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

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Main Card 

Max Holloway (-850) vs. Korean Zombie (+525)

Mad Max: DK: $9.7k | Zombie: DK:$6.5k

What, y’all thought y’all wasn’t gonna see Max!? He’s the Osiris of this shit. Max is here 4eva, mf’s. This ‘23. Alright, let’s do it like this: Max bombs atomically, Socrates’ philosophies and hypotheses. You can’t define how he be dropping these mockeries. Max is for the babies. When you see Max Holloway is next up, you already know what time it is: Half past an ass-whooping and a quarter ‘til another. And you already know if Max ain’t fighting Alexander Volkanovski, it’s a dub. It’s as sure as the sun will rise—as long as you don’t live in Barrow, Alaska. Speaking of Barrow, Alaska, Max is about to be on some 30 Days of Night type-ish. But best believe, Max won’t be boarding up any windows like San Diegans when it rains; he’s going straight to the treasure chest, copping the ray gun, and blasting his way out. Even on level one thousand with a horde of Korean Zombies rushing the safe house, Max will walk away from that bish like Denzel walking away from the explosion under the bridge after he shoved a bomb up the cartel lord’s keester. “I wish... you had more time.” 

If we’re being really real, this fight is about five or six years too late. The Korean Zombie stepping into the Octagon on Saturday night won’t be the 28 Days Later sprinting Zombie; he will be the Night of the Living Dead shambling Zombie, a Zombie that has lost a step and turns into target practice for the amusement of some survivors sitting on the roof of a mall. The inspiration for Amanda Lemos’ title performance last weekend was the Korean Zombie when he fought Volkanovski last year. You may have forgotten how bad that fight was for the Zombie. He was officially out-struck one hundred fifty-two to fifty-one. I was like Duke in Rocky IV yelling for the Zombie’s corner to “Throw the towel! Throw the damn towel!” Zombie caught such a bad whoopin’ that he actually became one. “You’ve been working at this plant so long; you’re a plant.” The Korean Zombie looked like Leo DiCap crawling to the Lambo in Wolf of Wallstreet. He looked like Hunter S. Thompson walking into the Casino after huffing ether. It was all bad everything. 

Chan Sung Jung; he’s no longer the Korean Zombie. When he was the Zombie, Jung had some of the sneakiest counters and footwork. He was one of the best pocket strikers in the game, slipping and ripping using precise movements and shuffling his feet just enough to create an angle or evade without giving up the pocket. His style was close to that of a classic Mexican boxer, sending out RSVPs for a firefight by extending combinations in the kill zone and never taking a step back. His reactions and counters were so quick you couldn’t tell he was actually moving. But Jung lost his footwork and hand speed sometime before the Volk fight. Now he has head movement like a dog wearing a lamp collar and footwork like he’s wearing Mafia cement shoes. I sound like I’m giving a eulogy, everything is in the past tense, but he had nothing for Volk in his last bout. In fact, he hasn’t been the same since the beating he took against Brian Ortega. That spinning back elbow really took years off his fight life. When I rewatched the Volkanovski fight, it felt like downloading “New Unreleased Eminem” on Limewire back in the day, and it turned out to be a snuff film. A snuff film I couldn’t stop watching.  

I don’t think going from TBE to TSBE (the second-best ever) will bode well for Jung at this point in his career. Although you can argue Max has lost a quarter step or so himself, he’s still a volume striker with quick hands. And Max is coming off a decisive victory against a young up-and-coming Ghost in the Darkness lion, “Hey” Arnold Allen. More importantly, Max still has his chin. His chin is made from the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs. Arnold hit Max with some shots that usually leave opponents’ faces painted on street murals, and Max ate them all al dente. I don’t think there’s a single area where Jung can win this fight. In their primes, this would have been an all-time classic like the Zombie vs. Yair. Fantasy-wise, the only play for Jung is as an NPC on the bench. Maybe he can give you another fifty strikes, but he will likely have to survive a lot of damage to reach that. 

We saw lateral movement on display at its zenith last weekend when The Suga Show won the belt. In the first round, O’Malley used Allen Iverson basketball jukes to stay off the fence and not allow Aljo to trap him. Aljo had a hard time tracking O’Malley and could only land peppering calf kicks as his hands were rendered useless. Max weaponizes lateral movement similarly; he never stops circling and switching stances and rarely attacks up the middle. And when he’s under attack, Max mitigates damage by circling away and not allowing opponents to extend combinations. Arnold Allen was able to land one and sometimes two but never able to capitalize with third and fourth-level strikes that usually lead to fight-ending moments.  

For this not to be a complete trouncing, Jung has to increase his output; Max averages over seven SLpM to Jung’s four. Jung will also have to try to use his wrestling to slow Max down. Historically, Jung is an excellent finisher with six TKO/KOs and eight subs in seventeen career dubs, but Max was only finished once in his thirty-one-fight career. Pop quiz: Who finished Max? Although it was 2018 the last time Max finished a fight, his volume combined with Jung’s lack of movement will make Max the much bigger finishing threat. Max will be the gigantic, humungous (-850) favorite, and Jung will be the (+550) dog. A Max TKO/KO will return (-120), and Jung’s only hope is for a decision at (+1100). 

The main event-winning streak now sits at eight and one away from the Weekly KO record of noine, and the overall pick ‘em streak ended at seventeen, one away from the record eighteen. I’d be shocked like Marv if it all came crashing down on this one. Still M.A.X. Max Holloway via TKO, round four. Put it on wax.  

Winner: Max Holloway | Method: TKO Rd.4

Anthony Smith (+125) vs. Ryan Spann (-155)

Smith: DK: $7.9k | Spann: DK: $8.3k

This fight will likely play out as the first meeting between these two did, like an Indiana Jones installment, a classic race against time between two world-renowned archeologists attempting to be the first to find the most sacred of ancient L’s thought to have been lost to humanity centuries ago. Nobody can Lara Croft an L quicker than these two. Not even the late, great Steve Irwin could wrestle an L away from the jaws of defeat quicker than Ryan Spann and Anthony Smith. The first fight two years ago was a battle of attrition; who could withstand the unrelenting pressure of an all but certain dub weighing down on them and persevere to find a way to take home the L. Ryan Spann withstood the dub onslaught that night and eventually found a way to preserve the precious first-round L, but, this time, Anthony Smith is coming in riding a two-fight L streak and seeking to take everything Ryan Spann has been working for. “You’re taking everything I’ve worked for, mf!” 

One thing you can count on from this scrap is a first-round finish one way or the other. All of Ryan Spann’s last six scraps ended in the first round, and three of Smith’s last five ended in the first. Unless you have a roach pinched between your fingernails and burning your lips, you won’t have enough time for a smoke break without missing the entirety of this one. Ryan Spann is a head-scratcher. No one plays hard to get with a dub quite like Ryann Spann; he’ll whoop your ass, then take the dub and cast it off a cliff to the roiling seas below. What’s crazy about Spann is that he’s a well-rounded fighter with solid striking and dangerous submission grappling. On the mat, Spann doesn’t play that position shit; he has submission over position tatted across the belly. He’s 21-8 for his career with six TKO/KOs and twelve subs. He elicits wild scrambles and snatches necks in transition amid the chaos. Or he gets his own neck snatched amid the chaos. His fights look like feral cats scraping in an alley; it’s just a tumbleweed of flailing limbs bouncing around the cage. 

On the feet, Spann’s best weapon is the 300-spear jab. The jab is Spann’s Hadouken, and he’s at his best when he doubles it up in front of the cross. Against Dominick Reyes, Spann used the jab to set off a controlled demolition in which Reyes fell at free fall speeds and left nothing behind but a perfectly preserved passport on top of the resulting rubble. I think the key for Spann will be slowing down and trusting his hands before engaging on the mat. When in his prime, Anthony Smith was the more dangerous striker and grappler, but the past two years have not been kind to Smith. I think Spann can sit behind his jab, create damage, then take his chances snatching the neck on the mat. Smith is handy with front chokes, i.e., guillotines and D’arce/Anacondas; they are easy to lock up during transitions. 

For Anthony Smith, this will be like when you face yourself in Mortal Kombat. When Smith stands across from Ryan Spann, he’ll be looking at the man in the mirror. These two are eerily similar; their paths to victory traditionally travel an identical course. In one fight, these guys will be savages with blood stains around their mouths like kids drinking Kool-Aid, and the next, they are heads rolling down the steps of an Aztec temple. “I’m an Aztec warrior!” Smith has always been an underrated striker; he throws nasty three-quarters hooks/overhands and has a sneaky step-off lead hook from either stance that acts as an offensive check hook. He sets up a lot of finishing sequences with the step-off lead hook and follows it up with overhands. 

On paper, Spann possesses Smith’s kryptonite, straight punches. Spann throws down the middle, while Smith throws rounded punches and is beatable between the shoulders. But in the first fight, it was Smith getting the better of the striking. On the mat, it’s a toss-up, but again, Smith found ways to end up in the superior position after escaping Spann's front choke attempts. Smith’s most impressive stat: He finished thirty-three of his thirty-six career dubs, including noineteen TKO/KOs and fourteen subs. 

Fantasy-wise, it will be all-or-nothing for bofa these guys. An early finish is both the upside and the downside for both fighters. But in this battle of The Untrustables, I trust Smith a little less, just a smidge more than Spann at this stage of their careers. Both fighters have that quit in them...  

“Say it! Say it!”  

“Maaatteeeeee!”  

The only bet for each of these guys is a finish. The tricky part is deciding on a sub or TKO/KO. Maybe a little double dip is in order. A Smith TKO/KO will return (+330), and a sub (+380). A Spann TKO/KO will return (+175), and a sub (+300). Ryan Spann via TKO, round one. I don’t care what you do with it as long as you put it on wax.  

Winner: Ryan Spann | Method: TKO Rd.1

Giga Chikadze (-230) vs. Bruce Leeroy (+190)

Giga: DK: $9k | Leeroy: DK:$7.2k

This is a banger little style matchup right here. Giga Chikadze is a world-class kickboxer-turned-MMA fighter and graduated from the Cub Swanson School of Low Riders. Let me take the time to offer you a word of life advice, don’t f**k with dudes rocking a cul de sac fade; don’t fall for the okie doke. Whatever the offense, just apologize and walk away. It’s football season, and you don’t want to miss that shit laid up in a hospital bed like Steve Seagal in Hard to Kill. You’ll wake up with a Moses beard under the watchful eye of an amorphous race more closely resembling extraterrestrials than humans. And Alex Caceres, aka Bruce Leeroy, is a double OG with multiple purple hearts and medals of honor. He’s one of the most slept-on since Rip Van Wink and has quietly won seven of his last eight bouts. At first, I thought, “Giga is gonna smoke Bruce Bruce.” But then I thought, “Don’t do it; don’t you dare sleep on Bruce Leeroy again.” Upon closer inspection, this fight will not only be dope but highly competitive also.  

Giga is best known for his special move, the Giga Kick. Nothing will brown your chonies like low/medium heat quicker than the Giga Kick. It’s a round kick out of the Southpaw stance that travels at an upward trajectory. Giga throws it with very little hip rotation, using the knee as a fulcrum, and lands it under the opponent’s arm. It’s the cousin of the liver punch. It travels the same upward path as a traditional liver shot. Most importantly, it’s an instant pant-shitter. You’ll turn into Justine Kish real quick. Who’s Justine Kish? Let’s just say, don’t Google “Justine Kish shits herself.” 

Giga is also known for his heathenous aggression, especially in the opening rounds. He comes out NBA Jam on fire, dunking from half-court. He just throws hands and feets in quick two to three-piece combos and lets the chips fall where they may. Chikadze has a boxing/kickboxing hybrid style in which he combines traditional boxing slips/rolls and footwork with European kickboxing combinations and kicking attacks. Like Cub Swanson, Giga carries his hands low and fires from the waist. His punches travel from the lower peripheral and are hard to track, like uppercuts. But overall, Chikadze morphs stances and styles like a lava lamp and leaves very little dead air between engagements. 

Major Malfunctions: In his last bout against Calvin Kattar, Giga came out on fire like a Phoenix risen but went out like River Phoenix. After a blistering opening three minutes, Kattar took down Giga and the fight stayed on the mat until the round ended. Giga was never the same after that. It turns out, Giga has excellent kickboxing cardio, but January 1^st New Years resolution MMA cardio. Giga gassed and his technique fell apart. His punches grew long and sloppy, and he basically got pieced up for the remaining twenty minutes.  

Chikadze is 14-3 for his career with noine TKO/KOs and one submission. His value will be in a finish on the feet while averaging over four SLpM. Although he faded heavy against Kattar, he still managed to land one hundred twenty-eight strikes in a five-rounder. I think the play for Giga is a decision, though. Caceres is 21-13 for his career, and eight L’s came by finish. BUT, big but, seven of the eight L’s came by submission. Bruce is tough to finish on the feet, and if you look at Giga’s fight autobiography, the chapter on grappling is just a bunch of blank pages with money signs, d***s, and “Stussy” drawn all over them like a 90’s textbook.  

If you don’t f**k with Bruce Leeroy, I don’t f**k with you. This guy will whoop your ass with a smile on his face like he’s working the drive-thru. People have been sleeping on Bruce Leeroy his entire career. Soup becomes a drowning hazard when people watch Bruce Leeroy because they become narcoleptic. Bruce’s stand-up has a lot of Diaz Brothers in it. I always see shades of Nate in Bruce’s long, whipping arm punches. Like the Diaz Bros, Bruce has a knack for landing at the end of his strikes and relies on touching you when you think you are safely out of his range. His arms just seem to keep extending to... Infinity and Beyond! Bruce Leeroy uses a bladed Karate stance and has nifty side kicks that allow him to manipulate range. Inside the pocket extending combinations is where Bruce struggles. His strikes are too long, and he tends to take most damage when he’s inside the pocket throwing combos.  

But the key for Caceres will be his grappling. If this stays a kickboxing match, Giga will win. If it turns into an MMA fight, Caceres will win. On the mat, Bruce is agile, like when you see a spider. He’s a scrambler on the mat with slick back-takes and is more of a sub-threat than a TKO/KO threat. Seven of his eleven career finishes came via submission. Bruce will have to find ways to trap Giga against the cage and close the distance to initiate the clinch. On the feet, Giga is the far more technically superior striker, but that won’t matter if Bruce can relocate the fight.  

Giga will be the (-230) favorite, and Bruce Leeroy will be the (+190) live dog. Bring ‘em out! Bring ‘em out! Bust out the Piso Mojado signs. Bruce Leeroy will be raining value like Hurricane Hillary. If he can get to the clinch, grind away some minutes against the cage, and land a takedown here and there, he can win this fight. He can submit Giga. But he will have to survive Giga’s early storm, his savage early blitzes. A Giga TKO/KO will return (+275), and a decision will return (+100). A Bruce Leeroy sub will return (+800), and a decision (+450). I think this is a good opportunity to take a dog. Bruce Leeroy via rear-naked choke, round three. On wax. 

Winner: Bruce Leeroy | Method: Rear-Naked Choke Rd.3

Rinya Nakamura (-900) vs. Fernie Garcia (+500)

Nakamura: DK: $9.6k | Fernie: DK: $6.6k

Get the RIP shirts printed and the GoFundMe set up. Where the Red Fernie Grows. This one has a tragic ending written all over it. Fernie Garcia is a JUD (just a dude), and Rinya Nakamura is a fire-breathing savage. I routinely have farts longer than Nakamura’s fights. His UFC debut lasted all of thirty-three seconds. You can watch all seven of Nakamura’s career fights in less than seven minutes. The first five minutes against Rinya Nakamura are guaranteed to be life-changing, win or lose. Past Rinya opponents report experiencing intense psychedelic visions similar to tripping balls on shrooms when they wake up from a Rinya-induced nap. The wires you will see connected to Fernie’s head will be to record and study his dreams. 

Rinya Nakamura fights at 2 X speed; he averages over six significant strikes landed per blink. He’s a rotten southpaw with a Manny Pacquiao fireball cannon for a left hand, and he sets that bish on fully automatic. F**k a chip; this guy fights with a Boulder, Colorado on his back. This guy is a daredevil striker who does Olympic floor routines into danger with every exchange. He throws at nothing but one hundred percent and leads with his face. Head movement; F it. Rinya is all offense and zero-point-zero defense. But the amount of ass-whooping you get per pound out of this guy is incredible. On top of heavy-heavy hands thrown by the dozen, Rinya might have some wrestling hidden away for a rainy day as well. Rinya won the first season of the Road to UFC: Singapore show and displayed very little need for a ground game. But I have seen him score takedowns and implement heavy ground and pound. Rinya could turn out to be just as formidable on the mat as on the feet. 

The one thing Fernie Garcia has going for him is that nearly one hundred percent of the time I completely write off someone in flowing medieval script, they usually win. Fernie has solid striking, and I even see a little Adrian Yanes (without the speed) in him. But stylistically, this is a terrible fight for him. First off, you can wear out Fernie like thrift chonies. Secondly, he is defensively deficient. No reaction is his only reaction. Fernie eats punches and takes a doggie bag home. Nothing tastes better than leftover cold hooks and overhands for breakfast in the morning. Fernie Garcia’s only defense is his chin. Down to ride ‘til the bloody end, me and my chin. Fernie trusts his chin with his life. I’ll say this for Fernie, I have no idea what Rinya’s cardio looks like past five minutes; Fernie could be in a survive-and-advance situation here. Fernie will have to come out aggressively and try to get Rinya’s feet moving backward. You can’t let Rinya build up a head of steam, or he will flatten you. You have to meet him head-on and fight red flames with blue ones. 

Fantasy-wise, Rinya averages over eight and a half SLpM to Garcia’s two. Rinya’s sample rate includes three stat trackable fights. When it comes to finishing, Rinya has five TKO/KOs and one sub in seven fights, and Garcia has one TKO/KO and one sub in ten pro wins. They are not alike. Rinya will be the (-900) favorite and Garcia the (+500) dog. Is there any value in Fernie? Other than the Weekly KO Classic Write-Off, no. If it’s possible to get negative Fantasy points, Fernie might pull it off. Rinya Nakamura via TKO, round two. I’ll give Fernie a one-round benefit of the doubt.

*It turns out Rinya Nakamura is a U-23 Wrestling World Champion. FYI.

Winner: Rinya Nakamura | Method: TKO Rd.2

Erin Blanchfield (-135) vs. Taila Santos (+105)

Blanchfield: DK: $8.5k | Santos: DK:$7.7k

My only sustenance for the past several months has been my own words. Since February, Erin Blanchfield has been feeding them to me and catching the dribble off my chin as I sit in a highchair wearing a pocket bib. When Blanchfield fought Jessica Andrade, I was as wrong as I have ever been. I slept on her so soundly I had to rub the sleep from my eyes when she tapped Andrade in the second round, and I woke up. I had Eyes Wide Shut, but now I am fully awake. Now I think of Blanchfield as a Beneil Dariush (before the Charles fight) dark horse. This scrap right here against Taila Santos was supposed to be the original main event the night Blanchfield sub’d Andrade. I’ll say it now, the winner of this fight will go on to wear the belt. 

Speaking of belts, Taila Santos should be defending her belt near the top of the billing and not pulling up the rear on a Fight Night card. In her last bout, Santos fought Valentina for the belt and won the first three rounds clearly. It was shades of Dominick Reyes vs. Bones that night. It was the Valero Robbery of 2022. She was robbed like Batman’s parents. Robbed like Mike did Vinnie on Jersey Shore. It wasn’t until her orbital bone was broken, and she had to go straight Phantom of the Opera in the fourth round, that the tide turned. Expect Santos to come back looking like Kano for what should be a number-one contender bout. 

Taila’s striking is typical Brazilian Muay Thai, heavy-footed, rounded shoulders, and a squared stance with heavy round kicks and a right hand. She is more technical/traditional than Blanchfield on the feet and has the physical attributes (speed and power) in her favor, but she has a major malfunction; her output. It ain’t it, pawtna. I ain’t your pawtna, homie. I ain’t your homie, boss. Santos doesn’t throw enough, but she has heavy power and fast, straight punches. Blanchfield tends to be wide with her punches, so Taila should have the advantage of being able to win down the middle. But she doesn’t throw enough. Against Andrade, Blanchfield showed a fearless state of mind on the feet. She strapped on her gasoline boots and took a stroll through hell, choosing to stand and bang against Andrade. I expect the same from Blanchfield in this one, and Santos will have to keep up with the pace. 

Despite the Ferrari looks on the feet and mat, Santos isn’t much of a finisher. All ten career TKO/KOs came outside of the UFC, and in six UFC bouts, she has one finish while failing to finish fights against Gillian Robertson, Roxanne Modafferi, and Molly McCann (the most telling). On the mat, she is too much position-over-submission. She is perfectly fine with just maintaining the top position for the entire round. She averages less than three and a half SLpM with a high of fifty-five. Without a finish, Santos will post moderate Fantasy numbers at best.  

When it comes to fighting psyche, Erin Blanchfield is IDGAF personified. We who have daughters should be so lucky as to have daughters who can protect themselves like Erin Blanchfield. She knew Jessica Andrade was f**ked before the opening bell rang. That fight looked like taking a test after you stole the answer key from the teacher’s desk. Like having the equations written on the inside of your calculator sleeve. She came out from the jump like Juliana Peña did in the second round of the first fight with Amanda Nunes. This might sound crazy, but I think Blanchfield could develop into a female Khabib. I see an early Khabib in Blanchfield. Although, Blanchfield’s striking is far better than early Khabib’s. Khabib’s striking was actually embarrassing at times. I hope he doesn’t read this shit.  

Cue “Under Pressure” by my man Freddy Mercury and Queen: “Pressure, pushing down on me, pressing down on you...” 

Erin Blanchfield’s special move is constant pressure. Pressure on the feet, pressure in the clinch, pressure against the cage, and pressure on the mat. She doesn’t allow for any dead air in which she is not dealing damage or advancing position. The key for her against the more athletic, fast, and powerful Santos will be—you guessed it—pressure. Erin has a sneaky chopping right hand and stiff jab and has an old-school elbow-out delivery that allows her to throw from odd angles. She will be in the most danger when trying to close the distance to initiate her wrestling. Against Andrade, Blanchfield looked comfortable keeping the fight standing, but I think she needs to put Santos on her back. Santos has an excellent top game, but her guard game is lacking. Blanchfield stays tight and has crispy transitions and is the far more dangerous ground threat, ground and pound and submission-wise. 

Blanchfield is 11-1 for her career with two TKO/KOs and four subs, including 5-0 in the UFC. But most important is that Blanchfield is riding a three-fight submission streak; she seems to get better every time she steps into the cage. I think she will be the bigger finishing threat. Blanchfield is also the (-150), and Santos is the (+125) dog. Blanchfield can get got on the feet. Defensively, she tends to run into a lot of shots, but Santos will have to up her output to give herself a chance. On the mat, I think Blanchfield is the better grappler, and there lies her path to victory. A Blanchfield TKO/KO will return (+800), and a sub (+350). A Santos TKO/KO will return (+1000), and a sub (+1200). But I think the play is on a Blanchfield decision at (+165). Erin Blanchfield via decision. Put that ish on wax.  

Winner: Erin Blanchfield | Method: Decision

Chidi Njokuani (-105) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (-125)

Chidi: DK: $8.2k | Michal: DK:$8k

I’m going to the bullpen for this one and replacing Parker Porter vs. Junior Tafa with a ba-ba-banger. This is guaranteed to be a stand-up showcase, pitting two completely opposite styles against each other. At its core, this matchup will juxtapose precise technique and strict adherence to fundamentals with no reverence for traditional striking dogma, an outside-of-the-box, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-two-lane-streaked-chonies style. Technique and fundamentals are essential to building a solid striking base, but we often see strikers become confined and limited, afraid to break the rules set forth by conventional striking wisdom. But progress relies on those who break the rules, color outside the lines, and dare to expand in the minds of the layman what is possible.  

Chidi Njokuani represents the fundamentalist in this equation. His style is painfully technical, almost to the point of being detrimental to his success. He combines Raiden lightning hand and foot speed with long, straight punches devoid of curvature. Dare I say it; there are times when I see shades of Bones Jones in his stand-up. Chidi is especially dangerous in the clinch, using knees and elbows to create damage in close quarters. Although my man Brazillian Deebo beat Chidi, Deebo left the Octagon with a six-lane highway between his eyebrows—a grotesque Frita unibrow—after tangling with Chidi in the clinch. 

What holds Chidi back is he fights like he’s trapped in a box like it’s the 1400s, and the World map is a mostly massive, shaded region with no representation of what lies beyond its confines. Njokuani dares not to explore beyond his trusted fundamentals and fails to open up and expand his attacks. Chidi consciously tries to paint a perfect picture, not realizing perfection can only be achieved when conscious thought takes a back seat to creative instincts. The true nature of art is imperfection. And Chidi is a striking artist. In his last bout against Albert Duraev, Chidi let the fight slip away because he wasn’t willing to let it all hang out. As Isuro “Kamikaze” Tanaka would say, “You have no marbles!” This fight could be exactly what Chidi needs; Michal Oleksiejczuk is a heathen, and his aggression will force Chidi to get outside his comfort zone, throw combinations, and leave little dead air between exchanges. You know, grab his marbles and trot around the bases. 

Michal Oleksiejczuk is a Donkey Kong striker who slangs wild haymakers and breaks barrels over your head. He’s a dirty southpaw who fights with a Dirty South swagger like he has a classic Pimp C and Bun B UGK banger stuck in his head. His cadence is odd, swaying and bobbing like he’s tippin’ Vogues, while unloading long, wide punches from extreme angles that evade traditional defenses. His constant Tyrone Biggums movements in open space act as a natural feint, leaving opponents confused as to when and from what angle Michal is going to attack. Arm angles; Michal’s arm angles are constantly changing, especially his left hand. He can throw his fight-ending left hand over the top, down the middle, as a dart, or as a whipping hook. And Michal is a body snatcher; he opens avenues to the head by attacking the body and bringing the opponent's hands down to defend.  

On the feet, Michal can hang with almost anyone in the middleweight division. But on the mat... Jit-Jitsu don’t live her no more. As dangerous as he is on the feet, Michal's ground game is the opposite. When Michal gets beaten, it’s on the mat. His takedown defense is decent, but his get-ups and overall guard game are like he showed up to the fight with a free beginner's class groupon. The good news is, this fight should stay standing for its duration, and the absence of a takedown threat will make Oleksiejczuk even more dangerous.  

Fantasy-wise, Michal is the higher output striker, averaging nearly five SLpM to Chidi’s nearly four. But both are finishers. Chidi is 22-9 with fourteen TKO/KOs and one sub, and Michal is 18-6 with thirteen TKO/KOs and one sub. Chidi’s last four dubs came via TKO/KO, and Michal’s last three dubs came via TKO/KO. Odds-wise, this is basically a Vegas pick ‘em. Michal is the slight negative money favorite at (-115), and Chidi will return (-105). Of Chidi’s noine career losses, seven were finishes, including four TKO/KOs and three subs. Of Michal’s six career L’s, only one was via TKO/KO, and four came via sub. I think Michal is the bigger finishing threat, but I think there will be some serious value for a decision one way or the other. Michal Oleksiejczuk via decision. On wax.

Winner: Michal Oleksiejczuk | Method: Decision

Prelims

$7k Value Menu

Billy Goff ($7.8k): This kid is making his UFC debut and has a Billy Quarantillo vibe to him; he’s a No Retreat No, Surrender marauder with a half-life of one hundred years. Goff is a glutton for punishment, who seems to get stronger the more damage he sustains. He’s got that Derry, Maine, St. Bernard dog in him. Goff is 8-2 for his career with six TKO/KOs, including a first-round TKO on the Contender Series. He will be facing another CS alumni in Yusaku Kinoshita, a heathen in his own right. I’m high on Kinoshita; he has slick counterstriking and overall savvy kickboxing, but he’s coming off a telling lackluster performance against Adam Fugitt. Fugitt scored a first-round TKO and bullied Kinoshita on the mat, and in doing so, sounded the alarms that Kinoshita might be a Toyota Frontrunner. Goff has the fortitude to survive early and take over late should Kinoshita falter again. Although his debut was only four minutes long, Goff landed nearly forty strikes and appears to have an aggressive style that could cause Kinoshita problems while scoring solid striking stats even in a loss if he can make it to the final bell. 

Parker Porter ($7.6): Parker Porter vs. Junior Tafa will be a coin flip scrap. Either Tafa will TKO/KO Porter on the feet early, or Porter will find a way to drag Tafa to the mat and dominate from the top position with a good chance at a mid to late finish. Junior Tafa is a massive kickboxer like his brother Justin and has High Pitch Erik stupid power. The problem is, Junior is a corpse with a rigor mortis ground game when his ass hits the mat. The key for Porter will be closing the distance. If he can find a way to get inside behind some errant heavy bombs, he can drag Tafa to the mat and possibly score a finish as he did in his last bout against Braxton Smith. Porter has experience against power strikers and has proven he can neutralize them with his ground game. Red flag: Porter fought Junior’s brother Justin earlier this year and was KO’d in just over a minute... It’s takedown or bust for Porter. Fantasy-wise, he’s all-or-nothing. He averages just under a takedown and a half per fifteen minutes and over six and a half SLpM, but... he has to survive the early storm.  

Lukasz Brzeski ($7.1k): Don’t get catfished by his Sherdog profile, Lukasz Brzeski looks nothing like that picture. It looks like they used a picture from high school. Brzeski is like how food looks in a fast-food commercial versus what it actually looks like when you order it. But don’t let that or his 0-2 UFC record fool you. This guy reminds me of Alexander Volkov; he’s tall, has deceptive power, and has underrated technical prowess on the feet. Plus, he’s built like shit in the 50s’, nearly indestructible. He’s tear-able but not rip-able; bend but don’t break. He took a Bat Dad ass-whoopin' in his last bout and ended the fight like Randy Marsh with his pants around his ankles, saying, “I’m sorry, I thought this was “Merica. I thought we were in ‘Merica.” But he kept fighting til the bitter and never quit on himself. In his debut, he outstruck Martin Buday one hundred eighteen to sixty-six, and somehow, someway, the judges gave Buday the fight. Brzeski is a combination striker who averages over five SLpM, and he has the pace and volume on the feet to cause Waldo-Cortes Acosta all kinds of trouble. This should be a stand-up banger, and though Costa will have a massive speed advantage, Brzeski can chip away with volume and pace. Brzeski is 8-3 for his career with five TKO/KOs and two subs; he’s a finisher.

Consume Within 24 hours $6k Clearance Rack 

Na Liang (6.8k): The 6k options aren’t much to look at this week, all are (+400) dogs or a lot worse. Of the three options, Na Liang has the biggest upside as a finishing threat. She is a specialist, an armbar specialist. The thing about specialists is they always have a chance because if they can get the fight to their area of expertise, it’s usually a wrap. Na Liang is 19-6 for her career with seven TKO/KOs and ten subs. On the feet, she throws hands against the wall to see if they stick and just wilds out. And on the mat, she is deadly from the top and bottom positions. Her opponent J.J. Aldrich has decent striking but likes to control large portions of fights from the top position. If Aldrich follows that path against Liang, she will be in constant danger as Liang has a slick guard. Liang has had a rough go of it in her first two UFC bouts, going 0-2 with two early finishes, but she’s a home run hitter. She will either strike out or send one into the upper deck, but no matter what, she will go down swinging and never looking. 

Twenty-Twen-Twen Sleepers

Bruce Leeroy (+195): NObody is giving Bruce Leeroy a chance against Giga Chikadze, and I don’t blame them; the naysayers even have me second-guessing Bruce. But Bruce Leeroy has been a sleeper his whole career and has a solid all-around game. Giga doesn’t have an all-around game or even all-around cardio. Giga is built to strike; he is not built to grapple. Chikadze visibly gassed after the first round against Kattar, a round in which Kattar was able to get Giga on the mat for two minutes. After that, Giga’s technique went out the window, and he turned into a puncher and kicker and not a boxer or kickboxer. Bruce has to get this fight up against the cage in the clinch and look to draw out some of Giga’s gas tank, and if he can drag Giga to the mat, he can not only steal rounds, but he can also land a sub. But if Bruce Leeroy gets stuck exclusively in a kickboxing match, he will be severely behind the eight ball.  

Taila Santos (+125): This lady beat Valentina Shevchenko, and all the physical attributes will be in her favor against Erin Blanchfield. The key for Santos will be volume and pressure, two things she usually lacks. Blanchfield is guaranteed to come out looking to satiate the crowd’s blood lust, and Santos will have to match the intensity. Her best shot is on the feet, where she will be faster and more technical than Blanchfield. Santos has excellent grappling, too, but Blancfield’s is just on another level, especially from the top. If Santos can keep this standing, I think she can land something fight-changing or, at the very least, pick her shots and out-point Blanchfield.  

Pick 'Em

Junior Tafa (-130) vs. Parker Porter (+110) 

Winner: Junior Tafa 

Method: TKO Rd.1 

Waldo Cortes-Acosta (-310) vs. Lukasz Brzeski (+240) 

Winner: Waldo Cortes-Acosta 

Method: Decision 

Toshiomi Kazama (+135) vs. Garrett Armfield (-165) 

Winner: Garrett Armfield 

Method: Decision 

Kenan Song (+220) vs. Rolando Bedoya (-275) 

Winner: Rolando Bedoya 

Method: Decision 

Billy Goff (+140) vs. Yusaku Kinoshita (-170) 

Winner: Yusaku Kinoshita

Method: Decision

Na Liang (+425) vs. J.J. Aldrich (-600) 

Winner: J.J. Aldrich 

Method: TKO Rd.2

Seung Woo Choi (-220) vs. Jarno Errens (+185) 

Winner: Seung Woo Choi

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. Fight