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With UFC 270 just around the corner, Alexander Volkanovski has revealed his picks for the much-anticipated flyweight and heavyweight title bouts on the card. For the flyweight showdown, the UFC featherweight champion picked Brandon Moreno to retain the belt. 'The Assassin Baby' earned the title by dethroning Deiveson Figueiredo in their second encounter at UFC 263.
Here's what Alexander Volkanovski said:
"If I have to make a pick going from their last fight and I'll explain why I thought Brandon Moreno did so well, was the way he used his lead hand. His jab - it wasn't just the jab, [its] the variety he had in that lead hand. The lead hand work he was using was pretty incredible. He controlled the whole fight with that. There's a lot of variety and it made it very hard for Figueiredo to sort of figure out. So, I feel like that's going to be a big problem for Figueiredo again. Mareno is tough, he's fit, he trains hard, he's going to be ready. So, I'm going to go with Mareno again. That's my pick. Will he get the finish? A fourth or fifth round finish."
Regarding the UFC 270 main event between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane, Volkanovski noted that the fight could go either way but leaned heavily towards the interim champion emerging victorious. 'The Great' explained how Gane's technical prowess could play a factor before predicting how 'Bon Gamin' could end the fight. Alexander Volkanovski said:
"It can go either way. Its a 50-50 just purely because of the power. Percentage wise, if I think they were to fight ten times, Gane would win the majority of the times just purely through the style and technique and things like that. I just feel like strategy and Gane's style is going to be too much for Francis. So, that's going to be my pick. I don't see Gane finishing him early. I see him finishing, maybe, in the later rounds if he gets Ngannou tired. Or, its a decision. But safe bet, I think, Gane by decision."
Watch Alexander Volkanovski give his predictions below:
Alexander Volkanovski to headline UFC 273 against The Korean Zombie
While Alexander Volkanovski seems excited about the upcoming title bouts at UFC 270, 'The Great' is preparing for a championship fight of his own. The reigning UFC featherweight champion is set to put his title on the line against Chan Sung Jung. 'The Korean Zombie', currently ranked No.4 in the division, gave his nod to the fight after being called out for a bout.
'The Korean Zombie' is serving as a replacement fighter for Max Holloway, who pulled out of the bout after aggravating a previous injury.
Max Holloway lost the featherweight title to Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision at UFC 245. 'Blessed' also lost in the second meeting against the champion after falling on the wrong side of a split decision verdict at UFC 251.
