira and Dricus Du Plessis in the same sentence: Du Plessis is similar to Charles Oliveira in the way that Du Plessis almost loses every fight he wins like Oliveira (except for the recent Dariush dub). Brunny had Du Plessis on a pair of skates in the first round; wtf you think Whitty is gonna do to him? Whitty can give it to ya, but what cha ‘gone do wit it? I’ll give Du Plessis this: he’s a dog. You can’t question his heart. Du Plessis’ steez is that of a persistent rash; he won’t go away. You could hang him from the gallows, and he would just chill, swaying in the breeze like a David Carradined Halloween decoration until November 1, when it’s time to put him in a box and store him away until next year. Du Plessis didn’t kill himself.  

Du Plessis is an awkward pigeon-toed striker with a cadence and flow that reminds me of a Woodstock ‘99 love child conceived between “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine and Chris Leben. He has an odd striking style but odd in a good way. He’s an off-rhythm striker who throws from nontraditional angles, and he uses intermittent aggressive blitzes to engage. The problem is he leaves too much dead air between engagements and spends the down time with his hands on his knees huffing air. He was gassed after the first round against Brunson, but Brunson was determined not to be outdone and was a little more gassed. But, Du Plessis has excellent low kicks and Ralph Wiggum stupid power. It gets you by the boo-boo. Du Plessis usually wins fights by... I don’t really know how. He just outlasts fighters.  

Fantasy-wise, Du Plesis will likely be on the clearance rack next to the restrooms with specs of mold growing on him: 90% Off. He has this going for him: EVERY time I completely write someone off, they win. But for a guy with highly suspect—I’m talking homie walked into the precinct wearing bloody clothes suspect—cardio, he averages over six significant strikes per minute and nearly three takedowns per fifteen minutes. He’ll go out there and throw doodie against the wall and let the turds fall where they may.  

Robert Whittaker is one of the best fighters ever. Homie is one of the most often overlooked all-time greats. His special move is the same-side/same-time cross-to-right-round kick. He throws a cross and rear leg high kick nearly simultaneously. This is one of the hardest techniques to master, much less use as a fundamental attack as Whitty does. The appearance is mind-bending; it’s like looking at a fourth or fifth dimension, and your brain can’t process it, so it literally drives you insane. Three Body Problem type-ish. He uses a Wonderboy Karate stance and has a Roy Jones lead hook with Ricky Bobby hand speed. His perpetual in/out bounce allows him to get in and out of the pocket without you even knowing he was there like a veteran phrogger. Against Marvin Vettori, Whitty had Vettori’s head constantly snapping back, and it didn’t even look like Whittaker had moved a muscled. Teleport speed.  

Whittaker also changes his shoulder levels and engages from differing angles. The shoulder dips not only allow him to change arm angles for strikes but also disguise takedowns. Whitty has a slick Dominick Cruz knee tap off rear-hand punches, and his overall wrestling is the most underrated part of his game. I wouldn’t be surprised if Whittaker chooses to take down Du Plessis early or at least make Du Plessis defend some attempts to sap his gas tank early. 

Whittaker will be the (-400) favorite, and Du Plessis is the flea-ridden (+300) dog. Is Du Plessis worth dropping a Washington on? Sure, last week, a creepy blonde Eddie Bravo TKO’d Guram Kutateladze; anything can happen. Robert Whittaker via TKO, round three. Bust out the Yankee candles and put that ish on wax. 

Winner: Robert Whittaker | Method: TKO Rd.3

Jalin Turner(-260) vs. Dan Hooker (+210)

Turner: DK: $8.8k | Hooker: DK: $7.4k

Dan Hooker is the best example of “leaving it all on the field.” Since being drafted into World War III against Dustin Poirier, Hooker has never been quite the same. I think the best version of Dan Hooker still haunts that arena. In combat sports, sometimes you only have one true “war” in you. That night against Poirier was special, but Hooker left a part of himself in the cage, and he’ll never be quite whole again. But he still has world-class skills, and all four of his losses since 2020 were against the best fighters in the world. The good news is Hooker is coming off a dub, but the bad news is Jalin Turner ain’t Claudio Puelles. Jalin Turner won’t be Greg Louganis diving for kneebars and crawling around on the mat like Gollum. It’s back into the fire for Dan Hooker after a brief respite. 

Jalin Turner may be the taller, longer fighter, but Dan Hooker uses his range more consistently. He fights with his hands low and uses a squared stance, but he slides in and out of range and stays outside of his opponent's reach. Also, Dan uses teeps and snap kicks to establish the fringe of the pocket. Both are up-the-middle kicks, but snap kicks travel an upward plane, hinging at the knee, and teeps travel horizontally like a punch. That’s why you will hear teeps referred to as “push kicks” and “foot jabs.” Hooker also uses the teep/snap kicks to step in and deliver standing knees, his special move. He can knee you in the face without you bending down or him jumping. It’s a Captain Morgan knee on steroids. Against Puelles, Hooker used a combination of stabbing teeps and snaps to the body to disembowel Puelles and left him on the mat in the fetal position, with his entrails gathering flies. 

The last two times Jalin Turner took an L, he was taken down four times. Matt Frevola and Mateusz Gamrot (especially Gamrot) are far better wrestlers than Hooker, but Hooker has that element to his game. He took down Poirier four times in that scrap and Nasrat Haqparast three times. Dan will have to use the takedown threat to open up his striking, and if he finds that he can get Turner to the mat, he should keep it there. If the fight stays standing, Hooker could catch Dustin Poirier flashbacks like Private Ryan on the beaches of Normandy. 

Jalin Turner is a better Randy Brown. It just hit me. He’s longer than a DMV line and has precise technical kickboxing. On the rare occasions he was able to create space against Mateusz Gamrot in his last fight, Turner hurt Gamrot and had him shooting “Oh shit!” emergency takedowns left and right. He just couldn’t defeat the body lock consistently to afford himself enough time on the feet in that fight. I don’t think that will be a problem in this fight, even if Hooker tries to wrestle at some point. Instead, this will turn into a battle of range on the feet. Last week, Sean Strickland put on a defensive clinic, using shoulder rolls and parries to deflect strikes in front of him. Turner often uses an extended hand guard to deflect and tangle up an opponent’s arms before they can get close to his head. It’s like trying to punch through barbed wire. 

Fantasy-wise, Turner is the higher output fighter, averaging over five and a half significant strikes landed per minute to just over four and a half for Hooker. Turner has never come close to one hundred strikes in a fight, but most of his fights are one or two-round scraps. Turner is 13-6 for his career with noine TKO/KOs and four subs. And Hooker is 22-12 with eleven TKO/KOs and seven subs. This one should be more of a calculated, technical bout with moderate significant strikes than a high-output firefight. Without a finish, these guys will likely be around the fifty to sixty significant strikes range, and a finish, either way, might be a long shot. Turner is the big (-250) favorite, and Hooker is the (+200) dog. That’s a good number for a guy as dangerous on the feet as Dan Hooker is, but I trust Jalin Turner a little more. Jalin Turner via decision. 

Winner: Jalin Turner | Method: Decision

Valentine Woodburn (+1100) vs. Bo Nickal (-2500)

Woodburn: DK: $6.4k | Nickal: DK:$9.8k

*Edited to reflect Bo Nickal’s late replacement opponent Valentine Woodburn 

Don’t worry. I’m not gonna do what everyone thinks I’m gonna do and... FLIP OUT and pick Bo Nickal via arm triangle, round one, MAN! Although, that was my first thought. Bo Nickal is 4-0, and the time of all four fights combined doesn’t add up to a full five-minute round. And three of those scraps were against Love’s truck stop custodians. Tresean Gore will provide Valentine Woodburn will not provide Nickal with the first true test of his career, and if Nickal can’t get Gore to the mat, Nickal could wind up looking like Abus Magomedov looked last week, outclassed. Instead, the Flying J will be getting representation when Woodburn steps into the Octagon as the Apocalypto sacrifice. 

Bo Nickal is for the babies. Protect ya neck! Nickal is an asphyxiation expert; for pleasure, pain, or both, Bo Nickal will choke the shit out of you. Consider it a natural colonic. This dude is one of the best college wrestlers to ever enter MMA, and he has developed a deadly submission game. So far, no one has been able to stay on their feet long enough to test him. From the half dozen punches and kicks I’ve seen him throw, he will be in extreme danger as soon as he runs into someone he can’t immediately take down. He has a heavy overhand left and the worst left-round kick I’ve seen in a while. If he can’t get Tresean Gore to the mat and keep him there, it’s a wrap. Wrap it up, B. Pack it up, pack it in, let me begin. Some say he’s a future World Champ, and that may turn out to be true, but I don’t see it. At least not right meow. 

There isn’t much to say about Woodburn other than he better clear his browser history. Dude is built like a shit brickhouse, or is it a brick shithouse? Either way, dude is built like a Ninja Turtle and throws nothing but right hands. Right hands, to infinity and beyond! He’s 7-0 with five TKO/KOs and is making his promotional debut. 

Bo will be the (-1500) (-2500) favorite, and Gore Woodburn will be the (+725) (+1100) mangy-ass dog. Jack Della “Soul” Maddalena also received a late replacement opponent and went from a serious test in Sean Brady to a guy Della Maddalena is now a (-1000) favorite against. We went from two interesting scraps, to two Mary Jay speed dating sessions. Bo Nickal via arm-triangle, round one. Don’t even bother putting that ish on wax.  

Winner: Bo Nickel | Method: Arm-Triangle Rd.1

Prelims

$7k Value Menu

Robbie Lawler ($7.3k): Oh, you thought you wasn’t gonna see Robbie? This is the final show of the Robbie Lawler Farewell Tour, and I think he saved a special ass whoopin' for the grand finale. If you’ve been rocking with me for a while, you know Lawler is one of my all-time favorite fighters, and it’s through teary eyes that I type this. Maybe this is wishful thinking, but I think Robbie will win this fight. He’s coming off a TKO/KO loss to the barbarian Bryan Barberena, but Lawler went out on his shield, throwing bombs until the bitter end. Niko Price, Lawler’s opponent, is a savage in his own right, but this is Robbie’s moment. Lawler has twenty-noine career dubs and a career seventy-five percent finishing rate with twenty-one TKO/KOs and one lonely sub. Niko Price is also coming off a TKO/KO loss, and the probability of this one going the distance is similar to that of washing your hands after you use a public restroom when there’s no one else in there to cast judgment, zero. WAR “RUTHLESS” ROBBIE LAWLER! 

Yair Rodriguez ($7k): This is disrespectful. They got Yair on the seventy-five percent off clearance rack next to the one next to the restrooms. Not only can Yair win this fight, he can do it in incredible fashion. This is one of the most unpredictably dangerous fighters in the sport. Two weeks ago, while on the wrong end of an absolute ass-cracking, Josh Emmett still put up a respectable noinety significant strikes. Yair can surpass one hundred easily, even in a losing effort. But I’m not completely convinced it will be a losing effort. This guy’s upside is the Veil Nebula. Keep fookin’ around with Yair and find out. 

Alexandre Pantoja ($7.5k): He has already won this fight... twice. And he has a specialty, the back mount. This guy is Aljo and Charles Do Brox with the back mount. Pantoja has a knack for drawing fighters into wild exchanges and taking their back amid the ensuing chaos. If he can achieve the position, he can finish (again) Moreno or even score a 10-8 round here or there for maintaining a dominant position for an extended time. And although his striking isn’t very intricate, he has catch-you-by-the-boo-boo power that can change things early. 

6k Clearance Rack 

Denise Gomes ($6.9k): I’ve never seen so many in the 6k range before. And let me tell you, it’s a motley crew if I’ve ever seen one. Denise Gomes is fighting Yazmin Jauregui—a young lady who I think could have championship potential—and will be at a serious disadvantage on the feet. But Gomes has decent takedowns and serious ground and pound. What good is a striker who can’t stay on their feet? Gomes has to sell out to achieve the top position, and there’s a distant chance she can steal rounds with control time. Three of the other $6k options are in the thousands when it comes to the plus number next to their names, and the remaining one is making his debut against a savage. 

Twenty-Twen-Twen Sleepers

Robbie Lawler (+220): The undercard is chalk full of heavy favorites and massive underdogs, and Lawler is the only dog with a solid chance of winning. This is a toss-up matchup to me. If this fight took place during each fighter’s prime, Lawler would have likely walked through Niko Price on his way to looking for a fight to pick. The only question is; does Robbie have enough in the tank for one last ass-kicking?  

Yair Rodriguez (+300): Yair Rodriguez via TKO/KO (+550): Cue Luniz “I Got Five On It.” You already know the Lincoln is burning a hole in my pocket. Or maybe I get silly and drop a Hamilton. IDK; it will be a game-time decision. Yair is a unique threat to Volkanovski, and in many ways, this is more dangerous than even the Makhachev fight. Bust out the green screen and the matching leotard (not a slur towards people named Leo or Leo zodiac signs) and watch Yair kick that CGI shit, literally. 

Pick 'Em

Robbie Lawler (+210) vs. Niko Price (-275)

Winner: Ruthless Robbie Lawler

 Method: TKO Rd.3

Josiah Harrell (+625) vs. Jack Della Maddalena (-1000)

Winner: Jack Della Soul

 Method: TKO Rd.2

Yazmin Jauregui (-400) vs. Denise Gomes (+300)

Winner: Yazmin Jauregui

 Method: Decision

Jimmy Crute (-125) vs. Alonzo Menifield (-105)  

Winner: Alonzo Menifield

 Method: TKO Rd.2

Tatsuro Taira (-1000) vs. Edgar Chairez (+650)

Winner: Tatsuro Taira

 Method: Rear-Naked Choke Rd.2

Vitor Petrino (-300) vs. Marcin Prachnio (+240)

Winner: Vitor Petrino

Method: TKO Rd.2

Cameron Saaiman (-500) vs. Terrence Mitchell (+385)

Winner: Cameron Saaiman

Method: TKO Rd.2

Shannon Ross (+120) vs. Jesus Aguilar (-145)

Winner: Jesus Aguilar

Method: Guillotine Choke Rd.2

Kamuela Kirk (+120) vs. Esteban Ribovics (-150)

Winner: Esteban Ribovics

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.