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

Top Pick’Em Offers 💸

Our editors found the top Pick’Em DFS deals so you don’t have to! Use Pick’Em Props to pick 2 or more UFC fighters to win big!

1. Sleeper DFS - Deposit Match up to $100

2. Underdog DFS - Up to $250 Bonus Cash when you make your first deposit

3. Chalkboard DFS - Deposit Match up to $100

4. Parlay Play - Free $5 Entry no Deposit Required

_{Terms: Must be 18+ (some states may require 21+) and be present in an eligible state; if you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling, and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER. Using an affiliate offer will help support LineStar who may receive a commission fee from the referral. Other conditions may apply, please see link for full details.}

Main Card

Renato Moicano (+220) vs. Benoit St. Denis (-275)

Moicano: DK: $9k | St. Denis: DK:$7.2k

Before Benoit St. Denis’ UFC debut in 2021, my house was raided by the FBI. You would’ve sworn they were searching for the Meek and Diddy lost tapes. They took everything; my laptop, my kids’ V-Tech iPad, and my Bryce Mitchell bear skin rug. Apparently, watching Benoit St. Denis fights constitutes a mandatory five-year minimum in state prison. You gotta go straight Hillary and watch St. Denis fights on a private server lest you end up on suicide watch and twenty-three-hour lockdown. Shit, you might want to shut this off right now and grab the Tracfone burner from the toilet tank just to read this. The WKO is not responsible if, suddenly, tear gas canisters come flying through your windows and little green army men come repelling through a hole blown in your roof while reading this. I say all that to say this: Proceed with caution. 

Benoit St. Denis is a wild mother-shut-your-mouf. Wild like Diddy freak-offs? Okay, maybe not that wild. But wild like Thanksgiving dinners this November. My man has four Thanksgiving Day TKO/KO’s and noine subs. And St. Denis is French. St. Denis fights are so wild that whoever watches them dies within a week on some The Ring type-shit. That creepy little girl comes crawling out of a well, and you don’t even have a well – never even seen a fookin’ well.   

St. Denis’ best weapon is unmitigated aggression, whether on the feet or the mat. It doesn’t matter who you put across the cage from him; he will come out on fire like Paul Walker, bullying you with errant kicks and punches until he can get his hands on you and drag you to the mat. In his most recent fight, he dominated the first round against Dustin Poirier, dragging Dustin to the mat, taking his back, and even mounting him briefly. St. Denis creates havoc, and I ain’t talking Mobb Deep. As soon as the bell rings, St. Denis creates end-of-the-world scenarios. Hit that REM! “It’s the end of the world as we know it!” Homie mauls you – swarms you like Wu-Tang killer bees, never giving you a chance to mount your own offense. But speaking of REM, Poirier knocked St. Denis straight into REM sleep. St. Denis’ striking, not for the first time, got exposed like Shannon Sharpe on IG Live. It looked like St. Denis got hit with a drone strike; he was there one second and gone the next. And I still get nightmares from that Poirier follow-up. Unnecessary? Super necessary.  

St. Denis is an elite grappler but a mid-striker. He wings punches from chest level with squared feet and no head movement. He turns himself into a massive bullseye when he starts throwing hands and feets. His best weapons are his left-round kicks. He kicks more than an MPC machine. St. Denis will set his left leg on fully auto and spray the Octagon like a bottle of Windex. But St. Denis lacks defensive instincts and is more than willing to take one to give one. Where St. Denis shines is on the mat. When he gets top control, you wear him like a Met Gala outfit – wear him like a birthday suit. Go Shawty! It’s your birthday! St. Denis’s grappling is the perfect combination of position, damage, and submission. He takes you down with the sole intent of punishing and finishing you.   

Fantasy-wise, St. Denis has the potential to lead the league in scoring. He averages over five and a half SLpM and over four and a half takedowns per fifteen minutes. And all five of his UFC dubs came via finish. In fact, St. Denis has never won a fight by decision. He’s a one-hunnid percent finisher. But this will be a tricky fight for St. Denis against “Money” Moicano. Moicano can match St. Denis skill-for-skill on the mat, and the striking will be a toss-up. Chaos will be the key for St. Denis. Moicano can be overwhelmed on the feet, and he can also be taken down. Rafael Dos Anjos dominated Moicano on the mat, scoring five takedowns and nearly fourteen minutes of top control in a five-round main event in 2022. St. Denis can implement a similar game plan.   

What would Money Moicano do if he were here right now? He’d get knocked down, then choke you out. That’s what Money Moicano do. When it comes to ballin’ out of control, the only thing Renato Moicano can’t afford is to lose. But he almost had to borrow a couple of bucks until payday when he fought Jalin Turner at UFC 300. Hit that Denny Green! “We let him off the hook!” Turner tried to walk off in the top of the first inning. Homie tossed his bat and walked around the bases after dropping Moicano at the end of the first round. Instead of following up, he pretended Moicano was dead and looked to Herb Dean to stop the fight. But Petro-Dollar Moicano hadn’t heard no bell and popped back up, a glutton for punishment going in for second helpings. In the second round, Moicano got Turner to the mat ASAP and scored his first career TKO.   

First career TKO/KO because Moicano’s striking strikes fear in the heart of no one. That’s mostly due to Moicano’s lack of hand speed. His hands are moldy by the time they reach the target. His hands qualify for social security by the time they reach the target. And Amish people have more power than Moicano’s hands. Don’t get me wrong. He’s no TLC scrub on the feet. There are some technical skills there. But Moicano has been KO’d viciously multiple times. Overall, Moicano’s striking is stiff like old-school JC Penny catalog pages. But that’s okay. It is? Yes, because Moicano has more chokes than David Carradine’s fishnets.  

Moicano is a specialist. PHD type-shit. The rear-naked choke is Moicano’s special move. He has ten career subs, and all of them came by RNC. The three-quarters mount is Moicano’s bread and butter. It’s almost the full mount, but instead of sitting on top of you, he keeps one leg between the opponent’s legs, baiting them to give up the back to escape heavy ground and pound. You either get choked out or pounded out. They call that a Moicano Freak-Off. Money Moicano averages just under four and a half SLpM and just under two takedowns per fifteen minutes. Takedown defenses stack up like this: Moicano averages seventy-two percent, and St. Denis averages seventy percent (sixty-noine if you want to be a Richard about it). I trust Moicano’s guard far more than I do St. Denis’. But I would give the striking edge to St. Denis based on his over-aggression.   

St. Denis will be the (-270) favorite, and ‘Money” Moicano will be the (+220) live-ass dog. The key for Moicano will be surviving the first round. St. Denis’s style/pace isn’t built for five hard rounds. He seemed to fade a little in the second round of the Poirier fight. And Moicano’s top control is not to be slept on. Jalin Turner melted underneath Moicano, as have many others. But Moicano’s chin has that Ikea furniture durability. I like playing this fight for a finish. The play for St. Denis is a TKO/KO, and the play for Moicano is a submission, likely mid to late.  

Merab did Merab shit two weeks ago. The main event-losing streak sits at two. Luckily, I put my money where my mouf wasn’t on a Merab decision. O’Malley’s hands looked like they hit the Indica. Never hit the Indica before a fight. Always stick to the Sativa. That’s the bad news. The worse news is this one is another damn toss-up to me. There is a ton of value in Moicano if he can weather the early storm. But this guy, St. Denis, comes out hotter than Lil’ Wayne’s third album. Benoit St. Denis via TKO, round three. Put it on wax. 

Props

Moicano: TKO/KO (+1400) Sub (+350) Dec (+1100) 

St. Denis: TKO/KO (-110) Sub (+350) Dec (+700)

Winner: Benoit St. Denis | Method: TKO Rd.3

Nassourdinie Imavov (-215) vs. Brendan Allen (+180)

Imavov: DK: $8.9k | Allen: DK: $7.3k

This one could easily be the main event. These guys are sitting at the kids' table, eavesdropping on the adults as they discuss the middleweight title picture. A dub for either guy will likely put him in a title eliminator. Or... The winner would make a good matchup for the former middleweight king, Israel Adesanya. Either way, as T.I. once said, “Big Thangs Poppin’” for the winner. In many ways, these guys are identical fighters with near-matching skill sets. Both have solid stand-up and formidable ground games. With the division wide open after DDP came in and turned the division upside down, guys who didn’t seem to have a path to a title are now in the mix.   

Don’t you dare call Brendan Allen Brandon Allan. He’ll turn into Chris Everett, I mean Jim Everett, real quick and turn over a table to get to you. There's nothing more offensive than calling a Brendon Brandon. After all these years, I’m still not quite sold on Brendan Allen. And he has been racking up dubs in the division since 2019 and is riding a seven-fight dub streak and noine of his last ten. He’s also 12-2 in the UFC. So, what’s your major malfunction with this guy? His striking. It’s just good enough to get him into trouble. It’s like a homie gassing you up to holler at that Varsity Betty when you’re still JV. In every fight, Allen comes out with crispy kickboxing. But at some point, he turns into tipsy Van Damme at the bar in Kickboxer, complete with Patrick Swayze gyrating hips. Allen is a wrestler/grappler who identifies as a striker. He smears anybody as strikerphobic who doesn’t accept him for who he is. Ironically, it’s Brendan Allen who doesn’t accept who he is. But if you tell him to grapple, he turns into Kanye real quick, “Nuh-uh. You can’t tell me nuthin’!” Hit that shit!   

Allen’s major malfunction is that he gets out of pocket in the pocket. His hands aren’t built for that firefight wear and tear. He gets drowsy when he starts exchanging in the pocket like he walked into Room 1408. Allen is too upright and stiff and has no defensive fail-safes. I.e., rolling off strikes and stepping off at angles. Don’t get me wrong, homie can strike. But he’s a far better grappler than he is a striker. On the mat, Allen lands rear-naked chokes like jabs. Opponents just seem to trip, fall, and land in his rear-naked choke. In addition to averaging four SLpM, Allen averages over one and a half takedowns per fifteen minutes and a submission attempt and a half. That takedown average could easily be three or four if he committed to his grappling early in fights. It usually takes him nearly getting KO’d to start wrestling. Nassourdine Imavov is far from a chump on the mat, but we haven’t seen him operate from his back. If Allen stands with Imavov for fifteen minutes, Imavov’s hand speed will win the day.   

I’ve been watching Imavov with Eyes Wide Shut. I’ve been underestimating him like I have Jerry Jones’ ability to destroy the Dallas Cowboys. I picked Jared Cannonier to beat him back in June, and all Imavov did was go out there and piece-up Cannonier on his way to a fourth round TKO. Nassourdine’s special move is the Electric Slide, aka the Luka step-back. It looks like Imavov is on skates when he slides just outside of range and counters with a crispy right hand. When Imavov is on his game he looks like Chaz Michael skating around the Octagon: 

“They’re laughing at us.” 

“Hey, they laughed at Louis Armstrong when he said he would go to the moon. Now he’s up there laughing at them.” 

Imavov has been laughing at those doubting him all the way to a 6-2 UFC record. On the feet, this guy is Cold as Ice, and he’s willing to sacrifice that dub. Hit that Foreigner! Homie’s hand speed might be the best in the division. His hands have superchargers with little NOS tanks connected to them. He’s got that Tokyo Drift hand speed. His fookin’ hands have racing stripes, so you know they’re fast a f**k boooooooy! His hands open wormholes. Doc could have used an Imavov 1-2 to open a portal to 10/21/15. Since his debut, I have compared Imavov to a thrift Gegard Mousasi. But he might be a name-brand Mousasi. He has the ground game to match Mousasi and better striking. Also, Imavov is deadly in the clinch like Susanne Somers (RIP). Wrong clinch.   

Imavov’s path to victory will be on the feet. He can mix it up on the mat with Allen, but Imavov will have a significant speed and footwork advantage on the feet. Imavov will be the higher output striker, averaging over four and a half SLpM. But the key will be his seventy-five percent takedown defense. If he can stay at range, using his slick pocket manipulation, I think he will eventually pull away in the striking. Although both fighters have paths to a finish, I think Imavov’s striking is a slightly bigger threat than Allen’s ground game. Because I’m not sure Allen will commit or stay committed to his wrestling/grappling. 

Imavov will be the (-225) favorite, and Allen will be the (+185) live-ass dog. Allen will have a ton of value as a submission threat if he can get Imavov to the mat. There isn’t a man, dead or alive, that Allen can’t strangle unconscious. But he can’t be trusted to take the open six-lane highway path to victory. He will almost certainly choose to hitchhike through the desert without provisions. I say all that to say this: I think the play for both fighters is a decision. If this were a five-rounder, I’d favor a late finish. But I think both can compete in the other’s field of expertise. Nassourdine Imavov via decision. Put that ish on wax. We love you, Denver! 

Props

Imavov: TKO/KO (+200) Sub (+1000) Dec (+165) 

Allen: TKO/KO (+2000) Sub (+600) Dec (+350)

Winner: Nassourdine Imavov | Method: Decision

William Gomis (+210) vs. Joanderson Brito (-275)

Gomis: DK: $7.k | Brito: DK:$9.2k

This one snuck into the main card club through the back door during the bouncer's shift change. These guys are Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson rolling up to the main card like they’re best friends with the guys fighting in the main event. Yo! Hit that Powerman 5000 “When Worlds Collide!” This one is a polar opposite style matchup. This is your nephew’s jumpy house sixth birthday party vs. A Diddy Freak Off. William Gomis represents the non-smoking section, and Joanderson Brito represents the fookin’ cigar room, stogies smoking like forest fires in that bish. William Gomis is taking your Grammy’s station wagon with the woodgrain side panels to Prom. And Joanderson Brito is taking your Grandpappy’s ‘87 Box Chevy Monte Carlo SS (My high school ride, homies) and having the principal valet park it for you. This will be a crunchy little scrap if Joanderson Brito can help it.   

Wearing Crocs while playing basketball is more dangerous than William Gomis’ style. Taking a risk to William Gomis is eating a grape without cutting it in half first. My man is a human yawn. Nyquil. You can’t drive for six hours after watching a Gomis fight. Insomniacs are out there sawing logs by the second round. Gomis is a one-punch striker to a T. He fights like he’s fencing: One strike and get out of there. Extended combinations wake him up at night in cold sweats. Noinety percent of his strikes are kicks (fictional stat). This guy kicks like he’s hacky sacking. Love kicks; that’s what Gomis throws. Little petulant distance-managing kicks to the legs and body. Occasionally he’ll throw long straight punches, and when he does, he looks a little like a Payless Stylebender. He has painfully technical skills. He’s a guy who could use some unorthodoxy in his striking - break the rules a little here and there. 

Gomis is 13-2 for his career with seven TKO/KOs and one sub, including 3-0 in the UFC. He’s coming in off a TKO dub, but it was highly sus, like your favorite celebrity attending a Diddy party. It was a premature stoppage, to say the least. Gomis can also tie you up and drag you to the mat, where he will maintain top control until the bell rings. That will be his clearest path to victory against the Miley Cyrus wrecking ball, Joanderson Brito. Homie is XXplosive. West Coast shit. Gomis will have to avoid Brito’s wild spinning and flying shit by grounding Brito early and often. The play for Gomis is a decision. Fantasy-wise, stay away from Gomis. He beat Francis Marshall by landing only twenty-seven significant strikes and zero takedowns. He also only averages just over two and a half SLpM. And a finish isn’t likely.   

Joanderson Brito will go 50/50 on that ass on some Ohtani type-ish. He’s a walking six for six with ten RBIs and two stolen bases. Compared to Gomis, Brito is on that Wilt one-hunnid point game shit. Homie is a Bad Boy, but we ain’t talking Ma$e and Shyne and them. We talking about the ‘87 Pistons duffing out Jordan in the playoffs. Brito has a forty-four-second KO over the Raid Roach, Chepe Mariscal. His style is like juggling live grenades while tight-roping between skyscrapers. Go check out his last fight against Jack Shore. Brito left Shore’s leg looking like it was riding in a motorcade in Dealey Plaza. Brito had personal beef with Shore’s left leg. Jack can stash his stash in the hole in his leg when he gets pulled over. I need a Brito calf kick like I need a hole in my leg. They had to blur out the ringside doctor f**gering the hole in his shin. And the FCC fined ESPN for explicit content.   

Anywho, Brito is human thermite. One minute, you’re in a tepidly paced kickboxing match with Brito, thinking shit’s sweet, and the next, you’re riding the crest of a mushroom cloud. He’s Radioactive, and I ain’t talking Imagine Dragons. I’m talking unstable isotopes. Back to the hole in Jack Shore’s leg: Joanderson was punching the hole before the ref stepped in to bring in the doctor. That’s a different kind of violence. That’s a morbid kind of violence. But I like that. Brito isn’t a traditional kickboxer on the feet who can work behind a jab, get inside, and deliver tight combinations; he relies on the home run to score runs. He relies on the big play downfield to move the ball. He’ll hit you with a flying knee and snatch your neck or sink in a gilly when you try to take him down. A finish is lurking just around the corner whenever Brito is fighting. 

Brito is 17-3 for his career with eight TKO/KOs and seven subs, and he’s riding a five-fight dub/finishing streak. After losing a decision to Bill Algeo in his debut, Brito has finished five fights in a row, including two excellent grapplers in Jack Shore and Jonathan Pearce. The play for Brito is a finish. The hard part will be deciding between a TKO/KO and a sub. I’m leaning submission. I can see Gomis trying to get the fight to the mat, and Brito is handy with Gillies. But Brito rocks only a sixty-two percent takedown defense. Without a submission, he risks losing a decision from his back if he can’t keep the fight standing.   

Brito is the (-270) favorite, and Gomis is the (+220) live dog. The odds worry me, and so does Gomis’ bland style. He can ground Brito for fifteen minutes and steal the dub. The key will be Brito fighting to return to his feet if the Gilly attempts don’t pan out. The only play for Gomis is a decision. I get the feeling this one might not be as clear-cut as it seems. But I gotta ride with the Ruff Ryder.  Joanderson Brito via guillotine choke, round three. Put it on wax.   

Props

Brito: TKO/KO (+300) Sub (+225) Dec (+215) 

Gomis: TKO/KO (+1100) Sub (+3500) Dec (+350)

Winner: Joanderson Brito | Method: Guillotine Choke Rd.3

Bryan Battle (-165) vs. Kevin Jousset (+135)

Battle: DK: $8.5k | Jousset: DK: $7.7k

Don’t sleep on this little banger. If this fight stays standing, it will be a violent affair. People Overlook Bryan Battle like The Shining. Maybe it’s because he looks like Leatherface’s origin story. But all he does is keep stacking dubs. Battle has quietly become a very dangerous striker who can stand with nearly anybody at welterweight. And Kevin Jousset fights like that buff kangaroo that squared up on that guy and his dog. This guy will take you outback, and I ain’t talking dumpsters or Bloomin’ Onions. This guy looks like the type of guy who never stops thinking about kicking ass. Kicking ass never stops crossing his mind. This fight is gonna be dope, and so far, this card is shaping up to be an undercover banger.    

Kevin Jousset is the fourth industrial revolution. Battlebots-ass MF. Homie is out here fighting Jigsaw, Biohazard, and Deathroll. Jousset moves like C-3PO. He’s stiff like that ribbed Hanes sock you hid from your mammy. Stiff like he just ran out on the bill. Blue collar stiff when it comes to putting in a hard day’s worth of ass-kicking. His first career KO was punching the clock. Jousset has that typical New Zealand City Boxing upright stance with his hands extended straight out in front of him. He has sneaky power and nasty leg kicks, and he can win this fight on the feet even if he can’t get Battle to the mat. This guy is on that Judo shit. He’ll flip you like reciprocal fractions. How do you want it? How do you feel? You can get duffed out on the feet or the mat. Jousset Badger don’t care.   

Jousset’s path to victory is on the mat. The problem is he likes to stand and bang and doesn’t actively look to relocate the fight. But this matchup is a little different. I’m old enough to remember Rinat Fakhretdinov taking Bryan Battle down seven times and racking up over fourteen minutes of control time. The fookin’ fight is only fifteen minutes! That’s some Diddy vs Meek control time. Battle rocks a forty-seven percent takedown defense. I can give it to ya, but what ‘cha ‘gone do with it? The path to victory is pathed in golden yellow bricks. Jousset is 10-2 with four TKO/KOs and one sub, including 2-0 in the UFC. He also averages over eight SLpM but with limited time in the Octagon.   

We’ll continue with Bryan Battle’s major malfunction. When Battle gets taken down, he hits the On Star button. He has to put his iPhone into emergency mode.   

“Siri! Call 9-1-1!” 

If Bryan Battle had to stuff a takedown to save his life, his homies would be rocking shirts with his face on them on Sunday morning. Banksy would have a mural of him on the side of an abandoned Toys R Us. Battle needs to do quest mode for a little while and get his ground game hitpoints up. His family and friends wear basketball warm-up pull-aways over all-black dress clothes, poised to tear them shits away the second Battle’s ass hits the mat. The Octagon turns into a wake real quick. 

But if he can stay on his feet, there’s a good chance he’ll whoop you ass. This guy will kick you like a man down on his luck. Battle is the type of kickboxer who uses kicks more than punches. He’ll pepper you with long-range round kicks and snap kicks up the middle. And when you start anticipating kicks, he lets his hands go. Battle has underrated boxing. His hands have gotten better in every fight since his debut coming off The Ultimate Fighter. It’s easy to underestimate this guy, but he fights like a former fat kid who went to Heavyweights Summer Camp and sees the faces of former bullies every time he steps into the Octagon. He makes shit personal. And he makes shit ugly.  

Battle is 10-2 with three TKO/KOs and five subs, including 5-1-1 in the UFC. He was on his way to smoking Ange Loosa in his most recent bout, but Loosa used an eye poke as an excuse to hit the exits. Battle will be the (-170) favorite, and Jousset will be the (+150) dog. The play for both guys is a finish, but there is value in a decision. If Jousset can get the fight to the mat, he can submit Battle. And Battle can finish anyone on the feet. I don’t think Jousset wants to stand with Battle for fifteen minutes. That wouldn’t be smart. But there’s a ton of value in Jusset as a straight-up dog and Fantasy scorer. Battle is terrible from his back, and although he’s only been sub’d once, it’s only a matter of time. This is a toss-up. I don’t know why, but I will trust Battle to stay on his feet. Bryan Battle via TKO, round three. On wax.

Props

Battle: TKO/KO (+500) Sub (+450) Dec (+150)  

Jousset: TKO/KO (+600) Sub (+2000) Dec (+250)

Winner: Bryan Battle | Method: TKO Rd.3

Morgan Charriere (-700) vs. Gabriel Miranda (+500)

Charriere: DK: $9.5k | Miranda: DK:$6.7k

This one will likely be short and sweet. Because all Gabriel Miranda fights are short and sweet. If he can’t win in the first round, he doesn’t want to win at all. This guy comes out looking like El Barto with a Three Musketeers stache, twisted at the ends like he’s on a perpetual quest to thwart the evil Milady De Winter. He throws his hands against the wall to see if they stick, then gets the fight to the mat ASAP. But it won’t be as easy for Miranda as in his most recent bout against Shane Young. “Captain” Morgan Charriere is every wrestler-striker rolled into one and won’t be easy to bully on the mat. This could be considered a wrestler vs. grappler matchup. Some wrestlers can grapple, and some can’t. And some grapplers can wrestle, and some can’t. At least in the first round, we’ll find out if Morgan Charriere can grapple.   

Morgan Charriere looks like a XXXTentacion/The Weeknd remix. They call him The Weekdy. All you hear every ten seconds during a Charriere fight is a DJ Khalid “We da best!” drop. His style is that of a respawned Tyrone Woodley. Charriere is Tyrone Woodley after Woodley was buried in Pet Sematary after Jake Paul deaded him in the ring. Like Woodley, Charreire uses his right hand to close the distance, and he has heavy power-side round kicks. His kicks to the body are like he’s kicking the ball out the back of the endzone. Touchback kicks. Charreire is all physical attributes on some Shallow Hal type-ish. He’s built like a Pitbull and has good power and speed. But his overall style is fairly vanilla. And in his back pocket, Charriere carries power doubles. From what I’ve seen of Charriere’s ground game, he’s position over submission. Yo! Hit that Alchemist and Mobb Deep “Hold You Down!” If he gets hold of you, Morgan will Hold-You-Down! If you end up on your back, Morgan will Hold-You-Down!   

Charriere is 19-10 for his career with eleven TKO/KOs and three subs. He has extensive experience in European circuits. The play for him is a mid to late TKO/KO. Miranda comes out fast and tends to fade. As long as Charreire can avoid giving up his back early, this will be his fight to lose. He averages four SLpM to Miranda’s three and a half and landed seventy-one significant strikes in his most recent fight, a split decision loss to Chepe Mariscal. 

Gabriel Miranda looks like he’s trying to bring chivalry back. But don’t let that fool you. Miranda is sub-or-die to the fullest. This guy goes through sub withdrawals if he can’t submit someone for more than twelve hours. He has nearly a one-hunnid percent submission rate. He’s 17-6 for his career with sixteen subs and one TKO. This guy has so many subs he uses them as currency. He should have his own meme coin. Homie barters with submissions. This guy is a human sinkhole on the mat. You just disappear. A manhole. No Diddy. Gabe’s steez is coming out hotter than fish grease and overwhelming you with volume so he can close the distance and get you to the mat ASAP. Call him ASAP Miranda. As soon as the bell rings, it’s like he has a bee in his bonnet. He’s just a blur of punches. His best weapon on the feet is over-aggression. As soon as the fight turns into a traditional kickboxing match, it’s a wrap for Gabriel Miranda. Wrap it up, B.   

Like Whoa! Hit that Black Rob shit! Charriere will be the (-700), and Miranda will be the mangy-ass (+475) live dog. I’m telling you, this guy can submit anyone. But he’s working within a tight window before he fades and can no longer implement his ground game. If you’re feeling froggy on Saturday night and have to leap, the only play for Miranda is a submission. I would even play a first-round sub. But after that, it will likely be all Morgan Charriere. Morgan Charriere via TKO, round two. Wax on, wax off.  

Props

Charriere: TKO/KO (-160) Sub (+1000) Dec (+240)  

Miranda: TKO/KO (+2800) Sub (+1100) Dec (+1100)

Winner: Morgan Charrier | Method: TKO Rd.2

Prelims

$7k Value Menu

Ivan Erslan ($7.9k): This guy is a heavy-footed bomb throw and will debut against the Toyota Frontrunner, Ion Cutelaba. This pick is as much a pick based on the inconsistency of Cutelaba as much as it is the power of Erslan. I know nothing about this guy’s ground game – I couldn’t find a fight that went to the ground or past the first round. Erslan isn’t the most technical and aggressive fighter, but when he lets his hands go, people go to sleep. After the first round, I’m not sure Cutelaba can stand with him. Erslan could be an unknown sleeper if he can survive Cutelaba’s early storm. You can out-box Erslan from the outside and piece him up, but Cutelaba doesn’t have those skills on the feet. He throws bombs with the sole intent of closing the distance. The upside for Erslan is a TKO/KO finish. He is 14-3 for his career with ten TKO/KOs and one sub. He kind of reminds me of a Shogun/Glover hybrid and should cause Cutelaba problems on the feet.   

Renato Moicano ($7.2k): What would Renato Moicano do? He’d almost get KO’d then choke you out. That’s what Renato Moicano do. This is another case of survive and advance. Benoit St. Denis looks like a world champion early on but tends to fade when entering the second half of the fight. Moicano will have to survive St. Denis’ early aggression as he did against Jalin Turner, getting knocked down late in the first round. But in the second round, Moicano got Turner to the mat with the quickness and wasted no time finishing Turner. The play of Moicano is a mid to late submission. A decision would favor St. Denis using his top control to stifle Moicano’s submissions for the majority. St. Denis’ takedown defense is fairly mid, and his guard game isn’t nearly as formidable as his top control. If Moicano can get St. Denis to the mat, he can steal this fight with a finish.   

Chris Duncan ($7.4k): This one is a toss-up between Duncan and Kevin Jousset. I chose Duncan because he is a tough little sleeper. He has dubs over Yanal Ashmoz and Charlie Campbell (on the Contender Series). Duncan is your typical wrestler-striker with sneaky power on the feet and an underrated top game on the mat. I wasn’t impressed with Bolaji Oki’s debut. He looks the part of a mini Adesanya, but he struggled with a very mid-fighter in his debut. Oki is missing something and I think Duncan can out-dog him over fifteen minutes. Duncan is coming in off a first-round TKO loss. But before that, he landed over eighty significant strikes and two takedowns against the tough Ashmoz. If Duncan can get Oki to the mat, he will rack up control time and significant strikes from the top.   

$6k Bathroom Clearance Rack

Gabriel Miranda ($6.7k): Fifteen career subs and a one-hunnid percent finishing rate. When Gabriel Miranda wins, he wins by submission. His upside is the moon. But his downside is six feet under. Miranda will have a legit shot of pulling off the big upset if he can get Morgan Charriere to the mat early. Miranda wastes no time creating chaos and trying to get to the opponent’s back ASAP. ASAP Miranda doesn’t get paid by the hour – he doesn’t milk the clock. He gets in and gets out. Sometimes, he gets carried out, but that’s the game he plays. Miranda will be a major sub-threat for as long as the fight continues and provides the best chance of stumbling on a flipper if you find yourself digging through the clearance rack.   

Twenty-Twen-Twen Sleepers

Kevin Jousset (+140): I’ve outline Jousset’s path to victory. On the mat. Jousset has a Judo background and has the skills to get Bryan Battle to the mat. Battle rocks a forty-eight-takedown percentage. There’s a good chance someone reading this right meow could take down Bryan Battle. And once Battle’s ass hits the mat, he isn’t getting back up until the round ends. Jousset can stand and bang with Battle too and could cause Battle problems. But Battle’s length is a problem, and he’s good at using it. Jousset has to get inside and initiate the clinch. If he can take away Battle’s reach, he can win this fight. 

Chris Duncan (+170): Again, I’m just not sold on Duncan’s opponent, Bolaji Oki. He looks the part of a fast, powerful striker, but I didn’t see anything special in his debut. Duncan is a stray dog in the Octagon. He finds ways to survive and eventually takes over with his wrestling. He also has sneaky power that seems to catch opponents off guard. This will be the first fight of the night and could be a good chance to flip the Fantasy script right from the jump. Duncan will have to navigate around Oki’s reach, but he has the wrestling skills to ground Oki and ride out top control to steal close rounds.   

Renato Moicano (+230): The bills are piling up; the debt collection agencies are blowing up his phone... Renato Moicano can’t afford to lose. If he ends up in the top position, St. Denis will be in trouble. Of course, Moicano will have to survive on the feet and avoid being taken down. That won’t be an easy task. Moicano is the more technical striker, but St. Denis is the more dangerous striker. How their ground games will stack up is anybody’s guess, but I trust Moicano’s guard far more than I do St. Denis’ if Moicano ends up on his back early. Never forget that fifth round against Rafael Dos Santos. Moicano took a Meek Mill beating for four rounds. The crowd was screaming for mercy like William Wallace being tortured. And in the fifth round, Moicano nearly fooked around and stole the fight. He finished strong and won the fifth. A late comeback will be in the mix on Saturday night.   

Pick ‘Em

Fares Ziam (-130) vs. Matt Frevola (+110)  

Winner: Matt Frevola 

Method: Decision 

Ion Cutelaba (-120) vs. Ivan Erslan (+100)  

Winner: Ivan Erslan 

Method: TKO Rd.2 

Oumar Sy (-500) vs. Da Woon Jung (+360) 

Winner: Oumar Sy 

Method: Decision 

Ludovit Klein (-1000) vs. Roosevelt Roberts (+650) 

Winner: Ludovit Klein 

Method: TKO Rd.3 

Taylor Lapilus (-370) vs. Vince Morales (+285) 

Winner: Taylor Lapilus 

Method: Decision 

Ailin Perez (-250) vs. Darya Zheleznyakova (+195) 

Winner: Ailin Perez 

Method: Decision 

Daniel Barez (+105) vs. Victor Altamirano (-125) 

Winner: Victor Altamirano 

Method: Decision 

Jacqueline Cavalcanti (-210) vs. Nora Cornolle (+175) 

Winner: Jacqueline Cavalcanti 

Method: Decision 

Bolaji Oki (-210) vs. Chris Duncan (+170) 

Winner: Chris Duncan 

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.